Oakland, CA – In the latest demonstration of financial stewardship by the Peralta Community College District (PCCD), the District has sold General Obligation bonds from bond measures passed in 2006, 2009, and 2018 to finance capital projects throughout the district while saving taxpayers $5.1 million in reduced debt service.

In the wake of the killings of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Tony McDade, Ahmaud Arbery and others, educators are determining options for a thoughtful response. At first, school principals and college presidents responded by releasing public statements to their campus communities. See Peralta Community College District's Executive Leadership statement as well as statements by Chancellor Stanback Stroud, President Gilkerson at Laney College, President Johnson at Merritt College, President Garcia at Berkeley City College, and President Karas at College of Alameda. 

On Tuesday June 23, 2020, the Peralta Community College District Board of Trustees took an historic step by unanimously voting to terminate the District’s contract with the Alameda County Sheriff’s Office (ACSO) after a six-month extension ending December 31, 2020.

Due to the continuing Alameda County directive to shelter in place, the Peralta Community College District Board of Trustees met via Zoom on June 23, 2020. This meeting was epic. Clocking in at 5 hours and 40 minutes or so, the meeting included a landmark vote on the District's relationship with Alameda County Sheriff's Office (ACSO) which helped draw 100 speakers for the public comment section of the meeting. Additionally, this meeting was the last for Dr. Tammeil Gilkerson, Laney College President, and Dr. Timothy Karas, College of Alameda President. The full video recording of the meeting is available on the Peralta YouTube channel here. 

On June 23, 2020, Peralta Community College District hosted a Community Forum to discuss the intersection of race with security and policing service. Community input is very important to Peralta Community College District as we reimagine and update the way campus security and law enforcement is managed by the District.  Speakers included:

What does Juneteenth mean to you? For Juneteenth (June 19th), also known as "Freedom Day," Chancellor Stanback Stroud gathered Peralta Colleges employees including faculty, classified professionals and administrators in this salon-style panel to discuss Juneteenth, what it means to the African American Community, and the educational implications. You can watch the video on YouTube here. It is one hour and seventeen minutes well spent.

On June 4, 2020, the Peralta Community College District hosted a virtual Town Hall webinar. The focus was addressing the institutional racism pervasive in our society that contributed to the recent murder of Mr. George Floyd by the Minneapolis Police. Peralta leaders posted our statement regarding the killing of Mr. Floyd here. The goal of this Town Hall was to help raise the racial literacy and critical consciousness of the community while providing a safe space to reflect and share resources.