Oakland school district improperly diverted $3.5M, students say

My school district owes students more than $3 million. That was the message today by a group that says the district mismanaged education money that was approved by voters. KTVU's Henry Lee joins us now with reaction from students and the school district. Henry. Well, Mike and Claudine, students and teachers say the district should have gotten approval before reallocating these funds. But the cash-strapped district says no separate approvals were needed for reserve spending. Put the money back! Please? No, sorry, not please. Put the money back. Put it back. It was never yours. It was sent by voters to students. Students, educators, and community members rallied outside Oakland School District headquarters with the demand. The district must return millions of dollars they say was approved by Oakland voters years ago to fund college and career readiness programs. But the group says the financially strapped district redirected the money instead to cover general operating expenses. Inara Shafiq is student body president at Skyline High. Now we're learning that $3.5 million were diverted outside of the required process. That is completely an unacceptable way to treat money designated for students. I know the pressure of a budget in crisis. But it is in these hard times that promises matter most. But the school district says using parcel tax reserves was part of the budget balancing plan the board adopted in 2024 to address a $95 million deficit. The district also says an independent review by the Alameda County Office of Education found no signs of fraud, misappropriation or illegal fiscal practices and that there was no separate approval step specified for reserve or contingency spending. Reserves are not for, I didn't make a plan for many, many years for a budget issue that is ongoing and everybody saw and didn't do anything about. $3 million and a half used in order to compensate for the district's sovereignty and competence is utterly preposterous. The youths who spoke out had this reminder. 16- and 17-year-old students can now vote in school board elections. The population of people that vote you into power now includes the students that you are failing to represent right now. So please keep that in mind when making this decision. Now the school district says it understands that commissions linked to these tax measures did want a formal vote on this issue. The district says moving forward they will work on a clearer approval process so that similar concerns don't come up again. Live in the newsroom, Henry Lee, KTVU, Fox 2 News.