School Committee Will Discuss Minority Hiring Policies

A public hearing will be held tonight to discuss a proposal by two school committee members which would require the Cambridge School District to award 67 percent of all future job positions to minorities.

The plan, submitted last Tuesday by School Committee members Robin A. Harris and E. Denise Simmons, would take effect May 30 and is the most sweeping of three proposed revisions to the school district's 13-year-old affirmative action policy.

"There have been good intentions but small steps in the past 15 years," Harris said. "We want to see more tangible results."

Since 1982, school officials have been under a court order to increase the district's number of minority staff to 25 percent. In the past two years, 33 percent of new employees have been minorities, according to Regina A. Caines, affirmative action officer for the district.

"While [the court decision sets] guidelines, they are not mandates," Caines said. "They are one of many factors considered in meeting our goal."

School records show that minorities now comprise 18 percent of all faculty position in the Cambridge public schools and 20 percent of the district's overall staff, including administrators, teacher aides, custodians and support positions.

But Harris said her bill would insure that the district takes more aggressive action to secure qualified minority teachers.

"You can talk the talk, but if you don't add the quota, it won't happen," Harris said.

Committee Members Skeptical

A majority of school committee members have expressed reservations about the Harris/Simmons bill, saying it would prevent the district from securing the best applicants for various positions.

"We can't make a dent without increased efforts," said Henrietta A. Davis. "We haven't done as well as we hoped in hiring. But I'm not in favor of the quota; it's much too constraining."

Alfred B. Fantini, who has served on the school committee since 1982, praised the district's present affirmative action policy and said that it balances between increasing minority applicants and also ensuring quality education for students.

"Affirmative action is about bringing people to the table," Fantini said. "After that, we should be hiring the best people, not being told who to hire."

Fewer than 10 percent of all prospective teachers nationwide are minorities, Fantini said. As a result, it would be difficult to attract quality applicants and still meet the guidelines of the Harris/Simmons bill, he said.

"With such a small pool, it is phenomenal for us to have over 20 percent minorities in our system," Fantini said.

Harris, however, said that more minority teachers should be hired because they provide role models for minority students and best serve the needs of a diverse community like Cambridge.

"Caucasian children would not be wholly educated if they were not exposed to the diversity of viewpoints outside their community," Harris said.

Although whites comprise 71.6 percent of the city's population, almost 58 percent of students in the public schools are minorities, according to U.S. Census data and school department records.

"The youth of the city are more diverse than the population of older residents," said Randall P. Wilson, data manager for Cambridge Community Development.

Caines added that all teachers chosen for employment are well-qualified, regardless of their race.

"If someone is lowering their standards, that would not be sanctioned by me," Caines said.

School officials have countered with a separate policy which would step up recruiting efforts and offer financial incentives to minority applicants, including higher initial salaries and a $2,000 bonus to help defray their moving expenses, Caines said.

Earlier this year, Caines and representatives from the Personnel Affirmative Action Co-operative (PAAC), a group of 23 schools in the Boston area, traveled to North Carolina as part of a recruiting trip in search of minority teachers.

Twelve prospective teachers agreed to visit Boston and were given job offers by PAAC schools, Caines said. Some have accepted teaching positions at Cambridge, she said.

The district also interviewed about 150 graduating college seniors at a minority job fair at Lesley College earlier this year.

"Most of the recruiting we do is in this area," she said. "But we also seek to identify larger pools of minority applicants."

The out-of-state recruiting trip, however, has been criticized by City Councillor Anthony D. Galluccio, who said that the district should spend its money recruiting Cambridge residents.

"It's a slap in the face to the teachers in this city," Galluccio said. "We should not be recruiting all over the country when we don't even try to hire local talent."

The Maher Plan

School Committee member David P. Maher has offered another plan, which would reserve teaching positions for minority graduates of Cambridge Rindge and Latin High School who enter the teaching field.

Maher would also require that teachers hired under the proposal live within the city of Cambridge, according to news reports.

School Committee member Joseph G. Grassi said he supports Maher's proposal because lifelong area residents would be more likely to understand the needs of Cambridge youth.

"Those who live in our district and went through our schools understand our methods and our children," Grassi said.

Fantini said that the district must develop a comprehensive plan for attracting talented minority teachers.

A successful recruitment policy must establish teacher apprenticeship programs within the high school, work with area colleges, provide scholarships and guarantee teaching positions for qualified applicants, he said.

"We need to get young people in our school system excited about the teaching profession," Fantini said.

The proposals will be discussed at a 7 p.m. public hearing tonight at Cambridge Rindge and Latin High School.