Re-elect Mike Hutchinson · Oakland School Board · District 4
Mike Hutchinson grew up in Oakland’s public schools and has spent his life in them — working with kids, organizing families and serving on the board. He knows how OUSD works, and he’s focused on a district Oakland families can count on.
Meet Mike
Mike was born and raised in Oakland. He went to Crocker Highlands Elementary, McChesney Junior High (now Edna Brewer), Oakland High and Skyline High, then UC Berkeley.
He grew up in a family of Oakland educators: his mom was an Oakland teacher for 40 years, and his dad taught at Laney College. Today his nieces attend OUSD, and his young daughter will start TK here too.
“These are my schools. Soon they’ll be my daughter’s.”��� Mike Hutchinson
Experience
Working with Oakland kids, starting at Maxwell Park and Santa Fe elementary schools in 2001.
Years before he ran, Mike was at nearly every school board meeting. He co-founded a parent and community group, the Oakland Public Education Network, to help families understand and shape district decisions.
Elected twice. Board President in 2023 and Vice President in 2024.
He’s done his homework. He knows the rules, the budget and how decisions really get made.
His record
2023–2025
OUSD was under state oversight from 2003. In June 2025, after repaying its state loan and passing a required fiscal audit, the district regained full local control. Mike served as Board President and Vice President during the budget years that led there.
Source: OUSD announcement, 2025
Before 2020
Mike co-founded the Oakland Public Education Network and was a founding member of the Journey for Justice Alliance, a national network for public education.
Source: OUSD board biography
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What’s next
Oakland’s schools can’t keep lurching from one budget crisis to the next. Families and teachers deserve stability they can plan around. Here’s how Mike will help break the cycle.
If cuts have to happen, they start in the district office, not the classroom. Teachers, reading and student support are protected first.
A clear, multi-year plan in plain English, shared before cuts are voted on.
A permanent superintendent, chosen through an open process that includes families, teachers and principals.
Oakland just got full control of its schools back. Balanced budgets keep it that way.
If schools have to change, families hear the facts first, and kids come first.
Questions
Because he’s been right, on the record. Mike has tracked and explained OUSD’s budget for 15 years. In April 2026 he warned publicly that Oakland was at risk of winning back local control and losing it again within a year. He keeps asking for real numbers in writing: not verbal summaries, not spin.
In April 2025, on the same night OUSD announced it was leaving state oversight, the board voted 4–3 to remove the superintendent who had helped lead the district there. Mike voted no and made sure families knew what was happening. A year later, the search for a permanent replacement was suspended behind closed doors. Mike wants a permanent leader, chosen in public.
Fixing OUSD takes four votes, and Mike has never stopped working to earn them. When his colleagues chose him to lead in 2023 and 2024, the board passed balanced budgets and put Oakland on track to end 22 years of state oversight. When the votes went the other way, Mike stayed the adult in the room: reading every page, asking for the real numbers and telling families the truth early. He’s not done. Oakland’s kids can’t wait, and neither can he.
Yes, when kids are on the line. Hard questions deserve hard answers, and Mike isn’t afraid to ask them or give them. Everything he does comes from one place: a lifelong drive to give every Oakland student the education they deserve. He grew up in these schools and has worked in them for more than 20 years. He won’t stay quiet when a budget doesn’t add up or a decision gets made behind closed doors. He doesn’t fight for attention. He fights for Oakland’s kids, and he brings the receipts.
“I won’t promise what no board member can. I’ll promise this: you’ll get the facts first, families will be in the room, and every decision will start with what’s best for kids.” — Mike
Oakland families. Mike runs a community-funded campaign and won’t be bought by charter operators, developers or any outside interest group.
“The one-time pandemic money is gone. That’s exactly why I’m asking for a real multi-year plan now, before cuts reach classrooms.” — Mike
No. It took the superintendent, district staff and the whole board. Mike helped steer the budgets that got there as Board President and Vice President.
Mike in the news
Reporters covering OUSD have watched Mike sound the alarm early, and be right.
CBS News Bay Area · April 2026
Mike warned publicly that Oakland could lose local control within a year of winning it back.
EdSource · April 2026
Mike: “Nothing has been done to find a permanent superintendent.”
KTVU FOX 2 · June 2026
Mike questioned a projected surplus that depended on $30 million in cuts nobody had named yet.
NBC Bay Area · April 2025
Mike told families what was coming weeks before the vote and pushed for a public process.
Endorsements
Parents, educators, neighbors and Oakland leaders backing Mike for District 4.
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Mike’s campaign is community-funded. Every hour and every gift helps reach District 4 neighbors.