Oakland Unified School District voters in District 6 will choose between an incumbent vice president, a charter-school math teacher, and a parent advocate who calls herself a 'Mama Bear' this election, with the district's budget crunch, student homelessness, and campus safety all on the ballot. Valarie Bachelor, who serves as the school board's vice-president, is seeking a second term after first winning the seat in 2022.
Bachelor, who works as director of ACCE Oakland and previously organized for the California Federation of Teachers, faces two challengers in a district that stretches from the East Oakland Hills to the flatlands, according to The Oaklandside. Her opponents are Alexandra Williams, a high school math teacher and doctoral candidate, and LeAna Powell, a fifth-generation Oaklander and parent of three. The race unfolds as the district confronts a budget shortfall, a search for a permanent superintendent, and renewed anxiety over school safety.
A Budget Squeeze With More Cuts Looming
The OUSD board passed a budget for the 2026-2027 school year that includes $30 million in unidentified cuts, and staff have since told the board they've identified an additional $41 million in reductions to present at a future meeting, the outlet reports. The district's fund balance dropped by $90 million during the 2025-2026 fiscal year, a strain that has already reshaped the central office, which the board decided to shrink by roughly two-thirds. Layoffs in February cut what the report describes as vital staff at school sites, and union membership was affected by 13 percent amid the cuts, prompting the principals' and administrators' union to protest during a leadership retreat in August.
Bachelor supported the board's earlier separation from former superintendent Kyla Johnson-Trammell and says she envisions a community-driven search process for a permanent replacement that includes students, families, educators, and staff. She opposes closing schools and supports opening Saturday schools so students can make up absences, according to the same report. The board has also extended Denise Saddler's contract for another year as the district works through its leadership transition.
Vacant Buildings, Housing Plans, and a $108 Million Question
Bachelor wants OUSD to turn its vacant properties into workforce housing for staff or affordable housing for homeless families, an idea she has pushed through a resolution she authored calling for a feasibility study of three district sites: the former Ralph J. Bunche Academy, the former Lakeview Elementary, and the former district headquarters at 1025 Second Avenue. The school board approved that study, which allows staff to evaluate the properties for workforce housing, affordable housing, or a resource center for vulnerable youth.
Bachelor wants OUSD to turn its vacant properties into workforce housing for staff or affordable housing for homeless families, an idea she has pushed through a resolution she authored calling for a feasibility study of three district sites: the former Ralph J. Bunche Academy, the former Lakeview Elementary, and the former district headquarters at 1025 Second Avenue. The school board approved that study, which allows staff to evaluate the properties for workforce housing, affordable housing, or a resource center for vulnerable youth. District staff estimated in 2024 that rehabilitating the Second Avenue site could cost $108 million, while fixing up Ralph J. Bunche could run about $10 million, per the same account. More than 2,300 OUSD students were considered homeless during the 2024-2025 school year, nearly 7 percent of the district's total enrollment. Bachelor has pointed to the stakes of that housing crunch, saying, according to a statement published by Oakland Unified School District, “we're not going to get through this enrollment hump unless we build family housing, family affordable housing.” The district has also repurposed the former Parker School site as the Parker Community Resource Center.
Campus Safety Concerns Resurface After 2022 Oakland School Shooting
Safety has become a defining issue in the race following a September 28, 2022, shooting at an Oakland school campus that wounded six people. One of those victims died Thursday, EdSource reported. The shooting was linked to ongoing gang-related violence.
Bachelor has said she regrets not being present for Skyline High School families after a shooting injured a student there last year. The district has funded life coaches from the community organization Youth Alive at Skyline and Castlemont high schools, and the Family Violence Law Center provides a gender-based violence specialist at Fremont High School, according to the Oaklandside report. Even so, OUSD would need $1.9 million more to support violence-prevention teams at every high school in the district.
A Charter Teacher's Case and a Lingering Legal Question
Williams says her top issue is measuring student outcomes. She is pursuing a doctoral degree in organizational development and leadership through the University of Arizona's online program. She plans to center district goals and budgets on student outcomes, especially literacy and math, and says she does not believe working at a charter school would pose a conflict of interest.
Her charter-school ties come amid a separate dispute involving AIMS K-8, whose charter was denied by OUSD last year before the Alameda County Board of Education allowed it to remain open under a memorandum of understanding. The OUSD board is set to issue a renewal decision for AIMS High School on October 6, 2026.
A Parent Advocate's Personal Motivation
Powell, whose two children attend Burckhalter Elementary, says she decided to run. She has supported family engagement work for Burckhalter and Oakland Promise, and served on the board of California Mental Health Advocacy for Children and Youth. Powell plans to push aggressive investments in literacy tutoring and phonics-based reading instruction and supports placing more culture keepers and mental-health-trained staff on campuses.
Powell previously worked as a staffer for former Oakland Mayor Sheng Thao and filed a complaint against Thao with the Public Ethics Commission in June 2022 that remains unresolved, the Oaklandside reports. With the election approaching, District 6 voters are left weighing which candidate's approach to the budget, housing, and safety crises will shape the next chapter for a district still working to stabilize its finances and its classrooms.
