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Wednesday, April 9, 1969The Press-Courier 7(Continued from Page I)(ion and thoughtfulness.In a moment of debate, candidates Maloney and James I). Chambers illustrated disagreement on 'he procedure to end de facto segregation which divided the candidates generally.Earlier Maloney had remarked that the Supreme Court hadMrs. Comer’s time expired before she could reply to thesecond question.MRS. EVA IIEARST, housewife, said, “There’s no question that we do have de facto segregation in Oxnard. The question is what can be doneabout it.”She cited four possibilities:He said the financial system should be “overhauled drastically” and the state should return to the 50-50 level of support it maintained several years ago.outlawed segregation in 1954, 1. Revising school attendanceboundaries, and busing some children to schools outside theRa-yet it still exists in 19fi9. He said that if money were spenton improving the quality of ed-jColonia, possibly closin ucation instead of on expensive busing of children, the problem of de facto segregation wouldpeoplephysician, said he felt it was ‘^ea busing. Since he feltmade in the district. MRS. PAULA REACH, aNelson found himself “on the housewife, said that she was horns of a dilemma,” he said, “dedicated to the proposition because the official policy of that segregation is harmful.” the school board demands cor- Children must learn to live to-rective action, yet most of the gether in a multi-racial world,“too soon ... to have anyfixed ideas on what should bedone to correct de facto segregation in this community.”He said he recognizes thatshe believes, and de facto segregation deprives them of this educational opportunity. “Oncewe learn this is important for our kids,” she stated, “we’ll be willing to put up with minoras bus-mona School; 2: The “Prioce-hHS11!*.0! «»«!““* is «ton Plan,” or cross-busing, to effect pupil exchanges among _____. schools; 3. Bushe said, a child in an Oxnard ing from the beach and Colonia elementary school would be desegregated at the seventh grade, since the district’s two junior high schools are ethnically balanced* Chambers then asked Maloney why, if desegregation at thejunior high school level solved the problem, the junior high and high school dropout rate was so high among minority group students. Chambers answered himself, saying it was because they were already educationally behind when they reached the seventh grade-Tn that case, said Maloney, money should be spent to upgrade the minority group students’ primary education, not to bus them to other schools.The candidates and theirone central educational park for all pupils, which she described as a “distant” possibility.Mrs. Hearst said she felt the final answer should be worked out between the school board and the parents involved. She expressed hope that a scheduled April 29 public meeting would be followed by others from which would eventually emerge a plan most people willsential, but he believes in the neighborhood school concept and would oppose large-scale basing of students “solely for the purpose of meeting requirements of token integration.”Dr. Mason said the federal and state governments should assist local schools with generous subsidies, but that the school board must scrutinize all such funds for restrictions and controls. He said the local board must also carefully watch all matching-fund programs to assure that follow-up funds would continue to be available from outside sources.“Great care and discretionschool loard members should reflect the views of those who elect them. Nelson said he could not strongly support busing, though he does believe in inconveniences (suchdesegregation of schools.Objections Nelson had to bus- T,her,e Ls busi ^ for spe-ing included its expense, its ef- F classes, she noted, so afeet on those who had bought busln« P°hcy would be an ex homes in a specific arwaC,(‘Ne’i0ibnrhond schools mus* ^ used ln should be preserved, if postheir children could attend a specific school, and the inconvenience of attending school some distance from home. He suggested open enrollment (freedom of a child to enroll in any district school) as analternative.The school board, said Nelson, faces a problem not of its own making. Neighborhood schools would be fine in desegregated neighborhoods. Future school sites, he said, should be placed in integrated areas, so as not to increase dein existence. “Busing is inconvenient, but not terrible,” was her observation. At the most a child would only be 20 minutes away by car from home, she said.Mrs. Reach felt the state should split the cost of education 50-50 with the local district. not pay just 36 per cent as it now does. If federal