Open letter to the Pastors of Oakland
from Randolph Ward

By Randolph Ward

All of us in the Oakland Unified School District appreciate your many prayers and thoughts as we struggled to resolve the lingering labor dispute with our teachers union.
    With a great deal of relief and satisfaction, I can report that we have reached an agreement. The new contract will mean a much-deserved salary increase for teachers and a more highly functional learning environment for children.
    It’s been six weeks since I last spoke to the Pastors of Oakland at Acts Full Gospel Church. At that breakfast, union executive director Ward Rountree also spoke about his goals and priorities. After our speeches, Mr. Rountree and I shook hands and promised to do everything in our power to reach a fair contract agreement.
    I left the room that day feeling hopeful and confident that our bargaining teams could resist the forces pulling them apart. I felt optimistic that a new sense of partnership could emerge between the district and the union. That was a crucial meeting because it demonstrated that, despite our differences, we share the common goal of achieving the best education we can for the children of Oakland.
    As leaders in the faith community you once again showed that you are the spiritual core of our neighborhoods. You reflect the common sense values and principles that make Oakland such a vibrant and caring community. I am personally very thankful for all of your efforts to bring people of differing viewpoints together. Your assistance to families in need when we found it necessary to declare a student-free day ensured that our students were safe and well-supervised.
    I also would like to extend my gratitude to Roy Combs, the district’s lead negotiator and head counsel. No one has worked harder than Roy to resolve this conflict, and no one is more deserving of public recognition. Many of you know Roy, so when you see him, please give him some credit for his extraordinary effort.
    Once this proposed agreement is ratified, we can move forward together in a renewed sense of collaboration to address the difficult challenges we face in public education. Oakland Unified is poised to excel. Thanks in large part to your efforts, we have momentum and a growing belief that great things are possible if we work together.

Randolph Ward is the Oakland Schools State Administrator.