The value of uncertainty in life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. A transcript of Oakland Report co-founder Tim Gardner's remarks to the Rotary Club of Oakland on November 6, 2025.
Thank you Tim! Love the Oakland Report and your work.
To continue the conversation on OUSD, as a parent, I believe some of those schools slated for closure were meeting a genuine need for those working families in the schools’ neighborhoods. And maybe the better answer would be to partially fund them with another revenue stream. Creativity needed, but not impossible.
Agree that some schools that had low attendance needed to be consolidated, but at the time, the school board and OUSD had no transportation plan for the kids, and it was literally last minute and chaotic. Also, not all were “failing”, some in fact were very successful, and cynically, if you check the map, some school properties were close to the proposed Howard Terminal and likely slated for sale to generate revenue. Thinking of the China Basin area near Giants stadium.
OUSD and the school board need to put together a step plan that maps out how the cost saving consolidation will work for kids, the curriculum, the teachers and staff, and OUSD. They need to work together, think it through, and then communicate the plan to the community so that people can plan ahead.
Nailed it. Could have been a TED Talk!
Thank you Tim! Love the Oakland Report and your work.
To continue the conversation on OUSD, as a parent, I believe some of those schools slated for closure were meeting a genuine need for those working families in the schools’ neighborhoods. And maybe the better answer would be to partially fund them with another revenue stream. Creativity needed, but not impossible.
Agree that some schools that had low attendance needed to be consolidated, but at the time, the school board and OUSD had no transportation plan for the kids, and it was literally last minute and chaotic. Also, not all were “failing”, some in fact were very successful, and cynically, if you check the map, some school properties were close to the proposed Howard Terminal and likely slated for sale to generate revenue. Thinking of the China Basin area near Giants stadium.
OUSD and the school board need to put together a step plan that maps out how the cost saving consolidation will work for kids, the curriculum, the teachers and staff, and OUSD. They need to work together, think it through, and then communicate the plan to the community so that people can plan ahead.
I really appreciate your thoughts and contribution. Never knew your creation story before now. Healing Oakland will take the head and the heart.
Well done, Tim! Inspiring, and instructive.
Thank you, great to hear from you again
Love this…and. Grateful for your curiosity…