Pasadena School Officials Defend Lottery System

PASADENA —  A federal lawsuit’s allegations that the Pasadena school district’s lottery system for entry to its three best schools is based on race has no foundation, district officials said Friday.

Supt. Vera Vignes and school board President Lisa Fowler said the Pasadena Unified School District will give immediate entry to siblings of those already at the schools, but beyond that, the selection will be entirely random.

Only where the ethnic breakdown of the applicant pool was plus or minus 20% of the district’s racial demographics would school officials consider other factors, such as race, socioeconomic status and special needs, Vignes said.

The lottery for entry into Don Benito Fundamental Elementary School, Norma Coombs Alternative School and Marshall Fundamental Secondary School is intended to end the long lines parents stood in for hours to enroll their children, Fowler said.

Vignes said the district hopes to ensure diversity in the applicant pool by making sure as many children as possible of differing ethnicities and socioeconomic levels apply for the April draw.