NAACP and school choice in the Mpls Public Schools

A story in today's Star Tribune talks about NAACP and their how their efforts to fight for quality education for children of color in the Mpls Public Schools has a double-edged sword, as school choice options may have contributed to the current problems leading to the recommendation to close North High School:

The Minneapolis branch of the NAACP on Wednesday urged parents to consider pulling their children out of the Minneapolis School District in response to Superintendent Bernadeia Johnson’s recommendation to close North High School. Citing multiple school closures on the city’s North Side and low test scores in those that remain, Minneapolis NAACP President Booker Hodges accused Johnson and school board members of failing to educate north Minneapolis’ children, most of whom are black….

 But…. 

As the engine behind the “Choice is Yours” program, the Minneapolis NAACP may have unwittingly played a role in the mass exodus of students from north Minneapolis to suburban districts.

In the late 1990s, the organization’s local leadership sued the state, arguing that state policies and practices concentrated poverty in Minneapolis, making it impossible for Minneapolis schools to adequately educate students.

A March 2000 settlement allowed more Minneapolis families access to suburban schools and magnet programs.

Interest was minimal at first but has increased in recent years, with hundreds of families leaving city schools for neighboring districts...

My perspective: The option for poor urban families of color to choose higher performing suburban schools for their children is only fair. The likely closing of North High is a sad unintended consequence. If the Minneapolis Public Schools were given adequate funds to address the educational needs of its very diverse, mostly poor student body, families would not have left in the first place. Who wants to send their child across town if you have a great school right down the block?