Chaos, arrests at Oakland school board meeting
OAKLAND — Oakland schools police arrested six protesters during a board meeting at Oakland Unified School District headquarters, authorities said Wednesday.
Around 6:30 p.m., shortly after the meeting was underway in an auditorium at La Escuelita education center, 1050 Second Ave., several people rushed a police-installed barricade that had been set up between the board and a large crowd of audience members, Oakland Unified schools spokesman John Sasaki said.
Six were arrested on suspicion of disturbing the peace and disturbing a public meeting, and one person was taken to an area hospital after a complaint of leg pain during the fracas.
During previous recent board meetings, protesters, most with a group called Oakland Not For Sale alongside other allied organizations, had shut down one and attempted to shut down another as recently as two weeks ago.
“This time they went a bit further,” said Sasaki, who added that the barricade had been brought in to protect board members, including the board president, who is pregnant and was set to take some months’ leave after tonight’s meeting. “We were very concerned about her safety.”
“We appreciate and support people in Oakland and their right to protest. We appreciate that, in some cases, they want to express displeasure with decisions made by the board of education,” Sasaki said.
“At the same time, the board of education has to conduct its business and they have to do it in a safe environment. That’s why a barricade was set up.”
Sasaki said he was in the room when protesters pushed against the barricade, spurring Oakland schools police officers to detain them.
“This is not at all what we want to see. Again, we have no problem with peaceful protest, but when people come over a barricade, things change dramatically.”
The protesters were initially taken to Oakland schools police headquarters in West Oakland, but Sasaki said he had not heard Wednesday night if they were taken elsewhere.
In a statement late Wednesday, an Oakland Not For Sale representative said the arrested parents were released with citations.
Although a few Oakland police officers and some security guards were present, Oakland police Officer Johnna Watson said officers arrived later after the confrontation escalated.
After the room was cleared, board members retreated to an upstairs chamber to resume the meeting, which was live-streamed to screens in the auditorium, where protesters continued to speak out.
While a tweet from the school district’s account Wednesday morning invited people to attend or watch the meeting online, a tweet posted from an Oakland Not For Sale-affiliated account said that Oakland parents “are calling for a moratorium on school closures and for the County to create a plan to invest in schools most impacted by years of divestment and school closures, not in expanding probation camps.”
Join us this evening at 5:30 p.m. for the Board of Education meeting held at La Escuelita (1050 Second Ave.) or listen/watch live at https://t.co/5r4VlIACPc #oakedu #oaksbmtg #iamOUSD pic.twitter.com/54tJ4gmakE
— Oakland Schools (@OUSDNews) October 23, 2019
#Oakland parents are calling for a moratorium on school closures and for the County to create a plan to invest in schools most impacted by years of divestment and school closures, not in expanding probation camps.#noschoolclosures #noprobationcamps #oaklandisnotforsale
— OaklandNotForSale (@ForOakland) October 23, 2019
See y’all in about 4.5 hours at La Escuelita in the Great Room! pic.twitter.com/lt1ByjQEvU
— OaklandNotForSale (@ForOakland) October 23, 2019
Contact George Kelly at 408-859-5180.