While they affirmed the plan’s goals, Fowler-Finn and committee members nevertheless offered some skepticism about its overall effectiveness.

“I’m afraid that making more progress on the balance is going to more rapidly restrict choice,” Fowler-Finn said.

“If year after year I keep seeing the same schools with the same populations, I’m going to lose faith that this is working,” said committee member Richard Harding Jr.

Cambridge’s acting affirmative action officer also released hiring data on the system last night, showing a general lack of change in the percentage of minority teachers district-wide.

The committee discussed methods to recruit and hire more minority staff members, particularly as mentors to the district’s large number of minority students.

“The recruiting part is probably the single most important thing,” Fowler-Finn said.

—Staff writer Claire A. Pasternack can be reached at cpastern@fas.harvard.edu.