There’s only one response to those who oppose the School Board’s unanimous decision last month to hire an administrator to oversee efforts to improve equity and diversity in our schools:
You’re wrong.
This isn’t a “race war,” as one School Board member described the not-so-surprising controversy sparked by the move. Don’t let those words – “equity” and “diversity” – scare you.
And, please, the money is irrelevant, especially when you consider how much our district has spent on failed attempts to dodge the 1967 federal-court desegregation order that still haunts us.
Even at an annual salary of up to $115,000, this will be money well spent, given the qualifications required and the enormous challenges of the job.
Different incarnations of the School Board here spent the past 53 years pretending to care about, or simply ignoring, the desegregation order, treating the mandates to ensure equal access to good education for all students as if they were nothing more than a nuisance.
Past boards and superintendents didn’t take the order seriously. They didn’t address the issues it cited. They didn’t acknowledge the stigma it attaches to a community of our stature.
How can a school district that serves the Vero Beach area – where there is considerable affluence, an abundance of philanthropy and an appreciation for education – still be grappling with a desegregation order that dates back to the era of race riots, the Vietnam War and the tumultuous presidency of Lyndon Johnson?
It should embarrass us all.
The desegregation order, though, isn’t the only reason the School Board needed to approve hiring a chief equity and diversity officer, who will be tasked with overseeing all aspects of the district’s efforts to satisfy the remaining federal mandates.
The best reason?
It’s the right thing to do.
“Creating this position – and the title we’ve given it – sends a message,” School Board Chairman Brian Barefoot said last week. “It says, ‘This is a priority,’ and it should be. We’re making an investment in the future.
“I see problems as opportunities,” he continued, “and if you care about legacy, we have a tremendous opportunity here to lay the groundwork for generations 20 or 30 years out, simply by changing the way kids learn and helping kids who are behind through no fault of their own.
“We should do this, even if we weren’t under a desegregation order,” he added, “because we have an opportunity to make a real difference, as it relates to public education, and narrowing the achievement gap.
“Shame on us if we don’t seize this opportunity.”
For those who don’t know: The desegregation order, issued in 1967 after a group of parents sued the school district over treatment of Black students, specified plans for creating racially balanced schools with diverse faculties and staffs to establish a more equitable education system.
After years of doing nothing meaningful, the district worked with the local NAACP chapter in 2018 and made the improvements in the areas of facilities, administrative hires and non-instructional staff.
The remaining mandates include recruiting more Black teachers, administrators and mentors, and retaining the ones already here; addressing disparities in both disciplinary measures and test results between Black and white students; improving treatment of special needs students; and correcting transportation anomalies.
The School Board also must continue the implementation of its African-American student achievement plan in a district in which 17 percent of students are Black and only 3 percent of teachers are Black.
According to Barefoot, the chief equity and diversity officer will manage the relationships among the district’s Equity Committee, NAACP and the School Board.
The job posting, in fact, states the officer will “lead the district’s efforts to build a culture of equity, diversity and inclusion for all students, families, employees and school community.”
Some critics of the School Board’s decision, however, argue the position is unnecessary – that it’s not a full-time job, that a consultant could do the work for less money, that there’s no quantifiable way to gauge the officer’s success.
Some view the job title and language used in the posting and wonder if the Republican-dominated board’s action was merely symbolic, even political, taken to appease critics.
Let me assure you: The position is necessary. The board’s motives weren’t symbolic.
Political correctness wasn’t a factor.
I know this because Barefoot said so, and I consider him a man of his word who sought a place on our School Board because the district needed someone possessing his experience, professional accomplishment and take-charge leadership abilities.
Barefoot, the other board members and School Superintendent David Moore – the architect of the district’s strategy for confronting the issues identified in the desegregation order – all understand the failures of the past.
They realize that there’s no way to justify the district’s dismal response across more than five decades.
“This has gone on for too long,” Barefoot said. “We can’t continue to kick the can down the road. We’ve got to do what it takes to put this sorry situation behind us, and we’ve got to do it now.
“This position is a big step,” he added. “We need someone with the gravitas, the leadership skills and the personality to impact all aspects of an environment and culture we’re trying to change.
“This is a big job, an important job.”
Too important, Barefoot said, to allow opponents to derail it with silly political rhetoric.
“Unfortunately, everything is political these days,” Barefoot said. “Just the words in the job title – equity and diversity – create controversy.”
But they shouldn’t.
First, there’s a difference between equity and equality.
Equality means each individual or group of people is given the same resources or opportunities. Equity recognizes that each person has different circumstances and allocates the resources and opportunities needed to reach equality.
Or as Barefoot put it: Equity is making the investment needed to enact change so people can compete on an equal basis.
“We need to give some kids more help, so they’ll have a better chance to succeed,” Barefoot said. “I know everyone sees this as a race thing, but it’s not necessarily about race. It’s also a socio-economic issue.
“I believe that a rising tide lifts all boats,” he added. “If we help Black students get to a place where they can achieve at a higher level, everyone in the district should benefit.”
The same holds true for disadvantaged white and Latino children.
As for diversity in schools: It not only enriches the classroom experience and improves communication, but also challenges stereotypes and better prepares students for a workforce that is becoming steadily more diverse.
So, again, don’t let that job title – chief equity and diversity officer – alarm you.
At some point, we no longer can ignore a problem that hinders student achievement and embarrasses our community, hoping it will just go away.
We’ve reached that point.