Race and space -- Grade configuration, overcrowding, desegregation high on Unified's agenda

By Brent Killackey

Monday, November 13, 2006 2:09 AM CST

The Racine Unified School District's chief financial officer is suggesting the district undertake a minor redrawing of attendance boundaries for the 2007-08 school year, followed by more significant changes for 2008-09 that take into account board decisions on desegregation and grade configuration.

Roger Dickson's recommendations were passed along this week to Unified's School Board, which has yet to solidify a time line for making redistricting decisions that are expected to lead to more efficient use of the district's schools and reduce transportation costs.

Additionally, the board has to decide on a recommended equity and access policy that desegregates not only by race, but also by socioeconomic status. There are some board members who would rather see the district move to neighborhood schools, putting students at the geographically closest building without worrying greatly about racial balance.

In a memo, Dickson recommended a first phase consisting of rebalancing schools to alleviate severe overcrowding, improving the most obvious deficits in delivery of services for students with disabilities and reducing transportation costs. Under the timeline, a recommendation would go to the board in February 2007 for implementation for the 2007-08 school year.

The second phase gets a bit more complicated because it looks not only at desegregation, but also grade level configuration and long-term enrollment and facility needs.

The timeline anticipates a board decision on desegregation in March 2007, a decision on grade level configuration by November 2007 and recommendations on 2008-09 boundary changes going to the board by February 2008.

A few board members previously expressed interest in moving more quickly.

Board member Brian Dey wants to settle desegregation issues soon, so the district can proceed to make any changes for the 2007-08 school year. He's a fan of neighborhood schools and he believes the community has expressed that opinion in previous surveys and forums.

"I've been trying to tell them there's a sense of urgency on this in two respects: The desegregation thing needs to be settled," Dey said. "The second part is we need to find efficiencies."

But with so many related decisions to make - and a desire by some board members for additional public input - some board members doubt the board could settle everything in time for a major redistricting for 2007-08.

At this point, the School Board hasn't discussed the administration's recommended time line, Board President Sue Kutz said.

"The board really didn't discuss it at all," Kutz said. "Administration presented it as a possibility."

The board is awaiting other pieces of information before deciding how it would like to proceed, Kutz said. That other information includes a survey of district residents and a demographer's examination of how a proposed equity and access policy might work with neighborhood schools.

Kutz expected the redistricting issue to next be discussed either later in November or early December.

The district hasn't redrawn attendance boundaries in more than a decade, leading to the current situation where some schools are overcrowded while others are underutilized. If students can be better balanced among schools, the district may be able to save money by needing fewer teachers.

Special Offer: Get 5 Weeks of the Journal Times for $7!