and state agencies could give definite funding figures that local budget planners could count on, it would also be helpful, shesaid.of public money,” he said. facto segregation. MRS. CAROLINE RODRI-JACK W. NELSON, banker. Regarding funding, Nelson GUEZ, 36. remarked that “if;said that to answer the de facto said, “We can’t rely solely on we are going to prevent ignor-1 segregation question directly local funds for schools.” Butwould be premature, as none the district should not re-of the candidates knows the re-jlinquish control of funding pol-!get along now. She urged anend to “bickering and arguing”sible,” she saidShe expressed an interest in Gov. Reagan’s tax reform plan, announced Tuesday. underwhich the state general fund 1,1 UIC ua,,u,uaw:s |'IWW! lI|t' re-[umjuiMi idmuui m iumviews in the order in which would take some f the burdpn! suits of the study now being icy to outside agencies.they spoke I'ucsdav night. 0f school support off the localRICHARD CIIALA, 40. property-tax payer, farm labor coordinator, said he vn11 ip t maiovfv aa would utilize ^ every possible automobile businessman, op-s y u/ t! ' c-seaI 1 ^ posed the large-scale busing ofavailable in an effort to solvejpUpjis achieve ethnic or ra-ance, hate and violence in the future,” we’ll have to learn toand said that calm and rational planning while there is still time could lead to “ending de facto segregation in the fairest manner possible.” She called for equal rights for all, not just for those whose complaints are loudest.Mrs. Rodriguez did not favor mass busing — she said too many problems and too much resentment would follow. B u t some busing might be neces-sray, as well as adjustment of attendance boundaries. Statistics, she said, show that open enrollment doesn’t work.The district should use all the outside money it can get for its programs, Mrs. Rodriguez said, but should not rely too heavily on other agencies to do the job for it. Careful evaluation of such programs to see what strings were attached would also be necessary.MRS. RUTII T. SARGENT,39, a housewife, voiced her opposition to busing, and her support of the neighborhood school concept. Busing, she said was too expensive and disruptive. “I am opposed to busing,” she said. “I don’t like segregated schools, yet I am against busing. We haven’t heard the report.” The district should go slowly until the report was in. she said, and “make sure that what we do will make the majority happy.”Mi's. Sargent advocated assumption by the state of more (up to 50 per cent) of the district’s expenses. She felt the present property tax base too hard and unfair on the homeowners. She cautioned that federally funded programs should not be adopted until it was certain the governmentlocal responsibility,” he said.ROBERT VALLES, 32, a vocational education instructor, said he concurred with the findings of a number of recent state surveys that the elimination of de facto segregation was a fundamental problem of school reform.federal and state funds to finance local schools, because the local people were already paying heavily for educationalfacilities.i De facto segregation must be would not pull out after o n e eliminated, Valles stated, soyear. Thus, she said, programs the disorders in other areas’financed with outside funds I schools would not plague Ox-should not be undertaken un- nard. He believed the commun-ess the district were willing ity needed time to express itsto carry them on if outside desires and opinions on thesupport were withdrawn. matter so the best way to pro-KENNETH N. TINKLE-weed could be found.PAUGH, 51, a scientist-engi- Valles supported the use ofneer, opposed busing and supported retention of neighborhood schools. Busing is expensive, he said, and harmful because it reduces parent involvement in school activities WENDELL L. WHITE, 44. ansuch as PTA, when the school industrial engineer, said. “I is far away from home. think busing and so on is aboutDe facto segregation, s a i d the silliest thing I can think Tinklepaugh, is an economicjof.” He stated that instead peo-problem caused by the group- pie should be taught how to ing of low-ineome housing in raise their children properly, so certain areas. Solve the eeo-the children would not be mili-nomic problems, he said, and tant or. on the other hand, too the desegregation would take reluctant to assert their rights, care of itself. tie also said that television hasHis financial policy included produced a more integrated so-relief of the tax burden on theicdety with fewer regional dif-property owner by increasing Terences, the state’s share of local fund- White advocated paying stu-mg. “Education is a federal in-dents as well as teachers to terest, a state function, and aiprovide incentivethe problem of de facto segregation.lie said the school district “should try to stay within the guidelines established by t h e state and federal governments”cial balances.