Oakland school board confronted over incident at shuttered Parker Elementary

OAKLAND – The Oakland School Board got an earful at its meeting Wednesday night, as parents confronted board members about last week’s altercation at the recently shuttered Parker Elementary School.

“It’s ridiculous our parents are being treated this way and you are responsible because you’re the superintendent,” said former McClymonds High School teacher Ben Tapscott during public comment. He got into a heated exchange with the OUSD board president Gary Yee.

 “We’re going to come after you in the courts as well as come after you for mistreating our parents and teachers. It’s disgraceful!” yelled Tapscott.

“Wrap it up Mr. Tapscott. Wrap it up,” responded Yee.

“I know you want me to wrap it up, but I want you to wrap it up too,” Tapscott fired back.

He wasn’t the only one that had a heated exchange with the board.

“Do you guys have that answer for me? Have you investigated who assaulted us?” demanded Max Orozco, an OUSD parent and now also a candidate for the school board.

Orozco had his microphone shut off during Wednesday’s school board meeting as he demanded accountability after an incident at Parker Elementary on Thursday, where he and other activists and parents clashed with OUSD security guards as they tried to occupy the now-closed school.

Orozco was one of the parents who said he was assaulted by OUSD security guards.

“This board knows who started and who gave instructions for us to be attacked. This is part of what I can show what I have left over from Parker. I don’t want to take off and show the rest,” said Orozco during public comment.

While the school board members did not directly respond to the public comment, they did address the situation at Parker.

“What happened to him is unacceptable and again, there must be accountability,” said Board Member Mike Hutchinson.

“The cost of school closures should not be that you get beat up by the district…. No one should ever get injured in a process like this,” said VanCedric Williams, another OUSD Board Member.

Parents said since they didn’t feel the issue at Parker was resolved, they will be right back here at the next school board meeting two weeks from Wednesday, demanding accountability.