Los Angeles Schools Where White Population is ‘Too High’ Get Funding Cut


Expecting a government program to produce the peace and harmony that society on its own has not, is to engage in wishful thinking. While the ultimate goal might be attractive, the government can only force or coerce through laws and regulations — hardly a method which will work to reduce tensions and emotions.

That some of the remains of the racial tensions that were at a peak during the 1960s and into the 1970s are still with us is a sad reality. But expecting government to fix that is an act of self-delusion. In fact, this is an area where the government is quite capable of making things worse.

The situation with the schools in the Los Angeles area still bear the marks of racial desegregation programs that did not work out as well as might have been hoped.

Outrage has grown at Walter Reed Middle School in North Hollywood, as the school faces layoffs and increased class sizes due to a law limiting funds for schools with a higher white student body.

The Los Angeles Unified School District provides more funding for schools where the white population is below 30 percent.

In a letter to parents, the district noted the highly regarded middle school had been above the percentage for the past couple years.

The racial formula was a condition imposed by court decisions dealing with desegregation in the 1970s.

As just mentioned, this is all policy left over from the 1970s. Proving that there is nothing so permanent as a temporary government program, the effects of those programs remain and the result is the opposite of what was desired.

Several jobs will still be lost and class sizes could grow. For many parents, the race-based reason of “too many white students” has made the cuts more difficult to swallow.

Of course it is. The quality of education provided to students in the Los Angeles public schools should be the same across all schools, regardless of the racial makeup. Ridiculous situations such as this are just reminders of an ugly period in our nation’s history that should remain in the past.

Source: ABC



Share

80 Comments

Leave a Reply

Pin It on Pinterest