An assistant principal at Judson ISD is claiming administrator segregation, saying that African-American principals are only being placed in predominantly black schools and she wants to know why.
“Intentionally or unintentionally, black and Hispanic principals almost exclusively serve in schools on the south end of the district, which have higher poverty rates, higher crime rates, and primarily service more minority students,” Assistant Principal Andrea Johnson said.
At a school board meeting last month, Johnson and her young daughter asked the school board for answers. She says that black principals, in particular, are limited to running only schools with mostly African-American students.
KENS 5 Eyewitness Wants to Know decided to look into this and asked Judson ISD for records of all the principals in the district. Among the district’s 29 principals, eight are African-American, five are Hispanic, and one is Asian. The remaining 15 are white.
Six of the eight black principals work on the south side of the district and the other two work on the north side. But one of those black principals on the north side heads up the alternative school.
The schools with African-American principals have an overwhelmingly black student body with white students making up around 10 percent. The entire district has around 16 percent white students, 57 percent Hispanic students, and 22 percent black students.
The five schools with Hispanic principals also have a largely Hispanic student population.
Johnson calls this modern-day segregation and says that the students are the victims.
“When you put people from different backgrounds, which is why we talk about diversity so much, you get different experiences. It’s just a synergy, and I think we’re missing out on that opportunity. The skills that black principals do bring to the table, they can use those skills on the north end as well,” Johnson said.
Judson ISD’s spokesperson says that the district is right in considering a principal’s race in placing them at certain schools.
“We take a look at the demographic breakdown of each of the campuses and you want to have administrators, at least to some degree, represent your student enrollment because those students, many times, will feel like they can relate to administrators that are maybe from a similar background,” said Steve Linscombe with Judson ISD.
Johnson also says that the schools on the north side get more resources and funding. But Linscombe says that he believes that their administration is fair.
If you have a problem, call KENS 5 Eyewitness Wants to Know at 210-377-8647 or email us at EWTK@KENS5.com.