Students Call a Halt to Walkouts After Talks With Board : Education: State Schools Supt. Bill Honig announced that allegations of racism at Centinela Valley schools will be investigated.

Student protesters called off demonstrations at two South Bay high schools Thursday after they said school board members told them the board is committed to investigating claims of racism in the district.

Meanwhile, State Supt. of Public Instruction Bill Honig announced that he will send a representative to the Centinela Valley Union High School District today at the request of Supt. McKinley Nash to look into allegations of racism made by students, teachers and administrators. Honig said in a letter to Nash that the state Department of Education will work with the Office of Civil Rights and the Department of Fair Employment and Housing.

To protest alleged racism, hundreds of students walked out of Leuzinger High School in Lawndale Monday morning and then walked to Hawthorne High School, where their number reached about 2,000. Smaller demonstrations occurred on both campuses Tuesday. Police made about a dozen arrests each day and reported several fights and the looting of stores during Monday’s protest.

The walkouts were organized to protest the resignation of Ken Crowe, the popular black principal of Hawthorne High School, and incidents including offensive cartoons that targeted minority district administrators.

District spokesman Dan Finnegan said school officials welcome the state investigation and the end to student protests at Hawthorne and Leuzinger high schools.

“Any prevention of disruption of the schools is certainly good news,” he said. “We’re looking forward to ending this whole thing.”

School board members, who could not be reached for comment after their meetings with students Thursday, have previously stated that the board is committed to addressing claims of discrimination within the district.

At a press conference called after school Thursday, protester Malcolm Ratliff, 17, said he and other protest organizers would give school board members time to look into allegations of racism.

“The board members told us that they will help us and work with students more closely,” the Leuzinger High student said. “They said students should come to school board meetings more often instead of protesting. We’re going to give them a chance.”

Two board members met at each of the two high schools with small groups of students Thursday afternoon. The student meetings will continue today and separate meetings will be held Monday with parents at Hawthorne High, Finnegan said.

“The meetings went very well,” Finnegan said. “The school board was satisfied; they heard a lot of concerns and they will start looking at them.”

Ratliff, one of four students suspended from school Wednesday for participating in the protests, said the walkouts on Monday and Tuesday were successful because they brought school board members to the table with students.

“At first they would not even talk to us,” Ratliff said at the press conference, which was held on his front lawn. “Now they took time out of their work day to hear our concerns.”

Police agencies reported no disturbances at either campus Thursday.

While protest organizers vowed to temporarily call off the walkouts, some still expressed dissatisfaction with the school board.

“We know that we’ve been heard, but not all our concerns have been answered,” said protester Michael Davis, 17, a Leuzinger student.