Two Oakland schools escape closure District postpones decision to close Burckhalter, Sankofa for another year By Katy Murphy, STAFF WRITER Article Last Updated: 12/20/2007 06:19:56 AM PST OAKLAND — Burckhalter Elementary School and Sankofa Academy will remain open through the 2008-09 school year. School district staff, who had originally recommended that they be closed, decided it would be best to postpone the decision for at least one year. After hearing some of the community input and the remarks from the board, they sat down and decided to re-evaluate, said Troy Flint, the school district's spokesman. Last week, during an emotional meeting at the district office, many speakers urged the district to keep the schools open. Many argued that the closures in recent years have disproportionately affected African-American families. Sixty-one percent of Burckhalter's students and 92 percent of Sankofa's students are African-American. A staff report on recent school closures supp
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