The demonstration came one day before trustees are scheduled to meet, and organizers said they plan to press their demands during Thursday's board session. Measure N and H commissioners sent a letter to the school board last month outlining their concerns.

"Our futures are not your budget fix, our dreams are not expendable, and our schools are not businesses to profit from," said Skyline High School student Jonas Jones, addressing the crowd.

Jones said the programs funded by the parcel taxes have outsized importance for students in underserved communities. "When you are a young person of color growing up without an abundance of resources or opportunities, these programs, courses and support systems instated by such a fund as Measure N and H can make a complete utter difference in the direction of someone's entire life," Jones said.

Measure N, approved by Oakland voters in 2014, funds college and career readiness programs across the district. Advocates say graduation rates have risen and dropout rates have fallen since its passage. Voters renewed the funding through Measure H in 2022.

But critics say $3.5 million in reserves were redirected to cover operational costs without the required approval. James Harris, a Measure N/H commissioner and former OUSD trustee, said the move overrode objections from school leaders and the commission itself.

"High school principals said 'no,' the Measure N and H commissions voted 4-0 'no,' the school never voted on the matter, (and) the district spent the money anyways," Harris said.

The dispute is also renewing scrutiny of the district's long-standing budget deficit. Carmelita Reyes, principal of Rudsdale Continuation High School, criticized the use of reserve funds to address a structural shortfall.

"Reserves are for emergencies," Reyes said. "Reserves are not for 'I didn't make a plan for many years for a budget issue that is ongoing and everybody saw and didn't do anything about.'"

The district said an independent review conducted by Eide Bailly LLP, commissioned by the Alameda County Office of Education, found no evidence of fraud, misappropriation or illegal fiscal practices. According to OUSD, the review examined every dollar charged to Measures N and H in the 2025-26 school year and found that the transferred costs were overwhelmingly the pay and benefits of pathway teachers and case managers serving high school students.

The district also said it reversed $159,447 in staffing charges where costs exceeded the documented pathway share and is reviewing smaller remaining differences identified in the report.

OUSD said using parcel tax reserves was part of a budget-balancing plan the Board of Education adopted in December 2024 to address a $95 million deficit, and that the specific positions and amounts were presented publicly to the commission in June 2026.

In a statement, the district said it takes the commission's concerns seriously, including its demand for a formal vote on allocations, and will work toward a clearer approval process.

"We look forward to working with the Commission and the Board on a clearer approval process going forward, so that questions like this don't arise again," the district said.

The review also noted that neither measure lays out a separate approval step for reserve or contingency spending — a gap both the district and commissioners appear willing to address.

For families in the crowd Wednesday, however, the immediate demand was simpler: put the money back. Organizers said they intend to keep the pressure on trustees as the board weighs next steps on a funding stream that has become central to Oakland's college and career pipeline.