Opinion: Concentrate on education, not on racial ratios

According to these articles, it seems as though this choice plan is backfiring on those who forced it upon us in the first place. Whatever happened to going to the neighborhood school that I could walk my child to? Isn't it enough forced integration to have most of the desirable magnet and fundamental schools in south St. Petersburg, where my child would have to make an hour round trip each day if he were to attend?

According to all of the schools that I attended on tours and discovery nights, all children in any Pinellas County school are required to have the same knowledge at the end of any given grade before being passed to the next. They are all being provided the same education. That is what is important.

We should be concentrating on how to give our children the best education possible instead of worrying about ratios. There will always be a group that is unsatisfied. You can't please everyone.
-- Tina Mitchell, St. Petersburg

The hazards of segregated schools

In your Feb. 27 story Will choice segregate schools?, a mother said she would be okay with segregated schools if equality of money and materials were guaranteed. But if black and white students don't learn to get along and work with each other as children, can black students really expect equality of opportunity in life?

If white children have no interaction with blacks as children, will false stereotypes prevent this future white majority from giving qualified blacks the chances they deserve to succeed in their chosen careers?
-- William G. Howard II, Tallahassee, Gibbs High School Class of '79

Getting around the skin-color question

Re: Ratios leave empty classrooms, Feb. 26.

According the lead article in Wednesday's Times, hundreds of students will not be allowed to enroll in their choice of high-quality schools because their race is not the desired one according to the goals of the NAACP Legal Defense Fund. That sounds like racism to me.

Our children's education should be the top priority, therefore perhaps it is time for a little paperwork civil disobedience. There are many in America who are not 100 percent of any single race/ethnic background. What would happen to the micromanagement of school choice based on race if all parents refused to answer the question of race or indicated that their students were of "mixed" race on the all school paperwork?

Let's try judging our children on the content of their character and not on color of their skin.
-- Maureen Pagan, St. Petersburg

Drop the ratios now

Let me get this straight. There are 400 openings at the brand new Thurgood Marshall school, and hundreds more openings at other new and revamped schools: magnets, fundamentals, partnerships, etc., loaded with resources in south St. Petersburg. Hundreds of neighborhood children have applied, but cannot attend because they are the wrong color. What is the difference between now and the 1950s? Nothing, except that instead of George Wallace it is now NAACP Legal Defense Fund attorney Enrique Escarraz and the Pinellas County School Board standing in the doorway blocking the African-American children from coming in.

The School Board approved this discriminatory and expensive plan, over the strong opposition of thousands of parents, black and white, north and south county, who want neighborhood schools and a focus on student achievement, not ratios.

Drop the ratios now! Take it back to the courts if you must, but the African-American children cannot be denied access to these schools and must be able to benefit from these school resources, paid for by my tax dollars and yours. It is intolerable, unlawful and wrong. It will only continue the social and economic divide in our city and county that no "diversity" ratios can hide.
-- Janice Kant, member, Citizens United for Shared Prosperity, St. Petersburg

Use the class space we have

Re: Ratios leave empty classrooms.

Every day we are bombarded with news of how we need to have smaller class sizes and the need for more schools so that we might achieve that goal. And now, we're ready to leave half empty some of those badly needed classrooms that we already have because a favorable racial ratio can't be attained.

Don't misunderstand, I'm all for racial equality in schools, but until we can achieve the goal of smaller class sizes and get those new schools built and the new teachers hired, for heavens sake, let's at least make the best use of those resources that we already have. I don't know about you but this is a no-brainer as far as I'm concerned.
-- Conrad P. Lombardo, St. Petersburg

Fears are not imagined

Re: Will choice segregate schools? Feb. 27.

In this story, Poul Hornsleth of the NAACP Executive Committee, talking about new schools in black neighborhoods, is quoted as saying: "I think a lot of (white) people didn't even look at the opportunity there because of imagined fears."

Hornsleth's comments are fairly naive. A drive through an area within a three-block radius of any of the south St. Petersburg schools will reveal streets littered with debris, neglected homes and lawns, drug dealers and prostitutes. A review of the same area's 911 calls and crime statistics regarding shootings and other violent crimes will show them to be remarkably higher than in the same area around schools located in the north part of town.

Diversity and integration are worthy objectives, but until the infrastructure of the neighborhoods around these schools improves and crime and blight are consistent with the other schools' surrounding neighborhoods there is not an "imagined" fear, but a reality that many parents, black and white, do not wish to engage.
-- John F. Jewell, St. Petersburg

A lot of money for little results

Re: School choice.

