Exempting the merged school from the racial quotas will allow the siblings of students who currently attend the two schools to be accepted unconditionally into the new school. Since more black and Latino siblings have been bused to other schools, letting them come to the merged Fletcher-Maynard school would upset the racial balance.
The district will actively recruit white students from other areas to help restore the school's racial balance.
"We do not want the creation of a super-ghetto school," said Douglas Whitlow, a Maynard parent on the steering committee. He said he favors the effort to bring in more white students to the merged school.
The merger "will keep a school in Area Four and create a school with attractions for white children," D'Alessandro said.
The special status also means class size at the school will be capped at 17 students and that the new building will have full-time art and foreign language teachers.
Committee member Nancy Walser said having full-time teachers for those areas is a significant advantage over part-time instructors, whom she said do not become as involved in the school community.
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