Posted on 04/28/2018 5:24:52 AM PDT by Wolfie
Ohio district says it will stop allowing white students to leave district, citing 'racial balance'
An Ohio school district with a growing proportion of minority students says it will stop allowing white students to attend a neighboring district through open enrollment and take public funding with them because it wants to avoid becoming segregated.
The Liberty Local Schools board just north of Youngstown unanimously backed that resolution this week, stepping into the knotty intersection of education funding and race. It cited a nearly 30-year-old state law that districts can object to students enrolling elsewhere tuition-free "in order to maintain an appropriate racial balance."
The situation is an unusual reversal of how racial issues typically play out in disputes over inter-district open enrollment, said University of Oklahoma professor Deven Carlson, who has studied such enrollment. Those disputes tend to be about affluent, mostly white districts trying to exclude students, Carlson said, not about lower-income, more diverse districts trying to retain them, as in this case.
It's been tried before in Ohio and ended up in court. When Akron schools similarly tried to stop white students from switching to suburban schools two decades ago, a judge blocked enforcement of that effort when Akron was accused of discrimination, and the district quickly changed its policy to more broadly ban open enrollment out of the district.
Liberty Superintendent Joe Nohra, who started looking at enrollment when he took that job this school year, found himself defending his district's approach this week.
"Our board is not making a statement that we want to increase our white population or that we want an all-white school district," said Nohra, who is white. "We just don't want the school district to become segregated."
Liberty gets about 125 students but loses about 250 through open enrollment. More than half the incoming students are minorities, while most of those leaving are white, Nohra said.
That contributes to racial disparities between the local population and the public schools' student roster of a little over 1,000 students. Minorities now account for about half the students but less than 20 percent of residents in Liberty Township, according to state data and the most recent U.S. Census estimates from 2016.
But it's not just about race. It's also about money, because certain funding follows the kids.
Open enrollment away from Liberty diverts over $1.5 million in annual funding from a district that can't afford to replace torn books or its dilapidated running track and likely couldn't pass a local tax increase to help, Nohra said. That leaves the district about 75 miles (120 kilometers) southeast of Cleveland scrapping for students in a Rust Belt region whose population has been shrinking for years.
So it turned to an Ohio provision that says if the home district objects to local students enrolling in another public district, that district must refuse them unless tuition is paid.
Liberty loses the most students to Girard and targeted it in the resolution, alleging it aggressively pursues white students from Liberty. Board president Calvin Jones, who is black, took a softer tone, suggesting Liberty simply suffers negative effects as Girard strives for its best.
Girard school board president Mark Zuppo said his district doesn't do targeted recruiting and welcomes any students who choose to attend as long as they're in good standing and the school has room.
"I don't care what color they are," said Zuppo, frustrated to be talking about race at all.
He suggested Liberty should evaluate why so many of its students leave.
Liberty officials say they don't have all those answers, but race appears to be one factor. Some families have directly said or implied that Liberty has become "too diverse" too quickly, but others have said they value the diversity, Nohra said.
By contrast, Girard schools have a significantly higher proportion of white students. They also get higher state marks than Liberty in categories such as academic achievement and growth and improving literacy among young readers, according to last year's district report cards.
It wasn't immediately clear whether Liberty students who already attend Girard would be affected by the resolution.
Meanwhile, the Ohio Department of Education said it's seeking more information about the matter.
“Violence” is such a harsh, judgmental and charged word. They are just “acting out.” It’s part of their rich cultural heritage, a beatiful part of the vibrant cultural mosaic. Who are you to deny them that?
Separation of school and state.
Their job is to provide education, not to balance the races.
Sort of like East and West Germany. Are they going to start shooting students who try to escape?
the children of legal tax-paying citizens are not free to go wherever and are told where they must attend school.
let that sink in
At this point, it is not necessary for colored people to be involved at all-- it is the law of the land. The Civil Rights act opens up any public entity to litigation if they do not tow the line, whether someone is demanding it or not-- so if one school administrator sees he is losing money because students are fleeing his crappy school, all he has to do is find a racial angle to exploit. If we wish to restore freedom of association, to include going to whatever school you wish, you have to repeal it.
A school system not saying out loud that it needs its white students to maintain a suitable proficiency ranking. While claiming the policy shift is to maintain racial balance, officials refuse to acknowledge the loss of white students will reveal an ugly unspoken truth.
“Every parent should be able to send their child to the school of their choice without restriction.”
You’re absolutely correct. Using failing populous at a school is one of the main markers for needing to change things to improve. Otherwise they will continue to be a substandard facility and under educate students. This is all about money.
Colleges and universities do the same thing. Getting an education is all about what your resume will say when you apply for a job. If I am going to be an attorney getting a job with a firm, it looks a lot better with a Harvard law degree than with a degree from some backwoods college no one knows about.
rwood
The bureaucrats will learn soon enough the cost to civil society of their “good intentions” ... again. (But that won’t stop them from “trying” or even admitting they were wrong. To quote Dennis Prager: “Being on the Left means never having to say you’re sorry.”
And send those administrators down the road...
Public schools should be as good or even better than the best private schools. All the reasons they are not are stupid.
Why not just send them straight to a juvenile detention center.
Small, rural district I taught at for many years had two large families “of diversity” move in. Maybe a dozen kids between K-8. Completely changed the school’s atmosphere with their “rich cultural heritage”. Aids had to be hired to deal with some of them, fights became common and overall discipline of too many kids went down hill. Then they moved out. Slowly things are getting back to normal. But everyone is afraid they’ll move back into the district.
People will do what it takes to deal with this kind of problem. St. Louis is pretty much 50:50 black to white, but the city schools are 90% black.
This is a golden opportunity for white liberals to move to the district, enroll their kids in the public schools, and heroically right the balance.
Yes, as Thomas Sowell points out, the Leftists think that minorities are unable to learn unless they have some white kids sprinkled around the classroom.
My sister teaches in a non-city Baltimore school. The administration turns a blind eye to all bad behavior and blames the teachers nonstop. Teachers are not allowed to discipline at all. The administration does not support the teachers one iota for fear of lawsuits from parents and losing their jobs. I cannot believe liberalism has reduced us to this.
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