Parents in Parsippany vent anger [forced busing of wealthier kids]

Daily Record (New Jersey) ^ | 5/23/03 | Minauti Davé

[shhrubbery!]

PARSIPPANY -- Angry parents gathered Thursday night to object to the school district's plan to funnel about 215 students into a newly reopened Lake Hiawatha School in September.

The move, which was expected to be approved by the school board in an effort to address overcrowding issues, would affect four current township elementary schools -- Knollwood, Northvail, Rockaway Meadow and Troy Hills. All are less than two miles from Lake Hiawatha School.

[shhrubbery!]

What liberal rag Daily Record won't tell you is why parents say the move is discriminatory. The government is is actually practicing reverse discrimination here.

The rehabbed school to which the 'economically advantaged' students will be bused, Lake Hiawatha, is the poorer section of Parsippany; it has has a large concentration of apartment complexes.

Forge Pond, from which these students will now be bused, is an upscale development on the other side of the tracks.

[ClearCase_guy]

"Are our children supposed to be pawns to their political game?" asked parent Janice Marchak,

Ummmmmm. Yes. Government schools play political games. You're shocked, Lady?

[genefromjersey]

It is a shame; but it's worth noting: Many times parents in the "up-scale" areas are strongly in favor of forced busing in other parts of the state, or the nation.

Quite often, "liberal" ideas are endorsed by the "Up-scale"- until they come home to roost !

[Modernman]

This is why my kids will be going to private school. I'm not interested in having my kids being involved in a social experiment- I just want them to get a good education (hell, I want ALL kids to get a good education, but the education establishment isn't interested in that).

And liberals wonder why voucher programs are so attractive.

[PennsylvaniaMom]

If they can afford 'upscale' neighborhoods and can 'pay extra' to live close to a particular school, then why not just send the kiddies to a private or parichial school? The cost of the granite counter tops alone could pay for a year of schooling.

[shhrubbery!]

Government schools play political games.

Well I for one had thought forced busing was largely a thing of the past.

When it was done for racial 'balance' back in the '60s and '70s, it was unsuccessful because white parents refused to have their kids bused miles across town -- they either put them in private schools, or left the cities altogether for the distant suburbs.

But now, here we are in the distant suburbs. And the gummint's brought back busing AGAIN!

But this time, it's for 'economic' instead of racial 'balance.'

[shhrubbery!]

Many times parents in the "up-scale" areas are strongly in favor of forced busing in other parts of the state

Very true. This should be a wake-up call to the working mother/soccer moms who typically live in these developments -- and reliably vote Democratic. But will they wake up?

[shhrubbery!]

If they can afford 'upscale' neighborhoods and can 'pay extra' to live close to a particular school, then why not just send the kiddies to a private or parichial school? The cost of the granite counter tops alone could pay for a year of schooling.

Heh. I put in soapstone countertops, myself. Granite's too shiny and 'upscale' looking for me.

I expect a lot of these parents will start to look at private schools, but they're hideously expensive here. It's like paying for college.

I homeschool my youngest. My town, near Parsippany, is too small for forced busing. But that hasn't stopped the schools from going steadily downhill in the last few years.

[shhrubbery!]

I'm not interested in having my kids being involved in a social experiment

Me neither. But even without forced busing, public schools have become one big social experiment, what with all the 'self-esteem' and 'cooperative education' fads taking up classroom time, instead of traditional teaching.

Meanwhile, math and reading test averages in my town have plummeted 20-30 points in the last five years. That's why I took my youngest out and am homeschooling.

[PennsylvaniaMom]

I am working on getting my real estate license, and on some weekends I 'show' (ie, babysit) open houses. What I find amazing about many of the 'upscale' homes that I have been in is the lack of furniture...they will pay for 3000 sq. feet, granite, marble, (soapstone;), high end stainless steel appliances, and have mom's old sofa, and a card table for dining...I have seen this more than once.

But getting back to the original topic (sorry I digressed) these parents need to prioritize...quickly. PaDad and I are in the process of financing our third child's HS education...he is going to go to a Catholic HS...the first two went thru our public school and we are not going down that road again. The younger ones will filter out of the public grade school (and into Catholic school) as our District reorganizes.

[shhrubbery!]

many of the 'upscale' homes that I have been in is the lack of furniture...they will pay for 3000 sq. feet, granite, marble, (soapstone;), high end stainless steel appliances, and have mom's old sofa, and a card table for dining

I've seen that too. And the moms have to work for the family to afford it.

Homeschooling isn't for everyone, but if some of these moms quit working and homeschooled their kids, the country would be better off. Sure, it might mean no granite countertops for some.

(But to continue the aside: We put in soapstone because we have a 110 year old house, and are trying to restore it using period materials. Soapstone was a common counter material in the late 19th century. And, we like it better than granite. Can afford it, and can homeschool at the same time.)

[PennsylvaniaMom]

I have seen it...it is a beautiful material. :)

[Pan_Yans Wife]

Couldn't this busing be deemed discriminatory, based on socio-economics? Children being singled out, because of their parents' income? If the busing in the 60's and 70's was deemed discriminatory, won't this be seen the same way, by the courts?

[mabelkitty]

It worked so well in Cleveland.

All the wealthier blacks and whites left Cleveland for the suburbs, and only the poor folks were left behind to have their kids bussed for "balance".

Businesses were diverted to the suburbs, labor was diverted to the suburbs, consumer revenue went to the malls rather than downtown, and property taxes and prices dropped into the well.

Yes, it worked so well. It single-handedly destroyed Cleveland. The city never recovered, and the schools are in state control and the worst in the nation.

[shhrubbery!]

It IS discriminatory. But reverse discrimination, i.e., that which hurts white or, here, "economically advantaged" children, is OK by the government.

So far, anyway. We should soon see how SCOTUS rules in the Michigan reverse discrimination case. That case concerns college admissions. But I don't believe forced busing programs have ever been overturned by higher courts. May be wrong though.

[shhrubbery!]

All the wealthier blacks and whites left Cleveland for the suburbs, and only the poor folks were left behind to have their kids bussed for "balance".

Exactly right. That's how forced busing "worked" everywhere, and probably why it faded away as an issue: There was nobody left to bus anymore.

[Modernman]

Economic status is not a protected class. You're free to discriminate based on wealth or lack thereof.

[Modernman]

There was a case where forced bussing was overturned. Back in the 80's, the Detroit school districts wanted to force busing between school districts- from the Detroit to the sububrs and vice versa. The courts ruled that since there was no history of discimination between the districts, there was no basis for the bussing.

[Pan_Yans Wife]

Right... I seem to think that those in the lower income communities sometimes hide behind class warfare. To think that it isn't discriminatory, is a falsehood. It may not be given protection, but that doesn't mean it doesn't exist.

[Modernman]

Oh, I agree that picking on the rich is discriminatory, but it's a legal type of discrimination. You can discriminate against people for all but a few reasons (race, sex, old age etc.)