Earlier this week, Oakland’s school board voted to approve its budget for the next school year, capping off months of turmoil among district leadership. Documents and exclusive interviews with The Oaklandside have revealed how the budget process splintered the district’s senior leadership team — and led to two contentious departures.
Some of the most serious upheaval stems from a single week in December.
That’s when the two key staff tasked with developing a plan to tackle the district’s $100 million deficit — Chief Business Officer Lisa Grant-Dawson and Chief of Staff Dan Bellino — left the district. Just days before their exits, the board adopted a proposal to trim more than $100 million from the 2026-2027 budget. The origins of that proposal, and the superintendent’s unusual power play to bring it forward, have not previously been reported…