DIVERSITY COMMITTEE TAKING APPLICATIONS.

Byline: Carol Rock Staff Writer

SANTA CLARITA - Applications are available for residents interested in serving on the Ad Hoc Committee on Diversity being formed by the William S. Hart High School District in response to complaints of racism among students.

The committee will include representatives from the district's governing board, administrators, educators, parents, students and business as well as the city and Sheriff's Department.

The committee will function on two levels: subcommittees that have an open-ended membership organized in specific categories and the committee itself that will be responsible for drafting a mission statement, selecting an assessment tool to measure current school climate, review policies and enforcement procedures, and advise the governing board on programs or training to appreciate the district's diversity and deal with harassment on any level.

Applicants will be asked to select one of five subcommittees: parent, student, educator, business or community/city/sheriff. Each subcommittee will elect one or more representatives to serve on the 13-member steering committee, which will be responsible for receiving public input and recommending long-term programs and training to address problems with racism, discrimination or conflict on high school and junior high campuses.

There is no limit to the number of people who join and serve on subcommittees, but ad hoc committee representatives selected from the parent and student subcommittees will represent different campus attendance areas, with the intent of providing a broad spectrum of input from all parts of the community.

Applications are available at the Hart District administrative center at 21515 Centre Pointe Parkway and at all Hart district school sites. Additionally, they may be downloaded from the district Web site at www.hartdistrict.org by clicking on the Ad Hoc Committee on Diversity link or faxed and e-mailed to prospective applicants who contact Pat Willett, district community liaison officer, at [phone], Ext. 227 or pat-willett(at)hartdistrict.org.

Completed applications should be returned by Jan. 31. The district expects to name its two steering committee members at the Dec. 15 meeting and hopes to have a full roster of subcommittee members ready at the Feb. 2 board meeting. Subcommittee meeting dates and times will be determined by members after Feb. 2.

Carol Rock, [phone]

carol.rock(at)dailynews.com