by Jim Morrison
The Racine Taxpayers Association for many years has backed neighborhood schools as the best means for promoting quality education for the children of the district.
At this point Racine and Milwaukee are the only Wisconsin communities with desegregated school systems. Milwaukee’s school system was desegregated in the 1970s by court order and Racine desegregated its school system to avoid a court-ordered action like the one that wrought havoc in Milwaukee. Most of the nation’s schools have abandoned the program and now neighborhood schools are the accepted method. It is time for Racine to get in step with the rest of the nation.
What do we accomplish with desegregation? Very little, if anything, in my opinion except to make the bus companies very happy and profitable. Our children spend many unhappy hours on their long, needless bus rides and most parents are aggravated that their children cannot attend schools close to their homes.
This rancor was demonstrated when Dr. Hicks unveiled his ill conceived redistricting plan. Over a period of several weeks or more parents from 12 different school districts picketed outside district headquarters to protest forced busing of their children from their neighborhood schools.
The general public, including parents, want neighborhood schools. Every poll, focus group programs, etc., show that people of all races—white, black and Hispanic prefer neighborhood schools with modifications for special focus schools.
In a referendum six years ago, the public showed its strong support for public schools by authorizing the spending of more than $10 million to build what has become the Julian Thomas School. That authorization was based on the promise that Julian Thomas would be a neighborhood school. It was to be the first step in the move to cut busing and return to neighborhood schools.
We don’t need any more surveys, straw votes, etc. The people have shown their strong support for neighborhood schools, including the money spent to build Julian Thomas School. The time for foot dragging is over; the time for action is now. The RTA urges every RUSD school board member to vote for the children and their parents by going on record for a redistricting plan that emphasizes neighborhood schools and puts the project on the must-do-now list.
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