400 Confront Orange Trustees Over Grant Ban

About 400 parents, educators and residents confronted trustees of the Orange Unified School District on Monday over a proposal that could prohibit schools from accepting grants for social services such as free breakfast and medical checkups.

“The twisted logic of taking these programs away reminds me of those who would rather spend $10 million on a new jail rather than spending $100,000 on youth programs,” said parent Chris Caines.

“What message does this send?” It is, she said, “one of affluence and contempt and being out of touch with the community. Shame on you. You work for us.”

The public hearing at Portola Middle School pitted five of the district’s trustees, who say that schools should focus exclusively on academics, against those who contend that schools should help some students with personal needs. The five trustees make up a majority on the seven-member board.

Most of the approximately 70 people who addressed the board spoke against the proposed policy and were greeted with cheers and applause.

But school board President Martin Jacobson said he doesn’t believe any compromises can be reached because most trustees agree that parents should assume responsibility for their children’s needs and not look to schools to solve all problems.

“The meeting hasn’t really changed my mind,” Jacobson said. “I haven’t heard an argument tonight that says if students don’t receive services at school they won’t receive services at all. I don’t disagree that children have these needs, but if you do it during the school day, you’re taking away from educational time.”

The proposed policy could prohibit schools from seeking funding for medical, dental or counseling services, and for programs such as Head Start for low-income preschoolers and the federally funded free breakfast project.

Jacobson said he and other trustees will explain their views and clarify the policy at Thursday night’s school board meeting, when a vote is expected on the issue.

The policy targets all 37 district schools, but Lampson Elementary is likely to be the most affected because it already offers extensive medical, dental, counseling and other social service programs through its “Heart-to-Heart” program.

“In the classroom, we have precious few moments to spend with each student,” Lampson teacher Barbara Hernandez told the board Monday. “When children are not in the best physical, mental and nutritional condition, they’re not in the best state to learn and it takes more than a few precious moments to teach them.”

*

The controversy over social service programs began after Lampson Elementary received a $25,000 grant from the philanthropic Weingart Foundation to hire a family counselor and open a family resource center. Trustees approved the grant by a narrow vote in January but vowed to stop similar contributions in the future.

During the past three years, Lampson has received more than $200,000 in grants to assist its students and their families, three-fourths of whom live in poverty. None of the grants require the district to contribute funds.

Lampson’s “Heart-to-Heart” project, which involves more than 30 community groups and serves more than 300 students each year, has become so well known that five other district campuses--Portola Middle School, and California, West Orange, Jordan and Sycamore elementary schools--have expressed an interest in providing similar services.

“The program at Lampson is a fine example of local control in action,” said Carol Enos, a former trustee in the district. “The teachers and parents at Lampson . . . have worked to provide programs to assist their students at no cost to the district. If we believe in local control, we should support and applaud them, even if it is a program we personally disagree with.”

But the trustees also have their supporters.

Before the hearing, members of a Westminster group called Parents Who Care held a news conference to express their support for the proposed ban on nonacademic grants. Parents Who Care describes itself as a nonprofit organization that researches public policy issues that affect the family.

“Philosophically and legally, schools are not set up to be social welfare agencies,” said Viola E. Floth, a spokesperson for Parents Who Care.

Ken Williams, a newly elected trustee for the Orange County Board of Education, said, “Does it really take an entire village to raise a child? No, it doesn’t. It takes a parent. I don’t believe [the proposed policy] is mean-spirited. It’s mean-spirited to have our children dependent on the government. That’s the greatest evil of all.”

The California Teachers Assn. is watching the board’s actions.

“This is a very unique situation,” said Wayne Johnson, vice president of the association, who attended the hearing. “These people have been elected under false pretenses. They are here to push for a political agenda rather than work in the interests of the children. To my knowledge, there is no other place in the state where this is happening.”