School proximity trumps diversity in Pinellas County.

Nation: As the Multicults and diversity-mongers seethe with righteous rage.

The vast majority of Pinellas parents consider racial integration a low priority when it comes to public schools. Both white and black parents polled in recent days by the St. Petersburg Times said other factors -- the quality of a school, its proximity to home and the ability of siblings to go there together -- are more important. Only 4 percent of the parents surveyed ranked racial diversity as the most important characteristic of a school, while 63 percent said overall quality was their top priority. Black and white parents ranked their priorities in the same order. Parents expressed similar views in a 2005 Times poll and in a 2006 Pinellas County school district survey of more than 7,700 households. But Mary Brown, the School Board's only black member, said the numbers don't reflect the views of black parents she has talked to. "Black parents, like all parents, want high-quality schools, but they do not want segregated schools," Brown insisted. "When you put all that together, it's how you ask the question. If you had said, 'I want a high-quality school close to home that is segregated,' you'd come up with a different answer."

As you read the rest of the article, the disconnect between the board members and the public is predictable considering they feel they know what is best for the children not the parents.