The city is redrawing school zones in central Brooklyn, despite some parents' opposition. As Education Reporter Lindsey Christ explains, it is an issue with racial undertones.
An elected parent council voted to approve a new school zone map covering a swath of Brooklyn that includes Flatbush, Midwood and Ditmas Park.
But the audience Monday night was dominated by parents opposed to the plan.
"The process here was fundamentally unfair," said parent Joel Siegel. "The parents in our school were not afforded an opportunity to be heard.
The rezoning will affect six schools but the parents who spoke out against the plan were all from PS 217, a large and diverse elementary school in Ditmas Park.
They say they were blindsided by the vote and wanted more time to come up with a different proposal.
Several streets that were part of their old zone will now be part of PS 152 and PS 315, which share a building. Whereas PS 217 is 70 percent white and Asian, the other two schools are 90 percent black and Hispanic.
"This school stands to become more diverse because of their students are coming to this school," said Ben Anderson, the parent of a 4-year-old. "And it crosses a traditional color line, for lack of a better word. Ocean Avenue is a different side of the neighborhood, so I think in the long, long fight to desegregate, I think it's the right move and the right rezoning plan."
The Department of Education says it redrew the map to accommodate a new school opening in September and to alleviate overcrowding.
"Right now we have schools that are not adequately filled and some that are overcrowded, so we want to have a balance within the community," said Rhonda Greene, District 22 Community Education Council Member.
This latest battle comes a year after a rezoning decision in Brooklyn Heights and Dumbo brought up issues of race, class and school segregation. And on the Upper West Side, a rezoning proposal has been so contentious that the city delayed the vote last year.
Parents at PS 217 say their school is an example of diversity, with students speaking 30 languages and families from a mix of socio-economic backgrounds. They say this rezoning vote may diversify the district but will divide their community.