California returns Oakland district to local control

From The Oakland Tribune: The Oakland (Calif.) school board has control over the district for the first time since the state takeover six years ago. District leaders are pledging not to make the same mistakes that got them into the financial mess. State Superintendent Jack O'Connell and Oakland school board President Noel Gallo signed a memorandum of understanding transferring control of academic policy and financial management to the school board. The district still owes the state about $80 million, which it is repaying with 1.7 percent interest over the next 18 years.

MAY 2009...from The San Francisco Chronicle: Tony Smith, deputy school superintendent in San Francisco, will take the helm of the financially troubled Oakland district. He will be the district's first leader since the state took control of the district in 2003. The Oakland superintendent's job comes with a $275,000 annual salary and a long to-do list that includes restoring local control to a district that still owes the state about $80 million on an original $100 million bailout loan.