OAKLAND, California – Leaders in the Oakland Unified School District are warning that they must make drastic cuts to the district’s budget as school closures resurface.

OUSD faces an estimated $79 million budget deficit this year, and that deficit is expected to grow to nearly $95 million next year.

District superintendent Kyla Johnson-Trammell will present several options for possible cuts to the school board on Nov. 23, but exact details are not yet available.

A district spokesperson noted that 85 percent of the budget is allocated to teachers and staff, meaning closing schools is likely an option.

“The changes are going to be unpopular; there are going to be things that people don’t want to do… the district needs to recalibrate and reset,” said Lisa Grant-Dawson, OUSD’s chief operating officer.

OUSD currently serves approximately 34,000 students in 77 schools, from elementary through high school.

The district expects enrollment to continue declining over the next few years due to low birth rates and other factors.

Inside In January 2022, OUSD had planned to close nearly a dozen schools. It led to protests and the occupation of a school site.

Some of these closure and merger plans were scaled back when a new school board took office. As a result, two schools closed, one was consolidated, and a K-8 school’s middle school grades were eliminated.

Next month, the school board will review budget cut options and make a decision on cuts and possible closures expected by December.