Dear Superintendent Jack O\'Connell, On September 14, 2007, State Administrator Kimberly Statham tendered her resignation and you appointed Vincent Matthews as interim State Administrator. As broad support of AB45 indicates, it is clear that the people of Oakland and the California Legislature recognize that the time for state control over the administrative functions of the Oakland Unified School District has passed. It is now time for Oakland residents to participate, through their elected Board of Education members, in the selection of a new Superintendent for Oakland Unified School District. Therefore we, the undersigned, hereby call for a community input process, led by the Directors of the Oakland Unified School District Board of Education, to identify candidates for Superintendent, followed by a publicly-noticed Board of Education meeting at which the Oakland Unified School District Board members cast the sole deciding votes for a new Superintendent. * * * This petition will be delivered on Oct. 1, 2007 to: Jack O\'Connell, California State Superintendent of Public Instruction OUSD State-appointed interim Administrator Vincent Matthews Oakland Education Association Oakland Board of Education Oakland Mayor Ron Dellums Oakland City Council California Senator Don Perata California Assembly Member Sandr