The Oaklandside25%
Oakland principals say they have reached a breaking point 42%
By Ashley McBride45%
7/29/2026, 2:43:03 PM
BS Summary: This article contains 24 faulty reasoning types, including Pessimism Bias, Anecdotal, and Loss Aversion, with Negativity Bias as the most egregious example at 23.3% saturation with 206 hits. Analysis detected 1,115 faulty-reasoning hits from 883 analyzed words, generating a BS Score of 40.1% and a BS Rank of 42% (15,320 of 26,004 articles). This article is better (less manipulative) than 58.90% of the article peer group.
Two weeks before the start of the school year, Oakland principals and administrators are turning up the volume on their concerns over salaries, workload, and school safety.
On Tuesday, the United Administrators of Oakland Schools, the union representing principals, assistant principals, community school managers, and central office managers, held a rally during the district’s annual leadership institute, when OUSD convenes school leaders and administrators before the school year begins.
Dozens of UAOS members gathered outside of the Great Room at La Escuelita, donning red t-shirts and holding signs advocating for a fair contract and more resources for schools.
Union leaders said it’s the first time in their memory that UAOS has held such an action.
“School board and district leaders spent all year cutting positions without a plan or a vision,” said Cary Kaufman, the president of UAOS.
“We are left to piece together how schools will open and how students and staff will be successful with no guiding light.”
A year ago, OUSD was celebrating its lowest principal turnover numbers since before the pandemic, a sign of stability in the district.
This year also saw little turnover, but school leaders have been increasingly vocal about the direction of the district, severe budget cuts, and the impact on school operations.
In April, more than two-thirds of the district’s principals signed a letter to the superintendent and board calling attention to the district’s dismal academic outcomes and how its budget problems leave them struggling to close the gaps.
“We are struggling to pursue the basic conditions for success,” the union’s letter to the school board and superintendent said.
“We spend more money per pupil than most other districts in California; however, our decisions as a district have resulted in a structural deficit and cash-strapped schools.
Cash-strapped schools will not change the conditions that result in 70% of students reading below grade level.”
Last school year, the district moved to close a $103 million budget gap, resulting in layoffs of more than 400 positions.
Nearly 13% of UAOS members were impacted, the largest of any OUSD union.
Many of those roles, like case managers and attendance specialists, are essential to school operations.
With fewer staff, principals are struggling to balance their increased workloads.
“Those types of cuts across the board, amongst many others, just create the type of strain where we are scrambling to piece together a program that can sustain versus thinking about how we can thrive,” Alykhan Boolani, the principal at Life Academy, told The Oaklandside.
“I’m worried about sustaining over the school year, and with $30 million more to cut, I have no idea what more they can take from us and how we would be able to sustain what we’re doing.”
How do salaries and benefits in OUSD compare to other districts?
UAOS has been bargaining with OUSD since February, and the union’s contract ended June 30.
One of their biggest concerns is salary.
A salary study conducted by UAOS and OUSD found that 82% of union members are at the top of the salary scale, meaning a majority do not receive raises from year to year.
It also found that average base pay for OUSD principals and assistant principals is 9% to 30% lower than neighboring districts.
The highest paid principals in OUSD, those overseeing large comprehensive high schools, can earn up to $200,0029.
Principals of small and alternative high schools make up to $164,126, while the statewide average for high school principals in large districts is $187,055.
Compared to the state, OUSD principals earn lower salaries than average, even when at the top of their pay scales.
Elementary principals in OUSD top out at $157,123, while the average pay for elementary school principals in larger districts across the state is $162,477.
And longevity stipends, which employees receive as a retention benefit after spending a number of years with OUSD, are lower here than in neighboring districts.
For example, in OUSD, school leaders receive a $1,300 annual bonus after 20 years, which doubles to $2,600 after 25 years of employment.
In West Contra Costa Unified, administrators begin receiving $1,200 per year after just five years.
Their bonuses increase every five years after that, reaching $4,500 per year after 35 years.
The study noted that while OUSD’s health benefits, which cover 100% of the premiums for full-time employees and their dependents, are first-rate, more school districts are increasing their coverage similarly.
That means OUSD could become less attractive to candidates in the future when it comes to health benefits — and lose more employees to other districts.
UAOS leaders added that their union was the only OUSD unit that did not receive a raise for the 2025-2026 school year.
Attendees at Tuesday’s rally also called for the district to make an effort to consider school leaders’ input on decisions that affect schools.
“There’s a principal at each site to help with the guidance of the school, and unfortunately, it feels like we’re always left behind,” said Latoya Williams, the principal of Montera Middle School.
“I feel like we need folks who have boots on the ground sitting at the table to help guide these decisions.
So when we do have a final decision made, it’s in the best interest of the campus.”
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