Are desegregation funds helping?
The state annually sends nearly $1 billion in special desegregation funds to school districts throughout California, including $64 million to San Diego Unified.
But those dollars are delivered with no strings attached, no master system to track where the money goes and there is no proof required that the programs actually work.
Moreover, the distribution formulas have not changed for years despite rapidly evolving demographics and only a few of the districts must still comply with court orders to integrate classrooms. That’s a testament to decades-long integration strategies that include busing, magnet schools and a focus on improving neighborhood schools with large enrollments of minority students.
Nevertheless, attempts to eliminate the block grant have been swiftly beaten back. The biggest defenders are the largest urban districts with the most to lose: Los Angeles, San Diego, San Francisco and San Jose.
The nonpartisan Legislative Analyst was the latest to try and fail.
“We don’t see it as meeting the intent for which it was created,” Carolyn Chu, an education analyst with the office, said of the block