Educational diversity seen at risk

Lack of state funds could derail plans

By Brenda J. Buote, Globe Staff, 9/14/2003

With the state in the throes of a severe fiscal crisis, educators in several school districts in the North region are questioning whether the Romney administration will continue to support plans to integrate their schools.

They point to a lack of state funding for Parent Information Centers, which serve as centralized registration facilities for new students and help match bilingual students with the services they need to succeed. And they note a recent disclosure that the state is trimming the payments it owes to local communities this year by $3.8 million, or 1 percent. The move forces cash-strapped cities and towns to make up the difference, and is drawing fire from local officials who say the state is not honoring its obligations.

"It raises the question, doesn't it, about the possibility of further cuts," said Salem Superintendent Herbert W. Levine, who oversees a 5,400-student district. The Salem school district has in recent years replaced or renovated most of its schools, many of which were built in the 1950s and 1960s and poorly constructed, Levine said.

Districts with state-approved desegregation plans stand to lose the most because they tend to be poorer and rely more heavily than others on state assistance. Twenty-two school districts in Massachusetts have desegregation plans in place, according to the state Department of Education. Five of those districts are in the North region: Lynn, Chelsea, Revere, Malden, and Salem.

"In the past, there were financial incentives for districts to maintain their desegregation plans, but those incentives have either disappeared or are being phased out," said Kimberly Beck, a spokeswoman for the state Department of Education. "These are tough times, and difficult decisions have to be made."

Under a Massachusetts law that dates to the tumultuous era of forced busing, the five districts in the North region were required to come up with a plan to desegregate their schools. The Racial Imbalance Act of 1965 prohibits any school in the Commonwealth from having a nonwhite student body majority in a district with a white majority.

By 1990 in Revere, several schools on the east side were dominated by Cambodian students even though more than 90 percent of its residents were white. There had been an influx of Cambodian immigrants to the city in the 1970s and 1980s, census data shows. The city, as part of its desegregation plan, built the Garfield Magnet School, a technology-rich facility that officials hoped would attract white students to the east side school.

"As we moved through the 1990s, that vision came to fruition, and the student body began to reflect the city's diverse population," said Revere Superintendent Paul S. Dakin. "Prior to that time, we had schools that were predominantly serving minority students, and as those moved to the high school it presented some problems. The students didn't have an understanding of other cultures, other kids. There were tensions. The desegregation plan helped defuse that."

Beginning in 1982, districts with a racial imbalance were granted a reimbursement rate of 90 percent in hopes the surge in state dollars would help them build schools that were large enough and geographically positioned to attract integrated populations. State officials, grappling with widespread budget cuts, are trying to decide whether to change the reimbursement formula.

"It would be an egregious mistake, a message of cavalier arrogance, for the [Romney] administration to change the reimbursement formula," said Levine, whose district is in the midst of building an elementary school and renovating its high school. "Many districts have planned on, and in some cases broken ground on, construction and renovation projects based on the state's promise to reimburse them for those projects."

He and other school administrators said any further decline in state payments could harm future attempts to seek voter approval for school construction projects. Most school construction projects cost millions of dollars and require a local tax increase. Often times, voters demand assurances that state dollars will help pay for the project before lending their support.

"At a time when our budget is very tight, we're having to find more money to provide the same level of services we had two years ago," said Dakin. "If it weren't for an $800,000 increase in our [federal] funding, we would be in a disastrous situation."

Every city in the North region with a desegregation plan took advantage of the 90 percent reimbursement rate to build schools with little cash commitment. Several communities chose to build schools tailored to meet the needs of a specific student population. In Chelsea, one elementary school offers a two-way bilingual program, while another is an inclusion school, meaning that students with special needs are integrated into regular classrooms. In Malden, the desegregation plan allows parents to choose among five elementary schools, each with its own mission. One school focuses on health and the environment; another on math, science, and technology; and a third on international studies.

"We opened the elementary school complex in 1996," said Chelsea Superintendent Irene L. Cornish. "Before that, we had some schools that were predominantly white and others that were predominantly Hispanic. The new complex has helped tremendously. We don't have any issues, as some districts do, as to which school is newer, and which has newer materials. As a result, students choose schools based on their individual interests, and each school attracts an integrated student body."

The same can be said of the elementary schools in Malden, according to Frank Di Chiappari, director of the Parent Information Center in that city.

"We match each student with an appropriate school, based on the needs of the child and the services available," said Di Chiappari. "It helps to equalize enrollment across the five schools."

Despite the success of district desegregation plans and concerns about the state's ability to support them, the fate of such plans may rest with the courts.

Several families in Lynn sued the school district in 1999, claiming that the city's desegregation plan is unconstitutional. In June, a US District Court judge ruled against the plaintiffs and upheld Lynn's school desegregation plan. It was the first federal case in the nation to address the issue of whether school officials can voluntarily take race into account when they craft student assignment plans. The plaintiffs in the lawsuit plan to press their case with the US Court of Appeals.

Judge Nancy Gertner, an appointee of President Bill Clinton, ruled that race can be considered when assigning students in kindergarten through grade 12. Gertner concluded that children benefit from being exposed to other children of diverse backgrounds at an early age.

In her decision, Gertner wrote: "Without meaningful social contact, talk of tolerance and cooperation is nothing but an abstraction."