Shame on Orinda for this discriminatory behavior against the poor (San Francisco: 2014, home)

[LexusNexus]

I've only been in Orinda a few times. I got the impression that it was one of those wealthy enclaves, like Lafayette, where people reside to exclude themselves from others. I didn't know that this was going on however. At one time, we were thinking of purchasing property in that area, but not anymore. This just reeks of backwardness, callousness, and supreme ignorance.

Robert Reich: How a Wealthy California Town Makes Sure No Poor Kids Attend Its 'Public' School | Alternet

[LexusNexus]

Well, it appears a bunch of Orinda residents make a stink about the school boards decision and they reversed it, allowing that Latina girl to attend public school. Absolute shame though that this was such a difficult process, but it makes me feel better than there are some people in Orinda who don't stand for such discrimination.

...and so it goes.

Orinda: District says 2nd grader can stay after all - ContraCostaTimes.com

[jade408]

Notice they tried to kick her out after the free lunch request.

East Bay School District Hires Private Investigator In Attempt To Kick Girl Out After Denying Free Lunches « CBS San Francisco

[18Montclair]

You really shouldnt characterize an entire town based on the actions of overzealous school administrators. And based on lots of personal experience there as a kid( my dad was a contractor that did large home improbement projects and I used to spend summers as a kid working with him), people there are actually very cool for the most part.

[Hemlock140]

It works the other way, too. I remember when Strobridge School in the Baywood area of Castro Valley (Hayward School District) hired detectives to follow residents to catch the ones taking their kids to school in the (much better) Castro Valley School District. I don't object to school districts enforcing laws, however, in this case, it seems like the "dual-residence" might have allowed her to go to school in either place. Strictly speaking though, her residence is Bay Point, not Orinda.

[clongirl]

That's a shameful story. I live in the neighboring community and it surely doesn't reflect the way I feel. I understand that most the school districts are very strict about their residential/zoning policies, but obviously these kinds of things need to be addressed on on an INDIVIDUAL basis. I know teachers that live in other cities in the Bay Area and they are allowed to send their children to school where they are employed.

As Montclair mentioned---that it's ridiculous and WRONG to paint an entire town (and the neighboring towns (like my town) as something that it's not. Wealthy (and not everybody that lives here is wealthy, btw) doesn't equal "exclusive". Just like we shouldn't make stupid assumptions about Oakland, San Francisco, or even Vallejo, right LexusNexus?

[calicoastal]

I don't really feel sorry for the "latina", as all of the articles call her. Her legal residence isn't Orinda, tough luck. Of course the authors have to play the race card to bolster their flawed argument.

[Ruth4Truth]

Originally Posted by calicoastal

I don't really feel sorry for the "latina", as all of the articles call her. Her legal residence isn't Orinda, tough luck. Of course the authors have to play the race card to bolster their flawed argument.

I think the point is, why should anyone care of she goes to school in Orinda, if that's where she lives the majority of the time? What difference could it possibly make? The other thing I don't understand is why is it necessary for parents to create a school fund with hefty personal donations, and major donations of parent time in the schools, in order to get good schooling? That wasn't necessary 40-50 years ago, when my older cousins were in school there.

The article was over-dramatizing the benefits of graduating from the Orinda school system, too. Most grads don't attend ivy league schools. They don't have to. California has perfectly good public universities.

[smashystyle]

Originally Posted by calicoastal

Her legal residence isn't Orinda, tough luck. Of course the authors have to play the race card to bolster their flawed argument.

Are you sure? Here's the residency requirement in the Education Code. You parse it for me: http://www.leginfo.ca.gov/cgi-bin/di...le=48200-48208

[packnrat]

strange how people who want to live with others like them selves are called racists..but only if they are white.

yes i am white, only cause i can not afford the cost to get the info and proof i am Cherokee.
records of marriages and deaths, births were destroyed by santa ana's army during the Texas freedom war.
but fear not. orinda does not like any that are not on the top of the money food chain. no matter your birth. so lots of people are not welcome to live there.

but the question is not why no tax payer food given to a kid...but why there parents are not feeding them.
i and my family were never "rich" or even well off, but as a kid i always had food to eat. (pancakes for dinner, chocolate gravy for breakfast..yum for a kid) and as a parent i made sure my girl had food in her belly...even if i did not eat.


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