Release: #03-58
September 29, 2003
September 29, 2003
State Superintendent Jack O'Connell Statement
on Oakland Unified School District Recovery Plan
"The Fiscal Crisis and Management Assistance Team (FCMAT) today released a proposed recovery plan for the Oakland Unified School District. Under this plan, FCMAT outlines the improvements that would have to be achieved by Oakland Unified in order to reach fiscal solvency and be returned to local control.
"When I appointed Dr. Randy Ward as administrator of the Oakland school district, I gave him three charges: 1.) Keep tests scores going up; 2.) Repay the state loan as soon as possible; and 3.) Work yourself out of a job. The benchmarks that have been released today by FCMAT, our partners in this effort, provide Dr. Ward with the markers he needs to gauge his progress toward reaching those goals.
"I have every confidence that we are on the right course in Oakland and are moving forward under Dr. Ward's capable leadership. With this roadmap to recovery now in hand, it will be only a matter of time that we will be meeting, even exceeding, these goals."
"When I appointed Dr. Randy Ward as administrator of the Oakland school district, I gave him three charges: 1.) Keep tests scores going up; 2.) Repay the state loan as soon as possible; and 3.) Work yourself out of a job. The benchmarks that have been released today by FCMAT, our partners in this effort, provide Dr. Ward with the markers he needs to gauge his progress toward reaching those goals.
"I have every confidence that we are on the right course in Oakland and are moving forward under Dr. Ward's capable leadership. With this roadmap to recovery now in hand, it will be only a matter of time that we will be meeting, even exceeding, these goals."
