OUSD names former union president as interim superintendent
The Oakland Unified School District Board of Education has picked veteran educator Dr. Denise Saddler to serve as interim superintendent for the 2025/2026 school year.
In their announcement the district said Dr. Saddler was previously the principal at Chabot Elementary School and the Network Executive Officer for the district.
She also spent six years as the president of the Oakland Education Association the union representing thousands of educators in the city.
In addition to her time in Oakland she served as the Assistant Superintendent of Education Services for the Berryessa Union School District in San Jose and has spent the last four years as a lecturer for the U.C. Berkeley Doctoral Program.
The school board is still finalizing the terms of Dr. Saddler's contract the details of the agreement will have to be finalized at an upcoming board meeting. Dr. Saddler is expected to start on July 1.
She is taking over for Kyla Johnson-Trammell who had her contract terminated earlier this year. She had served as superintendent since 2017 and is reportedly among the longest-serving Oakland Unified superintendents in district history. Her termination came after she had her contract extended by three years back in August.
When Dr. Saddler takes over as interim superintendent she will be inheriting an estimated $95.7 million deficit. Earlier this year board members voted to freeze $29 million something board director Mike Hutchinson said would decimate 50% to 80% of their after-school programs.
