Reorganization efforts require hundreds of volunteer hours, access to expensive consultants and attorneys, and the stamina for a protracted battle against the system. Across California, it is white parents who usually galvanize support for independent school districts. The Mission group is the first to involve a large number of Asian and Asian-American families. The Mission group is led by about a dozen parents, who estimate that 150 families are active in the cause. Though small, it is highly organized.
Supporters wear green T-shirts and stickers to public hearings.
Despite the coalition's image as being primarily Asian, more than a third of the parents active in the secession drive are white. Some are recent immigrants, while others were born in California and have lived in the Bay Area for decades. Parents resent being lumped together as one racial group, and are astonished that their race has become such a volatile factor. I was an American,'' said Letha Saldanha, an engineer who lived in India, Malaysia, Qatar and Louisiana before moving to Fremont, as she sat at a kitchen table strewed with her son's college applications. I really resent being identified by my race.