Hundreds Argue Against Busing Students to Greenville

More than 400 parents turned out Wednesday for a meeting with Santa Ana Unified School District officials to argue against a proposal to ease overcrowding by busing students to Greenville Fundamental School from another campus.

In the occasionally boisterous session, parents of Greenville students argued that bringing in children whose parents do not necessarily subscribe to Greenville’s tenets would weaken the program.

The parents detailed 28 central concerns but generally agreed that two took precedence.

“We do not want busing, and we want the board to leave Greenville and MacArthur alone,” said parent Lorrie McPeck, referring to another proposal in which sixth-graders at MacArthur Fundamental Intermediate School would be returned to elementary schools.

School board President John Palacio has said the busing proposal is only one of several ideas under consideration to ease overcrowding in Santa Ana schools, which are so crowded that libraries, cafeterias and playgrounds have been given over to portable classrooms on many campuses.

The Greenville proposal would bring in students from nearby Fremont Elementary. But some Greenville parents said they fear their school would bear the brunt of any short-term restructuring.

Greenville is one of the district’s four fundamental schools. Besides setting high academic standards and teaching an all-English curriculum, the campuses have dress codes and require parents to sign contracts agreeing to supervise attendance and homework.

The program is very much in demand. At Greenville, with a 1998 enrollment of 930, there is a waiting list of 600 students.

Palacio and trustees Rosemarie Avila and Nadia Davis attended the informal session, though the three were never present at the same time to avoid having a quorum. The full school board is scheduled to discuss the matter at its meeting Tuesday.