Innovative paths to solutions

Barack Ben-Gal, the budget director of Oakland Unified School District, offers a fresh approach to leadership within a school district. Ben-Gal first worked in Oakland as a Broad Fellow under Dr. Randolph Ward. Ward took control of the bankrupt Oakland school district in 2004. Ben-Gal has worked diligently for the last three years on the policy of Results-based Budgeting and revamping the finance system of the entire district. While the policy went into effect for the first time in the 2005-06 school year and the logistics of the system are still being worked out, I commend Ben-Gal for his innovative way of approaching challenges within the district.

Recently, business school students from across the United States competed in a Case Study Competition at Berkley looking at the Results-based budgeting policy in Oakland. The competition challenged each group of students to address the problems of implementation and sustainability for the program, especially taking into consideration the movement from state-led control of the district to local control in the next few years. By encouraging young minds throughout the nation to address the challenge, Ben-Gal not only created an opportunity to delve into the intricacies of the issues and possible next-steps for the policy, but he was also able to create awareness for business students about how their skills can be used in numerous contexts outside of the corporate world, especially within education.

With more leaders such as Ben-Gal in district positions, we could see phenomenal new approaches to education in the United States.