What a joke. Millions of dollars are spent in planning and millions more are planned to be spent in implementing a system that gets about he same results as the old one. Instead of 10,800 children being bused it will only be 9,800. This was described in a Feb. 22 article (Burden still on black students) as being "a little better" for the amount of money involved. This is not sufficient.

Perhaps if this fiasco were scrapped the money could be plowed back into the schools and used to keep the teachers' aides employed, or increase salaries, or buy books, or just about anything more productive than what it is being used for now.

The racial balance requirements that cause black children to be bused all over the county rather than attending brand new schools right in their own neighborhoods is also asinine. The Feb. 27 story, Will choice segregate schools?, quotes an NAACP member as saying, "Ending the quest for diversity in schools would be an "unacceptable' step backward, defying the realities of a racially mixed world." This makes no sense. The reality being defied is that Pinellas County is not very racially mixed. What sense does it make to bus children of any race across the county to attend school far from home? How many of these children get right back on the bus at the end of the school day, return home and proceed to socialize with the children living in their own neighborhoods? Vastly more than those who actually form any lasting relationships in the area of their school, I would be willing to bet.

Another quote from that story: "What's needed . . . is a more spirited effort . . . tell (white) parents about new schools in black neighborhoods . . . that offer attractive programs." More baloney. As an expectant father I can say with confidence that I will always lean toward a school close to home over an attractive program at the opposite end of the county requiring hours a day on a bus. When I send my child to school, I want him to be close enough that he can stay after school and participate in activities without forcing us to drive all afternoon to pick him up afterward. I want him to have friends at school that live close to us so that he can visit them and spend time with them. This has nothing to do with whether the school is in a white or black neighborhood and everything to do with my son having the best possible blend of home and school life.
-- James Carruthers, Oldsmar

Pasco schools offer nutritious meals

Re: Cut the school cafeteria slop, letter, Feb. 20.

The Pasco County schools' Food and Nutrition Services Department is very proud of the efforts our schools make to serve quality foods in a fresh and appetizing manner. We offer a variety of fresh fruits and vegetables every day. All of our meats are carefully selected, not only for their nutrient value but also customer preferences. They are fully cooked and seasoned. We have not served canned peas or prepared raw poultry products for several years. Our garden salads contain iceberg and romaine lettuce, red cabbage, shredded carrots and tomato. Students may also choose to add lettuce, a tomato slice and pickle chips to any hot or cold sandwich. Our carrots are the finest baby carrots and are purchased in the peeled and ready-to-serve form. We have eliminated some snack items like prepackaged cakes and cookies, and encourage flavored milk chuggers and healthy snack alternatives as an a la carte purchase.

Currently, 84 percent of our elementary students participate in the school lunch program each day. We have a registered dietitian on staff who monitors our menus for their nutrient value, and we have area specialists who visit each school to ensure our meals are served in a safe manner, presented well and are of high quality.

The goal of school food service always will be to offer nutritious foods of high quality in an atmosphere of friendly service each day. We encourage our students to choose wisely.
-- Richard P. Kurtz, director, Food, Nutrition and Distribution Services, District School Board of Pasco County

DEP has right approach on water runoff

In the Feb. 16 editorial, From watchdog to lapdog, it was stated that ChevronTexaco has a petroleum storage site located at the Port of Tampa and that ChevronTexaco has a permit to discharge wastewater from its property into Tampa Bay.

ChevronTexaco does not have a facility located at the Port of Tampa. At our Port Tampa Terminal, which is located adjacent to MacDill Air Force Base, not in the Port of Tampa, Chevron does not discharge any process water or water that has come into contact with hydrocarbons from its terminal operations. Those waters are stored and shipped to a petroleum recycler for treatment. Chevron does have a permit to discharge noncontact stormwater from its property.

In 2002, a third-party consultant conducted studies of the surrounding properties to better understand the cause of the metals concentration in the runoff. The study showed that the metals concentration in the runoff from all the lands in the area was similar to and in many cases higher than that from the Chevron facility. Similar concentrations were found even from undeveloped property. This indicates that the metal concentration levels are a naturally occurring phenomenon, and not related to the operations of this facility.

Obviously, the situation is more complex than it appears, and DEP's approach is justified.
-- Steve Moore, terminal manager, Port Tampa, Chevron Products Co., Tampa

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