Knight v. Pulaski County Special School Dist., 96-3841EA

Citation112 F.3d 953
Decision Date01 May 1997
Docket NumberNo. 96-3841EA,96-3841EA
Parties155 L.R.R.M. (BNA) 2144, 117 Ed. Law Rep. 904 Katherine KNIGHT; North Little Rock Classroom Teachers Association; Pulaski Association of Classroom Teachers; Little Rock Classroom Teachers Association; Ed Bullington; and John Harrison, Appellants, v. PULASKI COUNTY SPECIAL SCHOOL DISTRICT, Appellee.
CourtUnited States Courts of Appeals. United States Court of Appeals (8th Circuit)

Robert H. Chanin, argued, Washington, DC (Virginia A. Seitz and Jonathan D. Hacker, Washington, DC, and Richard W. Roachell, Little Rock, AR, on the brief), for appellants.

M. Samuel Jones, III, argued, Little Rock, AR (Claire Shows Hancock, Little Rock, AR, on the brief), for appellee.

Before RICHARD S. ARNOLD, Chief Judge, HEANEY and WOLLMAN, Circuit Judges.

RICHARD S. ARNOLD, Chief Judge.

In 1992, the long-running desegregation case involving the three school districts in Pulaski County, Arkansas, was settled. A consent decree, embodying the agreement of all the parties, was entered on April 29, 1992. Under this Court's opinion in Little Rock School District v. Pulaski County Special School District, 921 F.2d 1371 (8th Cir.1990), the District Court was given the job of monitoring the settlement agreement to ensure that all parties complied with it. The question presented in this case is whether the District Court had the authority, as an aspect of this enforcement responsibility, to forbid a strike by the teachers of the Pulaski County Special School District.

On August 19, 1996, the District's teachers, represented by the Pulaski Association of Classroom Teachers, went on strike. Three days later, on August 22, certain parents of PCSSD students filed suit in the Chancery Court of Pulaski County, Arkansas, and sought a preliminary injunction against the strike, alleging state-law grounds in support of their request. The next day, after a hearing on the motion, the Chancery Court denied injunctive relief on the ground that no showing of irreparable harm had been made. Wilson v. Pulaski Ass'n of Classroom Teachers, No. IJ96-5788 (slip op. Ark. Ch. Ct., Aug. 23, 1996). Another hearing was scheduled for September 19. This state-court case is now pending before the Supreme Court of Arkansas on PCSSD's appeal.

In the meantime, on August 27, the District itself made a motion in the federal district court for injunctive relief against the strike. School opened on August 28. The District used teachers who were willing to cross the picket line and others to staff its classrooms. On that same day, the District Court held a hearing on PCSSD's motion. At the conclusion of the hearing, the Court ordered the teachers to return to work on September 3. The teachers complied with this order, and PCSSD's schools have been open ever since.

At the heart of this case lies the question of the District Court's authority to enjoin the strike. The teachers and their Union were parties to the school-desegregation case, having been allowed to intervene. See Little Rock School District v. Pulaski County Special School District, 839 F.2d 1296, 1314-15 (8th Cir.), cert. denied, 488 U.S. 869, 109 S.Ct. 177, 102 L.Ed.2d 146 (1988). Like all other parties, they agreed to the settlement agreement embodied in the consent decree entered in 1992. The difficulty is that the settlement agreement says nothing about the teachers' right to strike. The job of the District Court is to enforce the settlement agreement. But since the agreement is silent on the subject of a strike by the teachers, the authority of the District Court to issue its order must be found elsewhere, if at all.

The fact that the case has been settled does not make the three school districts involved wards of the Court. They are not in receivership. Except as provided in the settlement agreement, or by reasonable implication therefrom, the rights and duties of the three school districts and those with whom they do business, including employees and organizations of employees, are governed by other applicable law, primarily state law. As we explained in 1988, a federal district court does have remedial authority, in necessary cases, to modify or even abrogate agreements that perpetuate segregation or impede a desegregation plan. Such action, however, can be taken only "after an evidentiary hearing and upon a finding that the change is...

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6 cases
  • Little Rock Sch. Dist. v. Pulaski Cty. Spec. Sch.
    • United States
    • U.S. District Court — Eastern District of Arkansas
    • September 13, 2002
  • Little Rock Sch. Dist. v. N. Little Rock Sch. Dist.
    • United States
    • U.S. District Court — Eastern District of Arkansas
    • January 17, 2013
    ... LITTLE ROCK SCHOOL DISTRICT, et al. PLAINTIFFS ... NORTH LITTLE ... Act to open-enrollment charter schools in Pulaski County. These new schools, the argument runs, ... issues involving the Pulaski County Special School District and the North Little Rock School ... Knight v. PCSSD, 112 F.3d 953, 954 (8th Cir. 1997). It ... ...
  • Little Rock Sch. Dist. v. Pulaski Cnty. Special Sch. Dist.
    • United States
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    • May 6, 2021
    ... LITTLE ROCK SCHOOL DISTRICT, et al. PLAINTIFFS v. PULASKI COUNTY SPECIAL SCHOOL DISTRICT, ... "particularization of federal law applicable to these parties." Knight v ... PCSSD , 112 F.3d 953, 955 (8th Cir. 1997). It is a contract that, ... ...
  • Little Rock Sch. Dist. v. Pulaski Cnty. Special Sch. Dist.
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    ... 344 F.Supp.3d 1016 LITTLE ROCK SCHOOL DISTRICT, et al., Plaintiffs v. PULASKI COUNTY SPECIAL SCHOOL DISTRICT, ... "particularization of federal law applicable to these parties." Knight v. Pulaski County Special School District , 112 F.3d 953, 955 (8th Cir ... ...
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