MOORPARK : District Withdraws Revisions on Hiring

Board members of the Moorpark Unified School District have joined a persistent NAACP critic of the district’s equal opportunity employment policy, forcing administrators to withdraw proposed revisions.

The substance of the policy was criticized at a meeting Tuesday, as well as its implementation by district officials. Board members questioned whether administrators were doing enough to recruit minority workers to balance the current overwhelming majority of non-minority district employees.

“I’m not happy. This doesn’t make me comfortable in terms of where we are right now,” said board member Pamela Castro.

Of the 213 teachers in the district, 184 are white, 20 are Latinos, seven are Asian and two are black. Out of other workers, 138 are white, 65 Latino, four Asian, one American Indian and one black.

Management is made up of 30 whites and five Latinos, according to data presented at the meeting.

After listening to the board debate, Supt. Thomas Duffy withdrew the proposed revisions, which had earlier drawn the ire of a black leader.

“I think it’s an insult to all decent human beings,” said Theodore Green Sr., a member of the Ventura chapter of the National Assn. for the Advancement of Colored People and the parent of a Moorpark High School student.

District administrators contended that the revision was needed to conform to recent court decisions, eliminate unnecessary language “and still do the same thing” as the current policy, said Chuck Smith, assistant superintendent of curriculum and instructional services.

But several board members suggested that the new policy would have placed less emphasis on the need to recruit minority employees.

Some of the board suggested the district should show a preference for hiring minority candidates with lesser qualifications who could act as role models for the students.

Board member Sam Nainoa noted there are no Latino counselors at Moorpark High School. Latinos make up 28% of the district’s 4,800-student population, according to Assistant Supt. Charles Smith.

But board member Patty Waters said the district would have to pay higher salaries to compete for well-qualified minority candidates. Demand is high and the pool is small, according to Waters.