School Board Discontinues Controversial Student Assignment Despite NAACP’s Opposition

BRADENTON – The school board unanimously approved Superintendant Tim McGonegal's motion to approve “Committee B” and discontinue student assignment to McNeal Elementary despite opposition from Manatee County NAACP, who said the action will reverse years of progress. 10 students will now attend Daughtrey Elementary, which is within walking distance from their homes instead of being bused daily to McNeal Elementary – an hour-long transport.

A population of students residing in Oneco has been divided into “pockets” and bused to other schools for years. Parents have become concerned that their children are unable to attend after-school enrichment and tutoring programs as a result. Because MCAT doesn’t travel that far east, parental access to children while they’re in school has become a problem as well.

“I truly believe that the strongest school is a neighborhood school and parents would be more involved in a school that is near their home,” said Chairperson Robert Gause.

Students that are bused separately to Braden River, Tara or Samoset Elementary Schools will continue to be transported and, according to Superintendent McGonegal, can’t utilize the Manatee County School Choice Program to attend the school of their preference because of the “way the system works.” However, students who want to continue to be bused to McNeal can still do so. Currently, 30 percent of population is choicing out to schools other than the ones they are assigned to.

“I’m trying to give parents the most choices they can have and have a limited number of bus routes,” said McGonegal.

Peggy Delegato, Chair for Education of the Manatee County NAACP said that the organization couldn’t endorse any of the plans because they all discouraged diversity. She claimed that if the NAACP had to pick a plan to compromise with, Committee B (pdf) would be “the most acceptable” because it affected the least amount of students.

“My interest in education stems from my avid interest in ending poverty,” she said. “We need to do all we can to help our children utilize their full potential. This can only happen if we interact with each other. The decision tonight could break down that interaction that has helped make the strides we’re so proud of.”

Opponents of the decision have pointed out that children redirected to lower income schools may lose the initiative needed to surpass the median level. Delegato recommended staff development of curriculum in sensitivity and diversity training and warned that without it students will “drift to the mainstream or lower and not achieve self-actualization.”

She recommended several solutions for the transportation pitfalls, but said it would have to be a community-wide effort to integrate parents and children. The School Board would have to take a leadership role in involving community churches and other organizations. She also suggested that sister schools could have shared activities such as field trips, parent groups formed for projects that would benefit the school, and teaching of respect for minorities through project assignments, all of which would help the cause.

“What we’ve done is open some doors here,” said Barbra Harvey. “We need to look at the big picture and the students want the freedom to go where they want. Parents need the option to be involved.”

McGonegal said that today McNeal Elementary is much more diversified than it was in previous years, so there is no real reason to necessitate integration with residents from Oneco anymore.

“Realignment is much different than it was 15 to 20 years ago,” said Harry Kinnan. “I just want us to be sure we are sensitive to the issues. When we go to school together we learn to work together and we get along better.”