Santa Barbara Unified School District Responds to Concerns over Anti-Bias/Anti-Blackness Oversight Committee

The Santa Barbara NAACP says that the Santa Barbara Unified School District’s (SBUSD) oversight committee for addressing anti-bias and anti-Blackness was created without transparency and should have included twice as many parents of Black students. In a response issued this week, the district admits it has “consistently and not perfectly sought to improve the process and learning for both faculty, staff, and students.”

On September 12, the district unveiled the names of the individuals chosen to participate in the new oversight committee dedicated to addressing issues related to hateful, biased, and anti-Black language and actions in schools.

With increased awareness around racial incidents occurring in schools — partially catalyzed by an incident in February 2022, when a student at Santa Barbara Junior High was allegedly called a racial slur and assaulted by other students — the school board decided to assess the district’s racial climate, resulting in a final report released in April. 

All eyes have been on what they’re doing about it. 

At the district’s September 26 board meeting, Steve Venz, the district’s chief operations officer, underscored that the oversight committee, not present at the meeting, is eager to “get to work” providing guidance and feedback on the district’s anti-racist initiatives. They’ll be meeting a total of five times over the 2023-2024 school year. 

The selection process for the committee was apparently thorough, involving 60 applicants, a panel responsible for choosing members, and a rubric to rank applicants in categories such as understanding of equity and anti-racist work and personal experience with racial bias.

The top applicants were then narrowed down to two parents from elementary schools, two parents from secondary schools, and three staff members.

However, the NAACP of Santa Barbara released a statement the following day, September 27, expressing their reservations about the committee’s makeup. The most glaring issue is the overrepresentation of non-Black parents and staff compared to Black parents on the committee, the NAACP said.

In their statement, the NAACP voiced concerns about the lack of transparency in the committee creation process, emphasizing that the community was informed about the process only after its completion. Little information was provided about the members of the selection panel, which contributed to their concerns regarding “openness.” 

Connie Alexander, the president of the Santa Barbara NAACP, said that they don’t expect transformation to happen overnight. “It’s going to be a heavy lift” to address deeply rooted racial biases in a community and help an institution understand how they can do better, she said. But, she added, “The first step is being transparent.” 

The NAACP insisted that the committee should have included “twice as many parents of Black students” and more members from the previous anti-Blackness working group. They also raised questions about the objectivity of district employees on the committee whose livelihoods are tied to the district.

“We do not doubt the sincerity of those willing to serve, but you cannot create anti-Blackness on the way to addressing anti-Blackness,” the statement reads. “After nearly two years, this pattern from SBUSD makes it difficult to believe we will see any progress.”

Before introducing the committee’s members on September 12, Venz said they were looking for a collaborative spirit, a diversity of perspectives, and a willingness to speak the truth about what is occurring in schools and give honest feedback about district initiatives. 

“I sincerely believe this is going to change our environment,” said Boardmember Wendy Sims-Moten at the September 12 board meeting, joining in the board’s chorus of appreciation for applicants and committee members. There were no public speakers present.

“We are proud of the members of our Oversight Committee for stepping up to serve,” the district said in an October 12 statement. “This group is a cross-section of parents, community, and staff members to make sure we have viewpoints that represent a variety of experiences in the District, as recommended by our racial climate report.”

“We know the committee will provide our District with open, honest, and trustworthy feedback,” the statement continued. “The Oversight Committee plans to engage the community and the former Combating Anti-Blackness Workgroup members to assess past, current, and future efforts.”

Dr. Michelle Petty Grue, a university professor and one of the elementary school parents on the committee, had her child sitting next to her in the boardroom, wearing headphones while quietly playing on his tablet. She wants to see the committee contribute to demonstrable change and work as a mechanism to facilitate communication between the school board and the public. 

“He’s the reason why I do this,” she said. “Not enough has changed from when I was his age, to things now.” 

Black students make up less than one percent of the district’s student population — significantly outnumbered by Hispanic students (60 percent) and white students (30 percent) — but are disproportionately affected by overt racial incidents in schools. 

The September 26 board report included data on the 30 total racial incidents that occurred over the prior 24 days, as well as the type of incidents reported — most being verbal — who reported them, and the responses to those incidents. 

The committee’s recommendations from their first meeting on September 13 included informing and educating families about the implementation of “the Three R’s” — recognize, respond, and report — and ensuring transparency regarding the committee’s activities, among others. 

“S.B. Unified strives to improve the experiences and academic outcomes of every student,” the district added.

“In recent years, the District has heard from its families and students regarding the realities of the generational trauma incurred by many Black students. The need for change was also shown in the racial climate report. We have consistently and not perfectly sought to improve the process and learning for both faculty, staff, and students.”

Alexander emphasized that this is an ongoing process, not a checklist, centered around the relationship between the district, Black parents, Black students — who she stressed should have a safe space to speak for themselves — and the Black community at large. The Black community is not a monolith, she said, but full of diverse voices. 

“I would like to see the district deepen their relationship with the Black community,” Alexander continued. “The way forward is building relationships, with a broad spectrum of perspectives from the community.”