Board Opts to Stay Neutral on Pupil Shift : Schools: The Arcadia school board has decided not to take a stand on whether Sierra Madre students should be transferred from Pasadena Unified to Arcadia.

Whether Sierra Madre students should be allowed to switch from the Pasadena Unified School District to Arcadia Unified will get its first public hearing tonight.

A final decision isn’t expected until the fall of 1990, but at least one of the players has already taken a stance, of sorts.

Earlier this week, the Arcadia school board voted to remain neutral, saying its school district of 7,500 students could absorb the 632 Sierra Madre students who now attend Pasadena public schools.

“This isn’t to say that at some future time we might not move toward opposition or support,” said Arcadia board member Joann Steinmeier. “I don’t think we have enough information to say what the consequences would be.”

One variable is how many Sierra Madre students who now attend private schools might cross over into Arcadia public schools, if the redistricting drive is successful. Those favoring breaking away say that, based on 1988 census figures, there are 1,900 school-age children in Sierra Madre.

And, based on an informal parent poll, secession proponents estimated 1,200 children, counting current public school students and those who would switch from private school, might move to the Arcadia system.

Arcadia officials say they are skeptical of that figure and need more information before they decide whether they favor the switch.

The hearing, organized by the Los Angeles County Committee on School Reorganization, is the result of a controversial proposal by a group of Sierra Madre parents to secede from the 22,000-student Pasadena Unified School District and annex Sierra Madre to Arcadia Unified.

Those parents, from mainly white and middle-class Sierra Madre, say they have concerns about Pasadena schools, where class enrollment is now 90% minority children and students score in the bottom third on standardized reading and math tests.

But some members of an opposing parents’ group called All Children Count have accused the Sierra Madre group of racism and say parental fears are greatly exaggerated.

Sierra Madre Parents for a Better Education, the group that sparked the secession drive, denied the allegations of racism. Spokeswoman Susan Lavoe said members of her group want what is best for their children. She cited concern with eroding test scores in Pasadena schools and rising problems with gangs, drugs and violence.

And the Pasadena school district, which with all others receives state funding based on the number of students enrolled, is chafing at the possible loss. It has authorized $25,000 for an attorney to stave off secession, which it says would hurt existing school programs.

School officials say that, even if the secession drive is successful, there will not be any changes until July, 1991.

After a second public hearing next Wednesday in Arcadia, the county board has 90 days to make a recommendation to the State Board of Education. The state will probably take three or four months to rule. If the state finds in favor of redistricting, the issue will then go before voters, with election boundaries to be set by the state.

Marc Forgy, secretary to the Los Angeles County Committee on School District Reorganization, said the county and state committees weigh concerns such as whether the move would substantially alter community identity, promote ethnic or racial discrimination or segregation, disrupt existing educational programs, or increase state costs.

The state committee receives up to nine reorganization proposals each year, and Forgy said the last three have been denied.

Tonight’s hearing begins at 7 p.m. at Pasadena High School.

NEXT STEP

The second hearing will take place at 7 p.m. at First Avenue Junior High School in Arcadia. The county board will make a recommendation to the State Board of Education, which will decide whether to allow an election.