ACLU SAYS STATS IN TUSTIN ARE OFF--APPARENTLY WANTS PROPORTIONAL REPRESENTATION IN PROGRAMAccording to an article in the OC POST today, the ACLU has complained to the Tustin School Board because the representation of Latinos and African Americans in gifted student programs is not close to their percentages in the community
The ACLU says that for the 2005-06 school year, 8.6 percent of students enrolled in the gifted student program were Latino and 1.4 percent were black.However, also according to the ACLU, Latinos make up 43.1 percent of all students in the district and blacks make up 2.6 percent.
(Link to the article in OC POST: http://www.ocregister.com/ocregister/homepage/abox/article_1581301.php
SO WHY DOES THIS MATTER TO COSTA MESANS?
As the CM PRESS has constantly pointed out, the City of Costa Mesa gives our tax money (from HUD CDBG funds) to some non-profits in Costa Mesa that are completely out of whack with the statistical breakdown of people in this city. This isn't just our opinion. These non-profits are required to supply statistics of who they serve. You can view these stats yourself at City Hall. Just ask for Mike Linares on the Fifth Floor and tell him you'd like to see the HUD CDBG stats. These are public records and are covered by the California Public Records Act.
Costa Mesa reportedly has between a 30 and 35 percent Latino population, yet we have non-profits receiving tax money whose client lists are close to 100 percent Latino. You'll see that when you look at the stats.
The CM PRESS has called on the City of Costa Mesa to end what appears to be discrimination based on race/ethnicity and not fund non-profits that don't look like Costa Mesa unless they have iron clad reasons for not serving all people in this city in at least something like their statistical representation in the city.
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Those are our opinions. Thanks for reading them.
