Good News From An Unlikely Source

The Black Hole: This moniker was as useful for describing the Oakland Public Schools' budget as the end zone seats at the Raiders' home games. We've been in and out of state control. We've cut programs and staff. We've done more with less. In spite of all this, we've managed to make positive strides. Test scores are up. We're working hard to stem the tide of kids dropping out and raise graduation rates. Year after year, it's an uphill battle, especially when we never know how we're going to pay for the the things we need.
The Raiders, meanwhile, have been battling back from a decade of less than excellence themselves. They have had more head coaches than we've had superintendents, which is saying something. They've had flashes of brilliance, and plenty of promise, but putting a winning team together each year is a challenge when you are competing with thirty-one other teams for talent and durability. Of course, the payroll in professional football is just a little different than public education. With all those millions of dollars floating around just down the street from some of Oakland's poorest neighborhoods, it must be somewhat inspiring to see all those kids clad in silver and black even though the Raiders haven't posted a winning record since 2002.
This year Oakland starts with a win before they ever play a game: Every season ticket purchased and paid in full during May and June will have ten percent of its gross donated to the Oakland public schools. That means that even the cheap seats will kick twenty-six dollars apiece into the classroom, even more for seats closer to the action. It's one thing for athletes to make a show of promoting education: "Stay in school, kids. Don't do drugs." It's another for the powers-that-be with the very deep pockets spreading just a little bit of that wealth with the community at large. Maybe this is a trend, a good thing that started in Oakland and grew. Imagine how urban school districts could be affected if each of the professional sports franchises in the area followed suit. It almost makes me feel bad that Los Angeles doesn't have an NFL team.