The Cynical Benefits Of Resegregation

By Kleinheider Posted on June 1, 2008 at 1:13 pm

Salemtown Neighborhood Association President Freddie O’Connell on the new Metro School rezoning plan:

[T]he best solution in the long run is to couple open enrollment (thereby dismantling the magnet schools but preserving specialized curricula) with community schools (thereby preserving a mechanism for strong neighborhoods to secure schools within walking/biking distance). People can then live wherever they like while having no shortage of choice. This would rely, of course, on a mayor who recognizes that “it’s all connected” ensuring that transportation was available to support the choices of parents and students.If this is a NIMBY issue where West Nashville (which elected our sitting mayor) is flexing its muscle to get the poor black kids out of Hillsboro and Hillwood, I find it highly problematic. If, however, it’s a community issue where a number of residents on the North End are clamoring for neighborhood schools, then I think there’s room at the table for productive discussion, even if the outcome is cynically beneficial to West Nashvillians.

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