OCR tells school district to open new school, reconfigure others while investigation continues

The federal Office for Civil Rights directed the Beaufort County School District last week to proceed with all plans to open new schools and restructure attendance boundaries this year, a district official said Friday.

"They said they felt very comfortable with where we are presently, and they gave us the OK to proceed," said Jacqueline Rosswurm, the district's human resources officer. "At this point we're ready to go."

Classes start Monday at most county public schools.

The attendance zones drawn to accommodate Red Cedar Elementary in Bluffton were examined by OCR, as mandated by the district's 1970 desegregation plan. The school is projected to be the district's first majority-Hispanic school.

Plans to consolidate Whale Branch and James J. Davis elementary schools and convert Davis Elementary to an early learning center also were investigated. It is anticipated both schools will serve student bodies that are more than 80 percent black.

The district's desegregation plan requires the percentage of white and black students in each school to approximate the district-wide percentage. It also requires the district to get federal approval whenever it sets school attendance zones, selects sites for new schools or shifts student populations.

Last month, the federal office ruled that the racial composition of Riverview Charter School in Beaufort did not comply with the plan and required the school to take several steps to boost minority enrollment.

The federal office said last week it would continue to review enrollment data provided by the school district and be in touch to counsel the district as it opens more new schools, Rosswurm said.

The office did not give a timeline, but Rosswurm said she expects the district will work closely with OCR as it develops plans to open Whale Branch High, Pritchardville Elementary and Bluffton Middle schools in 2010.