At Reese Academy, before school
and after school enrichment
programs are offered from 7 a.m.-
8:30 a.m. and from 4:20-5:45 daily.
Reese will be unaffected by cuts
to the magnet schools.
Photo: Aldine ISD

The 1977 reinforcement of the federal desegregation order for Aldine Independent School district was successful in accomplishing a number of objectives. It helped ensure desegregation; it created schools in underserved areas, such as Acres Homes; and it helped move the largely minority district to academic excellence, causing the district to become nationally recognized, demonstrating that urban Blacks could learn and thrive if given the proper resources. It also reinforced the importance of providing quality education regardless of race or socio-economic status.

Aldine continued to thrive under the desegregation order, but with changing demographics, making Whites the minority in the district. Administrators began to question if the order had out-lived its intent. The district had become predominantly Hispanic.

According to Dr. Wanda Bamberg, Aldine ISD superintendent, the strict guidelines of the desegregation order prohibited them from hiring perfectly qualified staff once they had achieved a certain percentage for that particular race. In other words, applicants were being ruled out for certain positions based upon their race, because the court order mandated that the staff ratio reflect the student body ratio of that particular campus.

“So if we had a qualified applicant, and it could be in any student group, if we had a qualified Anglo teacher, or a qualified African-American teacher, or a qualified Hispanic-American, and they came in and they fit the bill; they had the credentials and they were the type of teacher, as far as the subject area we were looking for, then if hiring that particular person from that particular ethnicity would change the percentages so it was off balance, then we were supposed to keep looking for another applicant,” Bamberg explained. “The identity of our faculty had to match the identity of the students we served. When we made hiring decisions, we had to consider that.”

According to Bamberg, it never caused the schools to be understaffed or underserved, but it did make the hiring process more difficult and at times created hardships for the applicant. Also, once a certain percentage had been met, perfectly qualified students could be rejected based upon race alone. Additionally, students were being bused past schools close to their home to schools much farther away.

Roy Douglas Malonson, who spearheaded the movement for the development of the magnet programs and Carver High School as the city’s only Montessori, strongly protested the move away from the 1977 desegregation court order.

“This is a very serious matter,” he said during a public meeting regarding the issue. This is dealing with education for our children. Dr. Kujawa said it…. Aldine [does] not need to be removed from under the desegregation plan. You needed a court order to be fair to our children. You did it, but you were forced to do so,” he said.

Malonson also warned the school board and citizens of the loss of the $12 million federal grant that went with the programs. He was concerned that eventually, the programs that had made Aldine a model district would be lost.

Federal stimulus dollars provided hope for a way out of the financial dilemma Aldine faced. That was until the passage of recent legislation, House Bill 3646, increasing revenue for school districts ($13.9 million for Aldine) and awarding a state mandated raises for educators, librarians, counselors, speech pathologists and nurses. Those raises amounted to $7.9 million, consuming more than half of additional monies granted by the state.

Aldine ISD currently finds itself in a precarious position. The projected revenue of $444.2 million falls $43 million dollars short of Aldine’s 2009-2010 budget. Currently, the school district has $93 million, but the ending fund balance is $50 million. Aldine’s expenses amount to $40.5 million per month. However, the school district needs at least 2.5 times that amount in the ending fund balance for financial accountability, earned interest, bond ratings, loans and cushioning for bad times. This means, the ending fund balance should be $101.25 million.

District administrators looked desperately for areas to cut that would have the least impact on schools. Administrators made 12 percent of their cuts in district departments (central office, maintenance, operations, and substitutes. Although no one was laid off, they chose to delete or freeze several AISD positions, as they were vacant. Reductions were also made in the use of paraprofessionals (teaching assistants). The district also made several board approved cuts to stipends for educators in certain areas. Incentive plans were eliminated, class sizes increased and expansion projects frozen. But these budget changes would not be sufficient to secure the future solvency of the district.

In order to strengthen the budget, the district would propose greater cuts and it would need the communities support for them. The magnet programs were next. The district scheduled meetings at various academies from December 1 through January 7.

The first magnet school up for elimination was Carroll Academy’s magnet program. It demonstrated the least amount of interest from parents and students among magnet programs on the primary level, and yet, it had the greatest cost. Without a magnet program, Carroll will offer the Core Educational Program of a traditional elementary.

However, Carroll would not be the only magnet considered for elimination. Other schools would be Smith, Stovall, Harris and Hill, all based on the same criteria. Students of magnet programs that had been eliminated would return to their home campus and given first priority for available slots in other magnet programs, with the exception of 4th grade students, who will be given the option of continuing at Houston Academy. Staff will be placed into vacant positions on other campuses.

The order would have given the magnet program a protected status and funds from the government would have been provided for their operation. Also, several events and items were reduced or eliminated, such as the magnet festival and technology fair. The proposed cuts were approved by district trustees  at the January 25 school board meeting before a packed house of incensed parents and student. But Bamberg warns the cuts may still not be enough to meet the needs of the nation’s 12th largest district. Administrators say they still need $18 million to balance the budget.

“The only way we’re going to get additional revenue at this point is to look to the community,” said Bamberg, alluding to the need for increased property tax revenue, which could be as much as 13 cents per $100 value of property.

Ed.- Last week’s story, provided inaccurate demographics for AISD. The correct numbers are 68.2 percent Hispanic, 27 percent African-American, 2.2 percent White.