Centinela Valley Union Schools to Scrutinize Racial Tensions Study

The acting superintendent of the Centinela Valley Union High School District said Tuesday night that he will review the state’s recommendations for easing racial tensions in the district and act quickly to stem what he called “a white flight” of its students.

Acting Supt. Tom Barkelew called the long-awaited state assessment “a straight and honest report of the allegations of racism” that have divided the district, but he and other school officials declined further comment until they have had time to review in depth its many recommendations.

The 20-page report--which takes no position on the allegations but calls on the board to address the perception of racism--was sent to Barkelew on Tuesday morning from Sacramento and distributed to trustees at a school board meeting that evening.

Barkelew said he will return to the board at its Sept. 18 meeting with an analysis of the report’s recommendations that will distinguish long-term programs from those that can be implemented sooner.

Trustees created a citizens committee to review the report and make recommendations to Barkelew. Board member Pam Sturgeon, who proposed the citizens group, said she would be willing to act as an adviser to the group, if it requested her assistance. The size of the committee was not determined, but district officials said interested people should contact the superintendent’s office.

Barkelew said it is important that the 6,000-student school district act quickly to restore the confidence of parents. He said about 60 white parents of incoming freshmen have requested transfers out of Centinela to nearby school districts, especially those in Torrance and El Segundo.

Calling the transfers an unfortunate “white flight” from the predominantly minority school district, Barkelew said he has turned down all the requests and attempted to allay parents’ fears that the district’s schools are in turmoil and are unsafe.

“You mean you are going to wait until my daughter is stabbed?” Barkelew quoted one concerned father as saying while arguing for a transfer.

Last school year was a tumultuous one in Centinela. Students poured out of classes in two mass walkouts in March to protest alleged racism in the district, and angry black residents frequently disrupted school board meetings. Many black residents remain concerned about the school board’s recent firing of Supt. McKinley Nash and the demotion of Hawthorne High School Principal Kenneth Crowe, both of whom are black. Crowe has since left the district to become the principal at Inglewood High School.

Compiled by the state Department of Education’s Intergroup Relations Office and based on about 400 interviews with community members, the report contained a long list of allegations of racism in the district and countercharges that those allegations were overblown.

“The assessment team frequently heard statements denying the existence of racism in the district,” the report said. “The denial came almost exclusively from individuals of ethnic groups different from those who reported experiencing racism.”

Among other recommendations to ease tensions, the report said the district should:

* Adopt a strong anti-racism policy and establish an ombudsman program to investigate student and parent complaints.

* Enhance its affirmative action program so the diversity of staff members reflects that of the students. Although most of the district’s faculty members are white, 52.4% of the students are Latino and 17.2% are black.

* Provide ongoing training on racism and cultural differences to employees.

* Have administrators and school board members participate in a training seminar on conflict resolution and how to handle controversy.

* Study the performance of students from various ethnic groups to ensure that all groups are succeeding at equal levels.