After 22 years under state oversight, the Oakland school board was finally on its own Tuesday, its seven squabbling members fully in control of the district’s finances and fate. A new interim superintendent added to the fresh start with her first day on the job.
On Monday, officials sent their final payment to Sacramento for a $100 million bailout loan issued in 2003, when the district ran out of cash and couldn’t pay its bills, triggering a state takeover.
There were supposed to be balloons and congratulatory speeches to celebrate the return to local control. But there was little acknowledgment, no cake, no Champagne toast…