“By jockeying teachers andstudents from pillar to post, 1think you’re destroying what inmy opinion is the basis of a., , ... .good education — and that’sbut avoid having a so ution neighborhood school.”“forced down our throat. He He described the neighbor-said any S(!lul,on must be in bood scbooi sys,teni as the “best keeping with the principle of bask. way„ operate a djsmajonty ruje. trict, and said that Oxnard’s hasChala said the district should boen frcp nf major problemstake advantage of all possible 0n school finances, Maloneyfederal financial assistance, sajd jbe taxpayer js nobut avoid having “things forced ]onger abIe to car^ \he h upon us as a result. burden for ^ of ed *JAMES D. CHAMBERS JR., tion. and called for more gen-45, electronics technician, said, erous state and federal assist-“Segregation of any kind — beiance.it black segregation, white He said the local district segregation, brown segrega- should work through state leg-tion. red segregation, or yellow islators and its congressman to segregation — is morally, eco- see to it that federal monev nomically and socially wrong. was allocated to the state and And Oxnard, he said, is bad- then distributed through “t h e !y segregated. He cited statis- line of least resist a nee” to the tics showing that of 3,211 chil- local district for use as it sees dren of minority group par- fit.ents, a full 9ft per cent were JOHN B. MARSHALL, 40 concentrated in four of the dis- incumbent, an attorney,’ told trict’s 12 elementary schools, the audience: “Without any He deplored the situation as question. I’m against cross-an impediment to the development and achievement of the pupils involved.“If I am elected, I will do all within my power to find a workable solution to end this problem,” he said.busing to eliminate de factosegregation.”He acknowledged that ethnic imbalances in the district are a serious problem. The present board, he said, was moving very cautiously in its approachChambers cited the heavy to a solution.burden put on local schools by He cautioned his fellow can-the several near-by military didates and the audience to. use bases as illustrative of the need care and thoughtfulness in dis-for larger federal aid. He said cussing the matter, he felt the .state should also “If we don’t approach it make a larger contribution.!carefully ... we will have a but cautioned against surren- battleground in this communi-dering local control in exchange Ity and ... it wall be the chil-for outside assistance. dren who get hurt,” he said.“Don’t get excited ...”Marshall said it would probably take several years to eliminate de facto segregation, which is really more of a city planning problem than one of the schools. He blamed the conMRS. JEAN H. COMER, 32.homemaker, said she felt that a school board member could comment on de facto segregation only as a legal issue, and not as a moral one.She said federal and state ... high-court decisions clearly led Auction of too much low-cost, to the conclusion that de facto h'gh-density housing in the segregation Ls illegal and di- n‘0ma area for a large part rected local school districts, in ,.!bf! difficulty, effect, “Folks, do something VVhiIoL the legal question is about it.” somewhat indefinite, he said.Mrs. Comer pointed out that as. ,b's moment I know ofexisting Colonia area schools no 'aw ’^at requires us to act are filled, and 300 students are • solution that is not now being bussed out of the!accef),ab‘e a niajority of this area to other schools because T’ommunity is not a good solu-of overcrowding. The school!'1®!’ , , .district, she said, cannot build [] fbe finance question, Mar-new schools in Colonia because ,lal* Scried the existing situa these w'ould be *egregated. ,10r! as a “hodge-podge in“The only obvious thing that can be done to bring about racial balance,” she said, “is to physically move the children from one location to another on a school bus.”which budget making is complicated by uncertainty over income and the board must set salaries — 80 per cent of total outlays — before knowing whatit has to spend.iAAMCOTRANSMISSIONS’Over •70 AAMCO Centers m CaliforniaGIVES YOU COAST-TO-COAST SERVICEMAJORCREDITCARDSOK{Most Osni*n;YOU CAN TRUST YOUR TRANSMISSION TO ANY OF AAMCO’S 550 CENTERS.WORLD S LARGEST TRANSMISSION SPECIALISTSOXNARD229 So. 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Newspaper Details
Oxnard Press Courier
Oxnard, California, US
Wed, Apr 09, 1969
Page 1
Full Page
Clipped by
California S.
CA, DZ 18 Jun 2021
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