{"id":2268856,"date":"2024-06-16T09:43:05","date_gmt":"2024-06-16T13:43:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/equal-isnt-always-best-pasco-adopts-new-high-school-boundaries\/"},"modified":"2024-06-16T09:49:07","modified_gmt":"2024-06-16T13:49:07","slug":"equal-isnt-always-best-pasco-adopts-new-high-school-boundaries","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/equal-isnt-always-best-pasco-adopts-new-high-school-boundaries\/","title":{"rendered":"Pasco Sets New High School Boundaries: &#8216;Equal Isn&#8217;t Always Best"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">20<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fequal-isnt-always-best-pasco-adopts-new-high-school-boundaries%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2268856&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>The Pasco \u2062School Board recently approved\u200d a \u2063new boundary map for its high schools, which has resulted in \u200bmost \u2062<a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/chicago-teachers-union-president-defends-sending-son-to-private-school-after-backlash\/\" title=\"Chicago Teachers Union President defends sending son to private school despite criticism.\">low-income \u200dstudents<\/a> being assigned \u2064to\u2062 the district&#8217;s\u2063 oldest \u200dschool, Pasport High School, while a new school, Sageview High School,\u200b will open in 2025 in a different area. The decision\u200b followed a\u200d year\u2062 of debate and a final 4-1 vote, \u200bwhere Scenario D\u200c was\u200d chosen as it was the most cost-effective for transportation, despite its impact on student demographic distribution.<\/p>\n<p>Throughout\u200d the discussions, proximity\u200d was generally prioritized\u2062 over equity. Many participants \u200cfelt that\u200c being closer to home was more important than\u2063 distributing demographic \u2064groups evenly across the schools. As\u200c a result\u2062 of\u2063 the reassignment, Pasco High will see an increase in Hispanic and low-income students, intensifying its demographic concentration.<\/p>\n<p>Despite the changes, the school\u2062 district\u200d expects\u200d to see an increase in the number of students participating in\u2063 accelerated \u2062programs such\u200c as Advanced Placement. \u2064However, concerns were raised about \u200dthe actual availability of\u200b these\u200d opportunities, with student representative Kimberly Joya Manzanarez noting discrepancies between the\u200c courses advertised and those actually \u2063accessible to students.<\/p>\n<p>the new\u2064 boundary \u200cadjustments in the Pasco \u2064School District \u2064have led to significant changes in the demographic makeup \u2063of its high schools, raising\u200d concerns about \u200cequity and the\u200c true availability of educational opportunities \u200bfor all\u2063 students.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<div>\n<p>(The Center Square) \u2013 The Pasco School Board adopted a new high school boundary map this week that moves most low-income students to one of the district\u2019s oldest facilities while opening a new school across town.<\/p>\n<p>The decision to redistribute the district\u2019s students was finalized on Tuesday after a 4-1 vote, following almost a year of debate over how to approach the issue. Various options were proposed, ultimately resulting in a choice that prioritized proximity over equity.<\/p>\n<p>During the School Board meeting, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/sister-telepathy-as-gretchen-whitmer-endorsed-covid-sports-shutdown-so-did-her-sibling\/\" title=\"Gretchen Whitmer's sister also supported COVID sports shutdown.\">district officials opted<\/a> for Scenario D, which was the most cost-effective in terms of transportation but disproportionately split student demographics. Throughout the process, most participants reported valuing proximity over equity.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cEquity takes the cake for me,\u201d said student board representative Kimberly Joya Manzanarez. \u201cIt is the teachers that we have and the classes that we get to take that shape us as students. It is the extracurriculars that we get to seize that shape us as students. I get to go to my top choice school because of the opportunities I seized, and I want that to be true for future Pasco High students.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI just want to say,\u201d she continued, \u201cthat [opportunities] may be offered, but definitely not at the same level.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>As a result, most Hispanic students and those from <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/biden-administration-to-give-10-billion-to-schools-for-covid-testing\/\" title=\"Biden Administration To Give  Billion To Schools For COVID Testing\">low-income backgrounds<\/a> will attend the PSD\u2019s oldest facility, Pasco High School. In contrast, smaller portions of those groups will attend Chiawana High School, which opened in 2009, and the new Sageview High School, which will open in fall 2025.<\/p>\n<p>Currently, the PHS student population identifies as 83% Hispanic, with 74% of the total coming from a low-income background. Tuesday\u2019s decision will inflate the Hispanic population to 93%, with 86% of all students coming from low-income backgrounds.<\/p>\n<p>Chiawana High School will have a Hispanic population comprising 63% of the total students, while 51% come from low-income backgrounds. Similarly, Sageview High School will have a Hispanic population of 62% of all students, with 54% coming from low-income backgrounds.<\/p>\n<p>However, the decision will actually increase the number of students participating in accelerated pathways, like Advanced Placement, Running Start and College in the High School courses. Currently, 23.9% of PHS students participate, while CHS touts 28.6%; though, Scenario D projections take PHS to 24.6%, CHS to 34.2% and the new SHS to 29.6%.<\/p>\n<p>Manzanarez disputed those figures, stating that while PHS may offer what looks like a lot of opportunities, it advertises more in the student handbook despite not allowing students to participate. She said the projections above are accurate but skewed in context.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cOffered doesn\u2019t really mean offered,\u201d she said. \u201cThe course handbook said so many courses were offered when I was a freshman, and you know, as a new freshman, I was really excited that I was going to be able to see so many opportunities only to be disappointed.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>In light of equity taking a back seat, School Board President Amy Phillips noted that the 2007 U.S. Supreme Court decision in Parents Involved in Community Schools v. Seattle Public Schools prevents the district from using ethnicity when reestablishing school boundaries.<\/p>\n<p>Instead, the district relied on projections that noted while buses would drive further each day, the drivers would spend a combined total of 2.5 hours less taking the new routes. The other options would entail a similar distance but would take an additional 11 to 19 hours of combined driving time between the buses each day.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cData states that high-poverty schools experience lower test scores, lower teacher retention, which ends up being lower teacher performance,\u201d said Amanda Brown, vice president of the board and the only dissenting vote on Tuesday.<\/p>\n<p>Brown\u2019s statement finds some support in comparing PHS and CHS\u2019s graduation rates and standardized testing scores, an issue that she thinks could be exacerbated in the future.<\/p>\n<p>Several students, parents and other community members testified against the board\u2019s decision, advocating for Scenario F, which was the most diverse in terms of demographics but also the most expensive when it came to transportation.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNow, this is an opinion of mine,\u201d said Jake Stueckle, PHS\u2019s former principal, who presented the board with the options. \u201cEqual isn\u2019t always best.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Stueckle compared the decision to a coach focusing on the best players instead of elevating newer or less advanced ones to the same level. He said Pasco\u2019s playing field varies from school to school; there\u2019s no way to ensure every student has the same opportunities.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI\u2019m not going to give my [kid] all the extra training or what have you when I have a struggling athlete over here,\u201d he said sarcastically. \u201cNo, you play basketball by yourself [while my athlete] and I drill over here. Does that make sense?\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The Pasco School Board approved a new high school boundary map, relocating most low-income students to an older school and opening a new one elsewhere. The decision, made after nearly a year of deliberation, passed with a 4-1 vote on Tuesday<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2268857,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/iStock-1142994920-1024x683.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2268856","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/iStock-1142994920-1024x683.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2268856","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2268856"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2268856\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2268857"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2268856"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2268856"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2268856"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}