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Tinsley Voluntary Transfer Program attempts to address education inequality, serve minority groups Chris Lee News Editor On March 14, 1986, after more than 10 years of litigation, the Tinsley v. State of California settlement created the United States’ first inter-district desegregation initiative: the Tinsley Voluntary Transfer Program (VTP). Although the VTP continues to serve as a prominent symbol of the case, Tinsley’s ultimate goal was to bridge the divide between the Ravenswood City School District (RCSD) in East Palo Alto and surrounding school districts, ensuring that all students would be able to receive a quality education. Thirty-six years later, divides continue to persist, particularly in regards to schools’ resources and funding. While equity advocates may have won the legal battle through the Tinsley settlement, its application remains far more complex.
History of the VTP In the late 1960s, Palo Alto and East Palo parents joined to form the Midpeninsula Task Force for Integrated Education, due to concerns regarding the racial disparity between RCSD and neighboring school districts. Tinsley attorney Jack Robertson noted the stark demographic statistics in an interview with the Palo Alto Weekly. “East Palo Alto was 100% Black [while the] other districts were practically all Caucasian,” he said. Eventually, the 33 parents in the task force worked with Robertson and
two other lawyers to present their case in court, selecting Margaret Tinsley—an African American East Palo Alto mother—as the main plaintiff. The VTP originally allowed for up to 206 minority kindergarten through second grade RCSD students to attend schools within eight surrounding school districts’ boundaries—including Palo Alto Unified, Menlo Park City and San Carlos. If more students applied to transfer than spots available, a lottery system would be used to determine who could participate in the Tinsley program. Once their racial minority population reaches 60%, districts are no longer required to reserve the court-mandated spaces for the VTP: As of 2022, the Redwood City School District and Belmont-Redwood Shores School District have met the population threshold, resulting in the current 135 annual transfer spots. Furthermore, the court order also allows students attending school in the eight participating districts who are not minorities to transfer into RCSD. This option, however, elicits significantly fewer participants: from 1986–2006, only two non-minority students transferred into East Palo Alto. In contrast, 2,508 students transferred out of RCSD during the same time period.
Transportation Issues In accordance with the Tinsley settlement, Palo Alto Unified School District (PAUSD) allows 60 students from RCSD to attend Palo Alto schools. Although these students could previously choose to enroll at the PAUSD site of their choice, the district terminated bus routes to several
schools—including Gunn—at the end of the 2021–2022 school year. Students at sites no longer served by the district’s buses can opt to attend a school that does have bus service or find their own form of transportation. Junior Stephanie Castillo Baltazar noted the adverse impact of the arrangement on both her and other Tinsley program families. “A lot of students that live in East Palo Alto have parents who work two jobs or have more than one kid,” she said. “The change was super stressful because we had to figure out how I was going to get to school and back home. My mom drives me now, but she’s emotionally drained and has less time to get dinner ready.” According to Assistant Superintendent of Equity and Student Affairs Yolanda Conaway, two main factors drove the decision to cut routes: a lack of bus drivers and excessively long bus rides. “We are one of the most resourced districts in the area and yet we couldn’t find bus drivers,” she said. “This was also an equity issue, since we were essentially saying, ‘If you’re [a VTP student,] you have to get up at 5:00 in the morning and don’t get to sleep.’ It ultimately came down to the fact that getting kids to school was more important than having [their] first choice school available.” Tinsley program parent Alma Navarrete expressed frustration with the district’s lack of communication regarding the substantial decision. “There were a lot of changes in the program like the termination of bus routes,” she said in a conversation translated from Spanish by her daughter. “While I appreciate the district helping us out and allowing my daughter to have a better education, it seems like they’re cutting off valuable resources and not eliciting feedback from parents and students.”
Social Impact
School districts’ Tinsley Voluntary Transfer Program spaces as of 2022:
Beyond transpor tation, V TP students, such as freshman Elizabeth Perez, have noticed social impacts stemming from her longer commute to Gunn. “I wanted to go to some of the football games, but wasn’t able to because it’s too far away and my mom can’t give me a ride,” she said. Castillo Baltazar echoed Perez’s thoughts and offered deeper insights. “Living farther away changes everything,” she said. “A lot of people in Palo Alto view East Palo Alto as ‘ghetto,’ but most of us can’t afford to move to Palo Alto. Sometimes, I feel like I don’t necessarily belong at Gunn because I wouldn’t be going here without the Tinsley program.” Data and Professional Development Teacher on Special Assignment Tara Firenzi points to the challenge of increasing student body diversity while avoiding feelings of isolation. “I would love to see more students from underrepresented backgrounds on campus,” she said. “That being said, [the students from East Palo Alto] are still a Tinsley—p.2
Las Lomitas elementary: 12 Menlo park city: 24 Palo Alto Unified: 60 Portola Valley elementary: 8 San carlos: 26 Woodside elementary: 5 Source: Tinsley v. State of California settlement Chinyoung Shao