Flax v. Potts

• Decision Date: 27 September 1989
• Docket Number: Civ. A. No. 4-4205-E.
• Citation: 725 F. Supp. 322
• Parties: Arlene FLAX, et al. v. W.S. POTTS, et al.
• Court: U.S. District Court — Northern District of Texas

725 F. Supp. 322

Arlene FLAX, et al. v. W.S. POTTS, et al.

Civ. A. No. 4-4205-E.

United States District Court, N.D. Texas, Fort Worth Division.

September 27, 1989.

Leon Haley and Glenn O. Lewis, Forth Worth, Tex., William L. Garrett, Dallas, Tex., and Olivia Garcia-Boullt, Fort Worth, Tex., for plaintiffs.

David B. Owen, Tom Carr and A. Bruce Wilson, Fort Worth, Tex., for defendants.

MEMORANDUM OPINION AND ORDER

MAHON, District Judge.

The Fort Worth Independent School District (FWISD) moves the Court for a declaration that the school district is unitary. For the reasons stated below, the Court finds that the former dual school system has been dismantled and that the vestiges of de jure segregation have been removed "root and branch."¹ While such a finding warrants the eventual end of federal court supervision, the Fifth Circuit's guidelines in Youngblood v. Board of Public Instruction of Bay Co. mandate that the Court retain jurisdiction over the case for three more years. 448 F.2d 770 (5th Cir.1971).

Findings of Fact

1. These fact findings are based on the record of this case, now spanning almost thirty years, and the evidence adduced at a hearing held on the unitary-status issue beginning on April 12, 1989, and ending on April 20, 1989.

2. The history of the Flax case has been recounted several times during its long pendency and will not be repeated here. See Flax v. Potts, 864 F.2d 1157 (5th Cir.1989) (affirming order discontinuing limited busing for desegregation purposes); Flax v. Potts, 680 F.Supp. 820 (N.D.Tex. 1988) (opinion and order ending desegregation busing); Flax v. Potts, 567 F.Supp. 859 (N.D.Tex.1983) (opinion and order approving 1983 amendment to the FWISD desegregation plan).

3. The Mexican-Americans, intervenors in this action, do not oppose a finding of unitary status.

4. As a result of the work of the Citizens Advisory Committee in 1983, certain amendments to the then existing desegregation plan were proposed to the Court and approved.² Flax, 567 F.Supp. at 861-74. Under the 1983 Plan, five elementary schools were closed, 20 elementary schools were paired for desegregation (cluster) busing, 30 elementary schools were deemed "stand alone" under ratios defining integrated schools, and eight elementary schools, although attended by predominately minority populations, were left alone.

5. Of the eight minority-race elementary schools not subject to cluster busing in 1983, three had predominately black student populations. These three were Eastland, Mitchell Boulevard, and Dillow Elementary Schools. Prior to the 1983 Plan, these elementary schools had been clustered for desegregation busing purposes. The Court found that a diminishing white enrollment and changing demographics rendered the application of continued or alternative desegregation devices impracticable simply to maintain desegregation ratios. More importantly, the Court found that any resulting racial imbalance was not the product of past or present discriminatory action by the FWISD. Flax, 567 F.Supp. at 870-71.

6. In 1988, the Court was again called upon to make a similar determination about 8 predominately black schools which would no longer be subject to cluster busing. These eight elementary schools were Morningside, McRae, Pate, Como, Walton, Van Zandt-Gwen, Versia Williams, and Carroll Peak. The Court found that any effect that the termination of desegregation busing would have on these schools was "genuinely nondiscriminatory." Flax, 680 F.Supp. at 828. The Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals agreed, affirming this Court's decision that any concentrations of minorities in particular schools were not caused by discrimination but by population demographics. Flax, 864 F.2d at 1160-61.

7. The dual school system which was mandated by state law in the 1950's was dismantled in 1967. Not since that time has any student been excluded from a school in the FWISD based on race.

8. Since 1973, the school district has operated under a desegregation plan which complies with all of the principles prescribed by the United States Supreme Court in Swann v. Charlotte-Mecklenburg Board of Education, 402 U.S. 1, 91 S.Ct. 1267, 28 L.Ed.2d 554 (1971).

9. The implementation of all desegregation devices under the 1973 and the 1983 Plans has resulted in the de facto creation of a unitary system in the FWISD.

