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Show AFTER BROWN: THE CHALLENGE TO ATTAIN AN EQUAL UNITARY EDUCATION SYSTEM Jessica Shulsen vantaged students. Transportation subsidies are most often used to facilitate enrollment. They are widely available for elementary schools, with nearly five out of six districts providing full or partial subsidies to students. However, they offer fewer subsidies for middle and high school students. This, of course, creates a substantial barrier for those who wish to attend magnet schools outside their district, especially for low-income students (Fuller and Elmore 1996, 169-70). Even when public transportation is provided for magnet students, many parents are leery about using it because of the safety concerns and the length of time required to ride the bus each day. In the case studies conducted in Cincinnati and St. Louis, minority parents are much more likely to report that transportation is a crucial issue in considering which school to attend. White parents, on the other hand, reported transportation to be of little concern. This is because they usually attend magnet schools that are close to their neighborhoods (Smrekar and Goldring 1999, 32-33). Aside from the creaming effect, funding is the greatest criticism magnet schools face. When magnets first emerged as an alternative to mandatory measures in cities such as Cincinnati, under Senator John Glenn's leadership, Congress amended the Emergency School Assistance Act in 1976 to help fund magnet schools (Fuller and Elmore 1996, 7, 155). Then in 1984, as a result of the substantial increases in magnet schools, Congress created the Magnet Schools Assistance Program (MSAP) (Fuller 1999, 26). MSAP provides two-year grants to magnet school programs that desegregate and discourage isolation. The program is crucial to the creation and expansion of magnet schools, because there are considerable starting costs (Smrekar and Goldring 1999, 7-8). In 1994 the MSAP was re-evaluated under President Clinton's order to review all race-conscious policies in all government agencies (Hendrie 1998a). Congress added new provisions designed to promote more racial integration, which became part of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act. The magnet schools were now to explain exactly how their programs increased interaction among students of different social and racial backgrounds. The new provisions also favor grant applicants "who intend to select students through random methods, such as lotteries" (Schmidt 1994). MSAP continues to be the primary source of funding, providing 138 districts nationwide with $955 million between 1984 and 1994. Some states, such as California, provide magnet schools with state desegregation funds (Fuller 1999, 26). However, critics maintain that programs such as the MSAP are costly acts that misspend substantial sums of money with little results (Schmidt 1994). One cannot deny that magnet schools cost more than conventional public schools. This is especially true when magnet programs are first instigated. For example, in 1976 St. Louis' average per pupil expenditures for magnet schools were roughly double those for the city's regular schools. In 1986, Yonkers estimated its magnet school renovation and new construction at 11.6 million dollars, not including transportation costs. Yet propo- nents, such as Rossell, argue that it is only the up-front costs that are significantly more than traditional schools expenditures (Rossell 1990, 200-201). Once the programs are established, the expenditures are quite similar to conventional schools. Districts that receive MSAP funds spend about 10 percent more per student than non-magnet districts. On average, magnets spend $200 more per student than traditional public schools (Fuller 1999, 27). However, parents and students appear to be willing to pay the costs of magnet schools. In November 1986 the Dayton public school system wished to dismantle one of the music magnet programs. A task force was formed to determine the feasibility of such an action. A group of about two hundred parents whose children attended the music magnet program quickly organized. The task force estimated the extra cost of the program to be $245,000, but the parents argued that the figure included standard operating costs. Furthermore, the only extra cost was for private music lessons, and the parents contributed a fee to reduce this cost. The parents succeeded in keeping the magnet school. A year later Dayton applied for aid to establish 25 magnet schools (Watras 1997, 273-274). Dayton residents are not the only ones who have decided the benefits of magnet schools far out weigh the costs of implementing the programs. Critics also lament the cost of transportation required for most magnet schools. Proponents of magnet schools admit that transportation costs are higher, but they contend that the voluntary plans make the issue more complex. In a mandatory policy a single bus can take several children to a designated school. Voluntary magnet programs, on the other hand, make bus routes complicated because the children are widely dispersed throughout the city. Often the use of small buses, vans, and even taxis replace a traditional busing policy. It is not surprising that these alternative modes of transportation cost more. In fact, the cost is usually too great for the magnet schools, and parents must shoulder the burden. Nevertheless, this is a burden most parents are willing to bear (Rossell 1990, 138-144). Magnet schools are not the perfect solution to the dual system that exists between inner city schools and suburban schools. Given the complexity of the problem, there cannot be a completely effective simple solution. Nonetheless, magnets do demonstrate tremendous potential in easing the inequalities between under-funded, inner city minority schools and wealthier, predominately white suburban schools. Undesirable byproducts of magnets schools, such as "creaming" and pockets of isolated same race schools, can be virtually eliminated by altering the way magnets function. Although most magnet programs are located in minority neighborhoods, the more popular magnets need to be located there in order to get more white parents to transfer. Higher levels of integration would be the result of such action (Rossell 1990, 144445). The expansion of magnet schools is a worthwhile goal, but they face serious challenges in the future. The greatest 72 |