St. Paul school officials made several changes Tuesday to a drastic district restructuring proposal that they said will cut $10 million in costs and bring $22 million in revenue, satisfying skeptical board members and hundreds of critical parents from the city's East Side.
The plan, which the board is expected to consider March 15, would shift the district back to neighborhood schools. The move would end citywide busing for most schools and close a number of the district's magnet programs, efforts that administrators say have failed to close a persistent achievement gap between white and black students.
Almost 100 black community members attended the school board meeting Tuesday, dressed in black to show their support for the plan.
Although 75 percent of the district's students are members of minority groups, the most vocal criticism of the plan has come from whites upset that the changes would diminish school diversity.
Delores Henderson, a community member and principal of Ames and Sheridan Elementary schools, who helped organize the black parents at Tuesday's session, said their group did not want a small percentage of the community to determine what happens to children of color. "This is the first plan I've seen in the 45 years I've been involved with the district that's dealt with equity for our children."
Superintendent Valeria Silva told board members she will keep the district's French immersion program on the East Side, moving it into buildings formerly occupied by Ames and Prosperity Heights schools.
That move blunted criticism from several community members and business leaders who had accused administrators of systematically ignoring the East Side by closing community schools and placing magnet programs on the district's West Side.
District statistics show that students from the East Side, regardless of race or class, perform worse than other students in the district.
