February 10, 2015
Dear Sylvia,
Thanks for coming to Casa Maria.
I think we fundamentally disagree with you on some main themes, but talking with you and Terry Higuera really helped us think about desegregation and how we as parents and the larger community can move forward to advocate and organize for a more just TUSD. Ultimately it’s all about better educated kids.
We understand that no matter what is just or unjust, right or wrong, there is a court order that exists. But it is only a court order, not a commandment that came down from heaven.
We would like you to do whatever you can so that the $63 million a year in desegregation (or whatever the exact number is) goes towards having strong effective magnet schools in areas suffering from poverty, no matter how integrated the schools are.
We sincerely believe that it is not possible or realistic to expect all these schools to become integrated.
There are simply not enough white kids.
Equity in schools, equity in academic achievement District-wide is our priority.
Trying to write grants or beg the District to shift Maintenance and Operations funds around to accomplish this, feels unacceptable to us.
However, we did hear what you suggested regarding “good faith efforts” at integrating our magnet schools, and we are contemplating how we could accomplish this, especially in regards to our participation in developing the comprehensive magnet program plan for Ochoa.
We also liked your input on Charter schools and how we might aggressively battle them for students, so as to increase integration and make public education better for the children.
Thanks for adding us to your list and we look forward in collaborating with you in the future.
Brian Flagg, James Ojeda, Cesar Aguirre, and Gilberto Contreras