When those who have experienced rezoning school lines were asked how it impacted their communities, parents from disadvantaged backgrounds describe the emptiness that closing schools left. Most often you hear a description of how neighborhood schools served as recreational as well as meeting facilities with various programs that benefited the entire community

White middle-class parents, who are open to predominantly black schools with at least 35 percent white middle-class population, expressed concern that the closures would negatively impact their neighborhood's ability to attract other middle-class families with young school age children. After the schools were closed, many of these same parents enrolled their children in private and/or charter schools.

Redistricting discouraged pro-public school  gentry parent from actually investing their time and resources into district schools because there was a feeling that their diverse neighborhoods would always receive the "short end of the stick".

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