Schools’ Affirmative Action Plan Under Fire

Latino community groups on Thursday criticized an affirmative action plan proposed by the Los Angeles Unified School District, saying it doesn’t go far enough in addressing “gross under-representation” of Latinos among district employees.

An attorney with the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund said Latinos comprise about 37% of the city’s population and 60% of the district’s students, but that no more than 17% of district employees in any one job classification are Latino.

Clinton L. Burch, chairman of the Affirmative Action Advisory Council on Employment, said the plan addresses the needs of all minority groups and will be revised to include 1990 census data. The proposed plan was warmly received by the Black Education Commission, which called it “fair and realistic.”