City Beat

SJUSD audit will look at policies on funding for programs

Board will discuss desegregation at Jan. 25 meeting

By Kate Carter

Desegregation in San Jose Unified School District is the topic of discussion again this week, when the superintendent and school board trustees meet with an independent evaluator to discuss priorities for his review of the district's policies.

Although the Jan. 25 meeting is open to the public, the district's desegregation specialist Sharon Andres emphasized that the meeting is really for the school board.

"It's a board workshop to get input from the board about what they want," she said. "The audience is welcome, but it is not a time where people get up and speak for two minutes. [The evaluator] needs to hear from his employer, the board. It will set the tone and direction on areas of emphasis on our court order. The purpose of this is to hear from the board what it wants to be sure to be incorporated into the evaluation."

Andres added that the public will be able to evaluate the workshop and provide written input.

The board approved a contract with John Grate Associates at its last meeting on Dec. 14. Grate will conduct a two-year evaluation of the district's implementation of the 1984 court order to desegregate its schools.

Grate will review how the district allocates the $30 million annual state desegregation funds to its schools. He will take a look at the effect of school choice on balancing the racial makeup of student populations in secondary schools and how the end of school choice in the elementary schools two years ago has affected their ethnic ratios.

Grate also will assess Hispanic students' results on the SAT9 standardized tests and schools' academic performance index ratings, Andres said.

The evaluation will last through the 2001-02 school year, she said, with an interim report due in September and a major findings report due next January.

The independent audit comes as debate has heated up in recent months over how the district allocates its desegregation resources. Critics of the district, including Area 3 Trustee Carol Myers, who represents Willow Glen, say that school choice creates inequities among secondary schools and has caused Willow Glen students to choose schools outside Willow Glen that have more attractive magnet programs.

Critics also say Willow Glen schools don't receive enough funding to satisfy the needs of their students, which are reflected in their lower test scores on standardized tests. Instead, they say, the money that should benefit Hispanic students is going to students who don't need extra help.

Proponents of the district's policies argue that school choice and magnet programs, such as Lincoln High School's fine arts and San Jose High Academy's international baccalaureate programs are successful, both in providing top-notch education to students and remedying racial inequalities.

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The board workshop is set for Jan. 25, from 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. in the district office's board room at 855 Lenzen Ave. For more information, call Andres at 408.535.6378.

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