Los Banos group calls for more Hispanic representation

A group of advocates is demanding that the Los Banos Unified School District make formal changes to try to increase the number of teachers and school leaders of color.

In a June 10 letter to Superintendent Steve Tietjen, Los Banos’ Community Advocacy Coalition listed five demands, including indefinitely suspending the selection of new hires for open positions of Los Banos High School principal and Pacheco High School vice principal.

The letter also demands district officials allow a member of the coalition to be involved in the selection of those administrators, as well as in planning for ways to recruit Hispanic teachers.

Developing a plan to hire more minorities, providing the coalition with a list of teachers of color and hiring bilingual liaisons for Spanish-speaking parents rounded out the list of demands.

“CAC committee is confident that our negotiations, without the influence or involvement of outside agencies, will result in positive steps towards the accomplishments of the outlined demands,” the letter states.

Los Banos is 65 percent Hispanic or Latino, according to the 2010 U.S. census. People of color, which include anybody who is not white, make up about 74 percent of the population in town. According to the district, Hispanics make up about 20 percent of teachers who reported their ethnicity.

By law, employees of the district cannot be asked their ethnicity but are given the option to self-report, Tietjen said.

Tietjen has recommended the district’s board of trustees discuss the demands during its regular July meeting. It’s up to the board to decide whether to make a priority out of increasing the number of Hispanic teachers and administrators.

The district was set to pick candidates for the open principal and vice principal jobs this month but has extended the search for another month. Tietjen said that decision was made to gather more applicants, but not necessarily to find Hispanic applicants.

Having good role models for the students in the district is important, Tietjen said, but he contended that those people don’t necessarily need to look like the students they are instructing.

“My job is to make sure that every child has access and is encouraged to succeed in our system at the very top level,” he said. “Whatever it takes to have kids succeed is what we need to do.”

Tietjen said districts around the state are looking to add teachers and administrators of color to their payrolls, so it can be difficult to recruit someone of color who gets multiple job offers.

Julian Mancias of Los Banos, a founding member of the coalition, said it’s in the best interest of the city to make sure its children grow up with good role models. “Latino children really do need Latino teachers, principals and district office people,” he said.

He said the coalition wants the district to welcome the group as collaborators in the effort. The district needs to make an effort, he said, to at least include Hispanic candidates in its short list of applicants.

The district has a Hispanic member of its English Language Advisory Committee who has committed to be part of the recruitment process. Mancias said that is a good start, but contends the district also should include a Hispanic person who is a current or former educator.

“We want somebody who is going to offer good, positive information and critiques to the process of hiring these people,” he said.

The issue of representation has received increased attention around Merced County. The school board in Los Banos has moved to districts for local elections.

The Merced and Los Banos city councils are each in the process of adding districts after voters passed ballot measures last year. Those changes came after groups threatened lawsuits claiming a lack of representation.

This story was originally published June 18, 2015 at 2:46 PM with the headline "Los Banos group calls for more Hispanic representation."