Oakland Military Institute, College Preparatory Academy
Minutes
Regular Board Meeting
Date and Time
Thursday January 22, 2026 at 4:00 PM
Location
Address: 3877 Lusk St. Oakland, CA 94608
Room: B104, B Side Building
In response to the expiration of Governor Newsom’s Executive Order N-29-20, which temporarily suspended provisions of the Brown Act relating to public meetings, the Board will resume in-person board meetings.
In Compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act, those requiring special assistance to access the board meeting should contact Carlos Rodriguez at crodriguez@omiacademy.org. Notifications of at least 24 hours prior to the meeting will enable Oakland Military Institute to make reasonable arrangements to ensure accessibility to the board meeting.
Directors Present
B. Cross, J. Brown, M. Mares, S. Bryce
Directors Absent
A. Campbell Washington, D. Clisham, J. Wire
Guests Present
C. James, C. Rodriguez, J. Pike, J. Welcome, K. Wong, M. Streshly
I. Opening Items
A.
Roll Call
B.
Call the Meeting to Order
C.
Public Comment
D.
Ordering of the Agenda
Board Chairman Governor Brown asked to move the action items up at 5:33pm.
II. Approval of Consent Items
A.
Minutes of December 11, 2025 Board Meeting
B.
Personnel Report
Tutors who have a substitute permit are being used as primarily tutors but subs in the event that a math class substitute is needed.
C.
New Contracts
- Mr.Mares asked about the amount of SPED contracts. Governor Brown and Mr. Mares would like a SPED report at the next board meeting.
III. Cadet Commander Report
A.
Cadet Commander's Report
C/CPT Thalia Lopez, alongside Bill Tran, began by explaining that the Military Ball prep is starting now. Grizzly Family will be hosted by OMI, and CA Treasurer Fiona Ma will be present.
Saturday school will have a 1:10 ratio and will have additional cadet leaders. Six tutors will also be present. More adult staff will be present in future Saturday schools.
Mr. Tran has been working towards gathering qualified cadets that will become tutors.
IV. Superintendent's Update
A.
CORE Growth Data
Dr. Streshly asked to have a board sub committee to review the data for charter renewal. OMI staff will be making a packet for charter renewal that gives statistics of the school. Dr. Streshly explained that there were not many schools around OMI that compared to OMI. Most of the schools suggested in the CORE Districts algorithm were in the Los Angeles area.
Councilmember Meetings: OMI Staff Dr. Streshly and CMSgt (CA) James, alongside C/CPT Thalia Lopez, met with Councilmembers Noel Gallo and Zak Unger. They met Councilmember Unger at city hall and Councilmember Gallo came to visit the OMI campus. Mr. Mares requested that the OMI staff make a one page flyer for any time that OMI staff and OMI Cares interacts with the public.
Recruitment: At the time of the meeting, the application count was 18% higher than it was in the previous year. Parent Interviews have been conducted and recorded for marketing use and to understand why they chose OMI.
V. Information/Discussion Items
A.
Math Committee Report
Mr. Pike mentioned that OMI is using a new strategy in the classroom, building thinking classrooms. Dr. Streshly explained that the problem solving domains (specifically word problems) would be the focus of the spring semester.
Mr. Mares asked if OMI Staff could trial having high school cadets as tutors alongside the adult tutors.
B.
Legislature Update: New Laws Affecting CA Public Schools
The Board was asked to review the attachment with legislative update.
This legislative update is provided to inform the Board of Directors of new state laws and policy changes taking effect in 2026 that have direct implications for Oakland Military Institute’s governance, operations, staffing, and campus practices. The summary highlights required areas of board awareness and, where applicable, forthcoming policy actions or administrative adjustments needed to ensure continued compliance with California law.
C.
Financial Update
Ms. Welcome explained that OMI is in a good place financially due to the balances of incoming revenue. The cash balance remains strong, above the average one month payroll line. Average schoolwide attendance was at 96%.
D.
Van Purchase Update
CTEIG funds will be used to purchase 2 new vans in Spring 2026 and plans for an additional 2 in Fall 2026.
This item is provided as an informational update to the Board in advance of any purchase action. Oakland Military Institute is evaluating the acquisition of an additional 10-passenger Ford Transit Multipurpose Passenger Vehicle (MPV) to support cadet transportation needs. The proposed vehicle configuration is appropriate for school use under California Department of Education (CDE) guidance and California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) classifications, allowing operation by non-CDL staff while meeting pupil transportation requirements.
OMI currently operates six Ford Transit MPVs (model years 2016 and 2018). These vehicles show varying mileage and cosmetic condition consistent with long-term school use, yet retain meaningful market value, with estimated trade-in ranges of approximately $16,000 to $21,500 per vehicle. This fleet history demonstrates both durability and fiscal efficiency of the Transit MPV platform.
Staff are sharing this information to brief the Board on anticipated costs, compliance considerations, and fleet context prior to bringing forward any formal purchase recommendation or approval request.
The resources ($307,000) available is from the Career Technical Education Incentive Grant (CTEIG). Two vehicle purchase is due by spring 2026.
VI. Action Items
A.
Approve School Accountability Report Card [SARC]
B.
Approve Declaration of Needs for Fully Qualified Educators
VII. Board Member Comments
A.
Board Meeting Comments
There were no board member comments at this board meeting.
There were no public comments at the board meeting.