SACRAMENTO — Changes are coming to a North Bay elementary and middle school that state officials say has been racially segregated for years.
California Attorney General Xavier Becerra announced Friday that his office has reached a settlement with the Sausalito-Marin City School District to desegregate the Bayside MLK Academy.
“Every child—no matter their stripe or stature—deserves equal access to a quality education. That’s what we say, what we believe, and what’s required under the law,” said Becerra. “Without equal access to education there cannot be equal opportunity to success.”
While people often think racial segregation in schools ended in the civil rights era, Becerra’s office said an investigation found the district’s former board of trustees intentionally segregated students in 2013 when it established Bayside MLK Academy, which serves a predominantly minority community, and cut funding to the school in favor of the nearby public charter Willow Creek Academy.
The settlement includes developing a plan to attract a diverse pool of students, appointing a third-party monitor to oversee the plan and creating a scholarship program to fund two years of college or trade school for affected students.
The district will have to begin implementing the plan in the 2020-2021 school year.
District officials welcomed the settlement.
“Today’s settlement with the Attorney General’s Office now enables the district to move forward with full transparency,” said Board of Trustees President Ida Green. “I ask all constituents in the district to ready yourselves to stand bold in your commitment to put an end to unequal education, embrace differences, work systemically toward change, and adopt a plan toward desegregation. It’s the right time to make a difference.”