Cornhusker State Lawmakers Coping with 'White Flight' from Schools
by Jim Brown
February 24, 2005
(AgapePress) - Lawmakers in Nebraska are discussing how to deal with a mass exodus of white families from public schools heavily attended by non-English-speaking Hispanics.Small towns like Lexington and Schuyler have experienced a large influx of Hispanics seeking employment at meat-packing plants. The immigration, often illegal, has prompted white families to enroll their children in small elementary schools outside those towns.
Lawmakers in the Nebraska Legislature have been debating a measure than would force a merger of elementary-only "Class 1" districts with traditional K-12 districts across the state. State Senator Adrian Smith has concerns about shutting down high-quality, rural schools.
"Right now there are already districts merging at a rate of one district every two weeks, so the number of districts is already decreasing -- and I think the natural flow of that is certainly going to address the problem," the senator says. "The racial imbalance is an issue that's difficult to deal with, and certainly forced consolidation does not answer the problem."
However, proponents believe the measure is necessary to curb segregation in Nebraska school. Smith contends that is an argument of convenience.
"These issues have been going on for several years -- this is not a new thing within the last two years," he says. "But additionally, the fact [is] that consolidation ... does not force any desegregation whatsoever. In fact, the overcrowding in these buildings still exists, just within a larger school district context."
In some Nebraska school districts, as much as one-third of the students are learning English as a second language.
Jim Brown, a regular contributor to AgapePress, is a reporter for American Family Radio News, which can be heard online.
