Teachers in Oakland, Calif., demand pay raise

Oakland, Calif., teachers and students protested at the Oakland Unified School District meeting on Dec. 11. Their demands included community involvement in deciding how millions of dollars in new funding, based on a local-control funding formula, is spent. They want it to support low-income English language learners and foster youth, not administrators, consultants and central office programs.

The protesters also demanded the 0.5 percent pay raise guaranteed in the contract signed back in June; lower special education class sizes; and public access to the district building, where teachers were denied access in October.