The opening weeks have gone smoothly, but how could they have not? Only a fraction of those eligible took advantage of a new plan under which Hillsborough County students can choose the school they will attend. Officials hope the effort, which succeeds the end of court-ordered busing, will include enough incentives to draw black and white children into each other's neighborhood schools, thereby in a voluntary way keeping some racial balance in the classrooms. Having so few takers takes some pressure off the district in this inaugural year. There are fewer expectations to meet, fewer chances to make mistakes. And dealing with the fallout - the prospect of having more schools become racially identifiable, as families choose ones closer to home - is months if not years away, after the district first establishes what caused any enrollment shifts.
Still, the district should be pleased, even if it has a lot of work to do. A good start sends an important message, especially to black parents, about the district's competence and commitment in promoting equal educational opportunities, the very purpose of court-ordered desegregation. Only a fraction of the 47,000 students eligible - which itself is but one-fourth of the county's public school population - chose to change the school they attend. Officials said that reflected the extent of families' contentment. A closer and more candid explanation is that many families were leery and poorly informed about how choice would operate. The district acknowledged as much, improving its outreach to parents and vowing to do better in the year ahead. It has also made some critical investments in the central city schools.
Expanding the lines of communication will help, especially with new families moving into the district and with poorer parents whose mobility problems may limit the attraction of choice. To draw more black students into suburban schools, or to entice more whites into the central city, the district may need to shuffle or expand the number of specialty sports and academic programs. This is why this year's School Board race in District 5, which covers central and east Tampa, is so important to the black community. The winner will play a major hand in shaping opportunities for blacks in the choice era.
Officials will use this year's enrollment figures as a baseline to measure the shifts in school populations. For the next several years, federal grant money is available to market the program and to tweak or redeploy the "attractor" programs used at 43 schools countywide. To address two early criticisms, the district will make it easier next year for students to apply for both choice and magnet programs and for parents to have more time to shop around before enrolling a child in kindergarten.
The district needs to be open to more aggressive steps if these simpler changes don't work, even if that requires new central-city schools or a commitment of more local funds. The real test didn't start when school opened this month - it begins when school choice starts to change the makeup and public perception of the school system.
