Residents fight for METCO

By Dan Cooper

Staff Intern

LONGMEADOW The School Committee voted at their Feb. 12 meeting to not accept any students from the Massachusetts Department of Education's Metropolitan Council for Educational Opportunity (METCO) program for the 2007-2008 school year, and now former School Committee members and current religious leaders are joining forces to try and change the decision.

The METCO program is designed to promote desegregation and increase diversity in school districts.

Louise Croll, a School Committee member from 1996-2002, has started a petition that was presented to the current committee at their March 12 meeting. It asks the School Committee to reconsider their vote on the METCO program.

"The petition is signed by seven former School Committee members with a combined total of 69 years on the committee spanning 30 years, from 1974 to 2004," Croll said.

In addition to the former committee members, the Reverends Michael Bennett, Larry Provenzano, and Francis Reilly, along with Rabbi Mark Dov Shapiro, signed the petition.

"Religious leaders in the community were instrumental in bringing METCO to Longmeadow in 1968," Croll said. "Their successors have signed the petition to indicate their commitment to keeping the METCO desegregation program a vital part of our schools."

The School Committee cited increasing class sizes as the reason for voting against METCO enrollment. Croll said that, historically, the community has seen value in the program even when class sizes were higher.

"Moreover, the fine history of the METCO program in Longmeadow and the policy considerations behind the grant are worthy of a further consideration," Croll said in her petition.

Croll explained that METCO enhances educational outcomes for the receiving districts as well as the minority children from Springfield who are eligible through the grant.

"Longmeadow has had a total of approximately 52 METCO students representing racial minorities in our schools every year," Croll said. "Longmeadow's enrollment is currently down to 46 due to decisions the last couple of years by the School Committee. The class of 2020 would be the first not to graduate any METCO students and the students of that class would be deprived of the enrichment of the presence of the METCO students throughout their 12 years in Longmeadow Public Schools," Croll said.

She added that opening school doors to a couple of kindergarten or first grade METCO students will "ensure that the class of 2020 will continue the proud and enriching tradition of graduating METCO students from Longmeadow Schools."

According to Croll, 38 communities participate in the METCO program, including Hampden-Wilbraham, Southwick, Concord, and Lexington.

"We have always had reason to be proud of Longmeadow for its history," Croll said. "We have been proud too that the town has opened our schools' doors to the METCO students in support of desegregation and opportunity for minority children of the city."

E. Jahn Hart, superintendent of Longmeadow schools, said the School Committee Chair will ultimately decide if the issue will appear on the agenda again. "It could happen in the next month or anytime before he next school year," she said.

Hart made clear that she supports the METCO program. "I think it's an exceptional program that has been good to Longmeadow," she said. "I'm not surprised that the folks who brought this petition before the committee were former committee members."

Hart added that the School Committee is not against the program, just enrollment for the next school year. "The School Committee looks forward to having this discussion in the future," Hart said.