It is important not to read too much into a statement from Tuesday afternoon's Wake County school board meeting by Chairman Ron Margiotta, but it shouldn't be dismissed, either.
Leader of a five-member board majority created with the election last year of members who vowed to end a nationally recognized diversity assignment program, Margiotta has said numerous times that his group isn't backing away, no matter how many protests are held, no matter what polls may say about parents' high level of satisfaction with public schools. Neighborhood schools are the plan, he says, and his majority lost a superintendent over that issue and others.
But on Tuesday, after roughly 1,000 people rallied in downtown Raleigh to support economic (and racial) diversity in schools, Margiotta said something interesting: "This board does not intend to create high-poverty or low-performing schools in the new zone assignments."
Avoiding schools with high concentrations of students from poor backgrounds - a situation that puts students at a disadvantage - is exactly what diversity advocates hope to achieve. Yet the board majority rejected the idea of including in any resolutions about school assignments that sort of promise. Is Margiotta now showing signs of compromise?
Rhetoric and reality
Perhaps the majority faction is coming to realize that its support of neighborhood schools is complicated by several things.
First among them is the fact that most students in Wake County already go to schools in their neighborhoods or within a reasonable distance from their neighborhoods. The idea, therefore, that busing for economic diversity in Wake County is a logistical movement akin to the Normandy invasion is a woeful exaggeration.
Also, though the majority contends it can save the popular magnet program that has drawn diverse student and parent populations into downtown Raleigh and into historically black schools, it's hard to see how. Neighborhood school zones and magnets? That sounds like a formula for oil and water.
Certainly the majority can't be expected to suddenly repudiate its "neighborhood schools" promise. But members well know that the term can by synonymous with "segregated schools" in which most students are poor and minority. And if they're paying attention, they should realize by now that election to a school board seat doesn't bring with it a crown and a robe of infallibility.
Bad old days
The downtown Raleigh rally, held in 90-degree heat under a bright sky, was an inspiring sight demonstrating strong support for schools that will reflect the makeup of this community in all its glories and give all students the opportunities for success they deserve.
Certainly some of the words spoken were angry, and the school board meeting later in the day was marked by protests and 19 arrests. But those marching down Fayetteville Street in the late morning were well aware of how life used to be for black citizens back during legal segregation, when the races were kept separate in public facilities (separate and unequal) and when African-Americans could be eliminated from consideration for jobs solely because of their skin color.
And what was the number one symbol of that society that was belatedly rejected? Segregated schools were that symbol, the highest fence that divided people. It took a long time to tear it down and build a school system that would be the community's strongest symbol of progress. No wonder so many citizens are standing up for it.
As they marched, the ralliers sang that old civil rights anthem, "People get ready, there's a train a-coming." If Chairman Margiotta is not ready to get on board, perhaps he can at least move his board allies to recognize that the train is in the station.
