School Choice Reform Task Force- Final Report

To The Members of the Pinellas County School Board:

As the members of the School Choice Reform Task Force, we have taken on the responsibility of exploring all aspects of the current School Choice Program in Pinellas County Schools, and to determine what, if any, continuances should be made upon the expiration of the ratio cap provision. We have conducted exhaustive research in studying the successes and failures of Pinellas County's program, as well as Florida's state-wide program, and School Choice Programs throughout the country. We have also gathered data from students and parents currently involved in Pinellas County Schools to determine their preferences and priorities in regard to education overall.

At the forefront of our research was the concern over the integration of county schools. Worries over school integration played an important role in the original implementation of a School Choice program in Pinellas County, and we wanted to ensure that these concerns were adequately addressed in our report. A provision in the current program states that no school should have an African-American student population that is greater than 42 percent of its total enrollment. This provision expires at the end of this school year, and the School Choice Task Force was formed to make a recommendation to the school board as to what options the county should explore, and possibly implement at its conclusion. Some of the concerns we needed to take into account were the desires of parents and students to have an integrated school population, the affects of integration on the quality of a student's education, and the possible effects on the overall make-up of any given school's population should the 42 percent ratio be eliminated.

Based on the information we have gathered, it is the opinion of this task force that having and keeping a School Choice Program is important to Pinellas County Schools and their students. Parents and students should have the option to choose the path of their education, and a student should not be penalized with a sub-standard education based solely on factors over which he or she has no control. However, it is also the opinion of this Task Force that the ratio cap provision in place with the current School Choice Program should not be continued beyond its planned expiration of the end of this school year. This opinion is based on the proven success and effectiveness of School Choice Programs in urban areas with similar demographics that operate without ratios. Also taken into account was a majority opinion of parents and students in this county's school system that, while recognizing the importance of integration in schools, does not place it above other areas of importance such as quality of educators, modern facilities and technologies, and the option for magnet schools and tailored curriculums.

An integrated school environment provides for learning opportunities beyond traditional books and lectures. Familiarity and tolerance are characteristics that are learned indirectly and born organically. They cannot be forced or ordered. Exposure to the differences of people at a young age, and continued exploration of those differences as students age, are avenues to developing inquisitive, tolerant adults. But is a coerced, artificial integration to the benefit of the students? By forcing students into an unnatural ratio, are we placing an undo burden on them? We believe that if the appropriate measures are taken a more natural balance can be struck.

By holding schools to an unnatural and arbitrary ratio, administrations are forced to reprioritize their attention and funds to meet the county-mandated numbers, to the detriment of other considerations. If that same attention and those same funds were reallocated to improve the overall quality of a school, wouldn't reason stand that the school would attract a more diverse population? The original intent of implementing a School Choice program was to ensure that all students had access to a quality education. But too many parents and students do not feel that unnecessarily long bus rides, and a sometimes hostile and resentful school atmosphere are acceptable characteristics of a so-called "quality education".

At the conclusion of the current ratio cap that is in place, we anticipate an initial swing back towards the race ratios that existed before the program. However, we feel that the numbers will not change as drastically as pundits would have us believe. We feel that the statistics being thrown around by the proponents of the ratio cap underestimate the feelings of the students and their own opinions on their education -- both academic and social. For academic purposes, the competition for entry into top colleges and universities only continues to grow. In a contest where every advantage could be the deciding factor, it is in the best interest of a student to choose his or her high school institution wisely. And, initially, the quality levels of all schools in the Pinellas County School system are not going to change drastically between this year and next. Socially, there is an incredibly strong yet invisible compulsion driving students to want to be with their friends and the people they know. Since so much of the social development of children occurs in school, we believe their will be a reluctance for many students to change from the familiar. We anticipate the major factors in the swing of the ratio to be monetary concerns and convenience factors. The students most likely to change from a "chosen" school, will be the ones whose parents cannot afford or accommodate the transportation to and from a school located outside of their neighborhood without the additional help from the school system.

It is our hope and our belief that as schools begin to see a financial relief from the dissolution of the ratio cap, they will be able to invest it back into improving their schools and resources. It is also the responsibility of this School Board to ensure that federal, state and local funds are dispersed equitably, and that all schools are given the opportunity to improve and succeed. If all schools in this county can offer a level of quality relative to each other (in terms of facilities, staff, and resources), students and parents can make their choices of schools based on more important criteria, such as magnet learning, convenience to their home, and extra-curricular offerings. When the choice of school is reduced down to the basic level of what does the student like and want to learn, we feel that there will be a trend back to more, naturally, diverse school populations. While the numbers may never reach the levels they are at now, the burden of integration will be removed from the students, and it will not be a cloud hanging over their education.

We would like to conclude our report by assuring the School Board that we are aware of the real-world ramifications of our proposal. We are also aware of the difficulties inherent in improving existing school structures and policies. We understand the financial constraints faced by all of the public institutions in the county's school system. We hold no false beliefs that what we have proposed to this School Board as our recommendation will be easy, or that it will solve all of the challenges that are present in dealing with the racial make-up of our schools. If implementing change was as easy as simply coming up with the idea, then our schools would have been fixed long ago.

We would like to offer to the School Board what we feel are viable, cost-effective suggestions that have the potential to vastly equalize the standing of many of the schools in our county.

• The implementation of more magnet schools: At the heart of School Choice is choice. If a student is allowed control over his or her curriculum, to the point that they can receive specialized training and learning in an area of his or her choice, the greater the chances that they will succeed. An inherent interest in a subject is directly correlated to the desire to do well in that subject. We feel that if the county converts a handful of the existing high schools into magnet schools of various vocations, there will be an increase not only in diversity (since students would have more incentive to pick a school outside of their district), but also in the schools' success and graduation rates.
• Teacher and student exchanges: We would like to see the implementation of inter-county student and teacher exchanges. These would last for one semester, and give both the students and teachers a "trial period" at a different school. It would also allow teachers with specialized skills the opportunity to share their knowledge with a broader range of students. It gives everyone a chance to experience something different with minimal effort. It also ensures that the best teachers are having the opportunity to reach students who need them the most.
• Specialized extra-curricular activities: It is a long-standing "tradition" of students picking their schools based on athletics. We feel that this could hold true for other extra-curricular activities. This can be tied in with the magnet schools, but does not necessarily need to. For example, if a student has a passion and a talent for music, but does not necessarily want to make a career out of it, he or she could have the option of attending a regular curriculum school whose emphasis is on creating a high level school band.

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