The Choice Channel

“Kindergarten classes at 10 Pinellas elementary schools would be predominantly black right now if not for rules requiring desegregation. The same would be true for the sixth-grade classes at three middle schools and the ninth-grade classes at two high schools. That scenario reflects the preferences of parents who participated in choice for this school year. Only students at the entry-level grades - kindergarten, sixth and ninth grades - had to go through the application process. Though a limited sample, their preferences are further evidence that when race ratios are lifted at the end of this academic year, resegregation is likely to begin at many south Pinellas schools. The School Board’s attorney told the board this week that any efforts to extend the ratios or replace them with similar measures would almost certainly be successfully challenged in court.” (09/28/06)