10. Under the 1973 Plan, all elementary schools, except two which were naturally integrated, and six middle schools were involved in massive, cross-town busing. The 1973 Plan also instituted the "pyramid feeder system." Under this system, elementary schools "fed into" designated middle schools and middle schools "fed into" designated high schools. The attendance zones of middle and high schools were broader than those of the elementary schools. More encompassing attendance zones enhanced natural integration and generally offset those smaller racial imbalances, if any, in the elementary schools. While busing was used to achieve racial balances in elementary schools not naturally integrated, the middle and high schools acted a "melting pot" to achieve even a greater degree of desegregation.

11. Under the 1973 Plan, desegregation busing and the pyramid feeder system were not the only devices used to ensure full compliance with the Swann mandate. A majority-to-minority transfer policy was adopted. Liberal transfer policies which had allowed some escape cluster busing were eliminated. Equidistant principles were the guiding force when drawing elementary school attendance zones. To enhance integration, middle and high school attendance zones were redrawn to enhance integration. The Dunbar Complex or Community School was created. Multi-age grouping was utilized in particular classes or grades when busing or other Swann remedial tools could not alter circumstantial incidents of racial isolation.

12. Evidence adduced at the April 12, 1989 hearing demonstrated the success of the 1973 Plan as enhanced by the 1983 Amendments. Desegregation devices were utilized to achieve target racial balances in predominately one-race schools. Every de jure black school that existed under the dual school system and, particularly, every one of the 16 predominately black schools noted by the Fifth Circuit in its July 14, 1972 opinion, were beneficiaries of these desegregation devices. As reflected by their year-by-year racial composition, the desegregation devises employed in these schools were effective in integrating the schools.

13. During the 1970's and 1980's, residential living patterns did not remain stagnate. White enrollment in the school district dropped dramatically. More than 33,000 fewer white students were enrolled in the FWISD in 1984 than in 1968. The racial composition of the school district was no longer predominately white. By 1984, only 39.8% of the school district's enrollment was white. While the number of black students enrolled during the 1968-1984 period remained relatively constant, the percentage of black enrollment increased dramatically as white enrollment dwindled. The hispanic student population also increased steadily, from 6,947 in 1968 to over 18,000 in 1988.

14. Dramatic changes in residential living patterns have occurred throughout Fort Worth since the implementation of the desegregation plan. Some schools which had predominately white enrollments in the 1950's now have majority of black students. Other predominately white schools in the 1950's have been naturally integrated because of the continuing integration of residential neighborhoods. The trend toward natural integration continues throughout the school district. For example, Polytechnic and Wyatt High Schools had more than a 96% white enrollment in the 1960's. Yet by 1988, Polytechnic High School, even with its magnet program, had almost an 80% black enrollment; Wyatt, too, is now attended by a student population which is more than 80% black.

15. Since 1980, magnet schools have been developed and utilized as an indispensable tool in integrating the FWISD. The specialized instruction available at the magnet schools attracts students from all over the district, regardless of race. A modification to the 1973 Plan, ordered in 1980, added magnet schools at the Dunbar and Polytechnic High Schools and at the Dunbar and William James Middle Schools. The 1983 Amendments to the desegregation plan added magnet schools to Daggett Elementary and Middle Schools, Morningside Elementary and Middle Schools, D. McRae Elementary, Elder Middle, and North Side and Wyatt High Schools.

16. Magnet schools are a very successful means of meeting the school district's goals of quality education and integrated schools. More than 2500 students are currently enrolled in magnet schools which are located in predominately minority neighborhoods. Since their inception, magnet school enrollments have increased steadily. Any student wishing to attend a magnet school outside of the student's "home" school is afforded free transportation. Students whose "home" school hosts a magnet program may attend magnet classes.

17. An effective majority-to-minority transfer programs also exists to ensure that no student is locked into a racially identifiable school. Any student enrolled in a school in which his race is in the majority can simply make a request and be given a transfer to any other school in which his race is in the minority. Transportation to transferring students is provided free by the school district. A majority-to-minority transfer is a matter of right under the current desegregation plan and are not contingent upon a designated official's approval.

18. Absent desegregation busing, testimony at the April 12, 1989 hearing indicated that no additional remedial tools could be utilized to adjust the racial makeup of student assignments. School district officials testified that no vestiges of the dual system currently influence the racial composition of schools or employees, and if the...