OAKLAND, Calif. (KRON) – Teachers and students are angry about what they call a sudden, life-altering announcement, as Oakland Unified school leaders are looking into merging 10 schools to help cover a budget deficit. On Wednesday, school board members gave details on the proposed merger at campuses. “Campuses” is the key word because, unlike San Francisco Unified which recently announced merging schools from different locations, Oakland would be merging schools already sharing campuses. Many Californians would back Kamala Harris for California governor, new poll suggests The city is looking to combine resources and buildings, resulting in no changes for students on which campus they attend. But it still leaves a lot of questions. The merger would reduce 10 schools to five. This means combining mostly elementary schools that currently share campuses into one shared school, sharing resources and teachers. The superintendent says this would cut costs without affecting students. The district faces a $95 million budget deficit for the next year. Officials point to low enrollment rates and the end of COVID-19 relief money as part of the reason. Speakers at Wednesday’s board meeting included teachers and students who say they are fed up and demand a stop to the mergers. "This is not the way to make these kids improve. We have a lot of things in place where we do the things necessary, and these kids are scared to lose these services. They're scared to leave programs that we have. We don't want to merge with another system that has another way of teaching,” said one 7th-grade teacher. More teachers also shared their concerns about students falling behind and a lack of communication. Some accuse the district of unfairly choosing Latino-heavy schools in East Oakland.