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August 13. 2012 11:37PM
Angry Manchester mayor cuts off federal civil rights panel as it charges city schools with failing students of color
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Group's incendiary claim just 27% of city hispanic students graduate less than half the truth, according to data
Group's incendiary claim just 27% of city hispanic students graduate less than half the truth, according to data
MANCHESTER — A federal civil rights advisory panel charged Monday that there is systemic discrimination in city schools.
The presentation at a Board of School Committee meeting was cut short when Mayor Ted Gatsas, angered by what he said was a lack of data to support the charges, asked the group to leave.
The presentation was made by members of the state advisory committee for the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights.
JerriAnne Boggis, the chair of the committee, pointed to a very low graduation rate among minorities compared to white students in New Hampshire, a lack of diversity among faculty at Manchester schools, and to complaints that the English Language Learner program is discriminatory and segregating.
“As we broadened the scope of our inquiry, it became abundantly clear to us that the rights of students of color in the Manchester School District are being repeatedly violated,” Boggis said. “As a civil rights watchdog, we want to work with the board to remedy these charges. Our investigation shows there are serious civil rights violations in the Manchester School District.”
When Boggis cited statistics that 73 percent of Hispanic students in New Hampshire did not graduate, compared to 22 percent of white students, Mayor Gatsas spoke up.
He noted the data did not refer specifically to Manchester and that the numbers conflicted sharply with the state data indicating the dropout rate had been reduced to around 1 percent, a statistic touted by the governor and state and local education officials.
The numbers cited by Boggis come from an anti-dropout website, Boostup.org. The website does not provide the source for the data.
It was an allegation concerning cronyism that brought the presentation to a halt about 30 minutes in.
Boggis said students of color comprise nearly 40 percent of Manchester district students, but that only 7 percent of the faculty are people of color.
“Our committee heard numerous stories about how hiring committees seemingly rig the hiring process in the form of cronyism. This preferential treatment must stop and a more open process must take its place,” Boggis said.
Gatsas again stopped the presentation and asked Boggis to repeat the statement.
He then said: “I will not accept that in any circumstance. I think you need to get your facts straight. There is no cronyism on this committee. We approve every candidate ... So I'm very resentful of that statement.”
Gatsas asked the members to leave and they did so.
Before leaving, Rogers Johnson, another member of the civil rights committee, reiterated the group's desire to work with the district and board to address the problems.
“What this does is increase the likelihood of a lawsuit,” he said.
The state committee is one of many across the country that advise the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights, which reports to Congress and the President. Enforcement actions are handled by the Department of Justice.
Committee members Roy Shoults and Art Beaudry also criticized the group's findings.
“If they're saying they want to start a dialogue, then it's being very impolitic to come into the room and start making unfounded accusations,” said Shoults.
No committee members objected to the abrupt ending to the presentation.
At a later point in the meeting Monday, Gatsas apologized for the outburst.
But, he said, “There may be disagreement as a board, but we're representatives of this great city. I will defend any and all of us against anyone who wants to accuse us of cronyism.”
He added that he would be raising the issue with Gov. John Lynch concerning the dropout numbers presented by the group.
Also on Monday, the Board of School Committee approved a new policy to recognize perfect attendance. Under the policy, only students who attend every day of school in a school year, with exceptions for school-sponsored field trips and extra-curricular activities, would be deemed to have perfect attendance. The committee opted to reject exceptions for absences necessitated by college visits and also for a policy recognizing “exceptional attendance,” which would have allowed for a few absences for special circumstances.
tsiefer@unionleader.com
The presentation at a Board of School Committee meeting was cut short when Mayor Ted Gatsas, angered by what he said was a lack of data to support the charges, asked the group to leave.
The presentation was made by members of the state advisory committee for the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights.
JerriAnne Boggis, the chair of the committee, pointed to a very low graduation rate among minorities compared to white students in New Hampshire, a lack of diversity among faculty at Manchester schools, and to complaints that the English Language Learner program is discriminatory and segregating.
“As we broadened the scope of our inquiry, it became abundantly clear to us that the rights of students of color in the Manchester School District are being repeatedly violated,” Boggis said. “As a civil rights watchdog, we want to work with the board to remedy these charges. Our investigation shows there are serious civil rights violations in the Manchester School District.”
When Boggis cited statistics that 73 percent of Hispanic students in New Hampshire did not graduate, compared to 22 percent of white students, Mayor Gatsas spoke up.
He noted the data did not refer specifically to Manchester and that the numbers conflicted sharply with the state data indicating the dropout rate had been reduced to around 1 percent, a statistic touted by the governor and state and local education officials.
The numbers cited by Boggis come from an anti-dropout website, Boostup.org. The website does not provide the source for the data.
It was an allegation concerning cronyism that brought the presentation to a halt about 30 minutes in.
Boggis said students of color comprise nearly 40 percent of Manchester district students, but that only 7 percent of the faculty are people of color.
“Our committee heard numerous stories about how hiring committees seemingly rig the hiring process in the form of cronyism. This preferential treatment must stop and a more open process must take its place,” Boggis said.
Gatsas again stopped the presentation and asked Boggis to repeat the statement.
He then said: “I will not accept that in any circumstance. I think you need to get your facts straight. There is no cronyism on this committee. We approve every candidate ... So I'm very resentful of that statement.”
Gatsas asked the members to leave and they did so.
Before leaving, Rogers Johnson, another member of the civil rights committee, reiterated the group's desire to work with the district and board to address the problems.
“What this does is increase the likelihood of a lawsuit,” he said.
The state committee is one of many across the country that advise the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights, which reports to Congress and the President. Enforcement actions are handled by the Department of Justice.
Committee members Roy Shoults and Art Beaudry also criticized the group's findings.
“If they're saying they want to start a dialogue, then it's being very impolitic to come into the room and start making unfounded accusations,” said Shoults.
No committee members objected to the abrupt ending to the presentation.
At a later point in the meeting Monday, Gatsas apologized for the outburst.
But, he said, “There may be disagreement as a board, but we're representatives of this great city. I will defend any and all of us against anyone who wants to accuse us of cronyism.”
He added that he would be raising the issue with Gov. John Lynch concerning the dropout numbers presented by the group.
Also on Monday, the Board of School Committee approved a new policy to recognize perfect attendance. Under the policy, only students who attend every day of school in a school year, with exceptions for school-sponsored field trips and extra-curricular activities, would be deemed to have perfect attendance. The committee opted to reject exceptions for absences necessitated by college visits and also for a policy recognizing “exceptional attendance,” which would have allowed for a few absences for special circumstances.
tsiefer@unionleader.com
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