WELCOME TO MY BLOG

I am running for re-election to the NNPS Scho.ol Board. On this blog I will be posting some of my positions and thoughts about the school system. Please feel free to comment and/or contact me.

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Monday, May 3, 2010

BUSING IN THE NEWPORT NEWS SCHOOLS--ENDING THE COURT APPROVED PLAN

The issue of court approved busing (not court ordered as some people mistakenly claim) has come up during this election. When I ran in 2008, ending court approved busing in Newport News was my main issue.

When I was first elected, I met with several attorneys in the city attorney's office to see what would need to be done to end the busing. New;port News would need to study the issue gather data needed to show that we are a unified school system. The following criteria must be met on order for a school system to be declared unified:

1. THE HIRING AND ASSIGNMENT OF FACULTY AND STAFF
2. EQUITY OF FACILITIES
3. NONDISCRIMINATION IN TRANSPORTATION
4. NONDISCRIMINATION IN EXTRA CURRICULAR ACTIVITIES
5. ASSIGNMENT OF STUDENTS

At the school board retreat in August, 2008, I asked the other members to ask for the necessary data to discuss the issue. They refused, and it has remained a closed issue because of their unwillingness to discuss the matter.

Some of the opponents of ending busing will tell you that it will cost us millions of dollars to go to court to end it. Several attorneys have told me that his is not so--if our study indicates we no longer need to bus and that we are a unified school system. Norfolk and most of the areas around us have ended the court ordered busing requirements that they were under. Why not Newport News?

Let's take a look at NNPS. The school system, and some of the candidates consider magnate school busing, busing to neighborhood schools, and court approved busing in one big category. No so! Busing to magnate schools has NOTHING to do with court approved busing. Parents/pupils apply to magnate schools--this is a choice that parents make. Busing is provided for magnate schools.Neighborhood schools have busing because all children do not live within walking distance of their nearest school. Some students are bused because of the court approved plan. All of these students are bused from the Southeast Central to the Southeast district). We are busing into 6 elementary schools and 2 high schools to accommodate court approved busing.

This year, the ethnic make-up on NNPS is as follows: Black--57%, White--29.9%, Hispanic--7%, Asian/Pacific Island--2.7%, unspecified--3.3%. The original criteria for the school breakdown called for 60-40 split (white to black). With the ethnic make-up of NNPS today, it is impossible to have the 60-40 split in our schools.

According to last years' figures, NNPS is busing 126 students to B.C. Charles, 99 to Palmer, 88 to Yates, 99 to Hidenwood, 115 to Riverside, 172 to South Morrison, 351 to Menchville, and 360 to Warwick. That is a total of 699 elementary students and 711 high school students. As one can see, no busing is occurring in the North and no students are being bused into the Southeast (for the purpose of court approved busing).

How fair are we being to these students? The parents of the elementary students are often unable to get to the school to meet with teachers, to pick u;p sick students, or to take part in the PTA and night activities. The high school students' parents are often unable to get to the schools for the same situations as elementary ;parents, and in addition, many of the high school students are unable to participate in nighttime events because of distance and transportation issues. Both elementary and high schlock students often have to miss a day of school if they miss their bus because they have no way to get to school. Also, think of the hardship on these students; often, they leave home in the dark and return home in the dark. Many are on the bus for 45 minutes to an hour. Remember, these are not students who have chosen to attend a magnet school--they have been assigned to a distant school.

(To be con't)