Little Rock Sch. Dist. v. PULASKI CTY. SPEC. SCH., LR-C-82-866.
| Decision Date | 19 November 1984 |
| Docket Number | No. LR-C-82-866.,LR-C-82-866. |
| Citation | 597 F. Supp. 1220 |
| Parties | LITTLE ROCK SCHOOL DISTRICT, Plaintiff, v. PULASKI COUNTY SPECIAL SCHOOL DISTRICT NO. 1; North Little Rock School District; Arkansas State Board of Education; Wayne Hartsfield; Walter Turnbow; Harry A. Haines; Jim Dupree; Dr. Harry P. McDonald; Robert L. Newton; Alice L. Preston; Jeff Starling; Earle Love; Bob Lyon; John Ward; Judy Wear; Leon Barnes; Marianna Gosser; Steve Morley; Mac Faulkner; Bob Moore; Don Hindman; Shirley Lowery; Sheryl Dunn; David Sain; Bob Stender; Grainger Williams; Richard A. Giddings; George A. McCrary; Buddy Raines; and Dale Ward, Defendants, Katherine Knight, Individually and as President of The Little Rock Classroom Teachers Association (LRCTA); LRCA; Ed Bullington, Individually and as President of The Pulaski Association of Classroom Teachers (PACT); PACT; John Harrison, Individually and as President of The North Little Rock Classroom Teachers Association (NLRCTA); NLRCTA; and Milton Jackson, Individually and as a Non-Certified Educational Support Employee of the Little Rock School District, Intervenors, Lorene Joshua, as next friend of minors Leslie Joshua, Stacy Joshua and Wayne Joshua; Rev. Robert Willingham; Sara Matthews as next friend of Khayyam Davis, Alexa Armstrong and Karlos Armstrong; Mrs. Alvin Hudson as next friend of Tatia Hudson; Mrs. Hilton Taylor as next friend of Parsha Taylor, Hilton Taylor, Jr. and Brian Taylor; Rev. John M. Miles as next friend of Janice Miles and Dereck Miles; Rev. Robert Willingham on behalf of and as President of the Little Rock Branch of the NAACP; Lorene Joshua on behalf of and as President of the North Little Rock Branch of NAACP, Intervenors. |
| Court | U.S. District Court — Eastern District of Arkansas |
Philip E. Kaplan, John M. Bilheimer, Janet L. Pulliam, Little Rock, Ark., for plaintiff.
Wright, Lindsey & Jennings, Little Rock, Ark., Friedman & Koven, Chicago, Ill., for Pulaski County Special School Dist. No. 1, Faulkner, Moore, Hindman, Lowery, Dunn, Sain and Stender.
C.R. McNair, III, Asst. Atty. Gen., State of Ark., Little Rock, Ark., for Ark. State Bd. of Educ., Hartsfield, Turnbow, Haines, Dupree, McDonald, Newton, Preston, Starling and Love.
House, Wallace & Jewell, Little Rock, Ark., for North Little Rock School Dist., Lyon, Ward, Wear, Barnes, Gosser and Morley.
Henry & Duckett, Little Rock, Ark., for Williams, Giddings, McCrary, Raines and Ward.
John W. Walker, Little Rock, Ark., for intervenors Joshua, et al.
Richard Roachell, Cearley, Mitchell & Roachell, Little Rock, Ark., for intervenors Knight, et al.
This Court issued its Memorandum Opinion on April 13, 1984, Little Rock School District v. Pulaski County Special School District, et al, 584 F.Supp. 328 (ED Ark. 1984) finding, among other things, that the defendant districts had engaged in unconstitutional and racially discriminatory acts resulting in substantial interdistrict segregation. In its complaint the Little Rock School District (LRSD) prayed that this Court order consolidation of the school districts found in Pulaski County. Having determined that the substantial interdistrict violations could be rectified only by corresponding substantial interdistrict relief, the Court ordered the requested consolidation. The parties were informed that a hearing would be conducted on April 30, 1984 to consider the precise nature of the consolidation plan to be implemented.
At the April 30, 1984 hearing all parties were afforded an opportunity to present any testimony they desired concerning the remedial aspects of this case. The LRSD presented a plan that was authored primarily by Dr. Robert Dentler. Rather than offering alternative plans or constructive criticism of the LRSD plan, the defendant districts chose to attack the consolidation concept at every juncture and destroy the LRSD plan. Much of their effort seemingly was aimed at relitigating the liability portion of this case rather than assisting the Court in the formulation of a workable solution to the interdistrict violations which were found to have occurred. While the Court recognized the need for all parties to fulfill their duties as adversaries in this litigation, it was hoped that, without prejudicing their right to appeal, the defendant districts would take a more constructive approach to the remedial portion of this case. On numerous occasions subsequent to the April 30, 1984 hearing, the defendant districts voiced the opinion that this court foreclosed them from putting forth alternative remedies. Due to the negative approach taken by the defendant districts at the April 30, 1984 hearing (in the face of this court's need for their constructive participation) and the resulting cloud of confusion created by their complaints that they had been prevented from offering alternative remedies, the Court adhered to the suggestion of the Court of Appeals that the remedial hearings be reopened for the purposes of permitting these defendants to advance different remedies. A hearing to afford these defendants that opportunity, as well as to allow the various intervenors to participate in the remedial aspects of the case, was held beginning on July 30, 1984. See 738 F.2d 82.
Subsequent to the conclusion of this portion of the remedial hearings, Intervenors Knight, et al sought to substitute an exhibit reflecting the current Professional Negotiations Agreement (PNA) between the Little Rock Classroom Teachers Association and the LRSD, and the Pulaski County Special School District (PCSSD) sought permission to supplement the record to reflect offers to engage in some form of voluntary transfers of students among the districts.
PCSSD's motion to supplement the record to include the aforementioned correspondence is granted. The attorneys representing PCSSD are directed to meet with this Court's courtroom deputy clerk to facilitate the marking and listing of these exhibits for the record.
Intervenors Knight, et al's motion to substitute a current PNA is granted, and her attorney should likewise meet with the Court's courtroom deputy so as to ensure that this substitution of exhibits is accomplished.
The parties have submitted post-hearing briefs, and the Court has reviewed its April 13, 1984 Memorandum Opinion and the transcript of the remedial hearings. With this background and a view toward tailoring the remedy to fit the nature and extent of the constitutional violations, Milliken v. Bradley, 418 U.S. 717, 94 S.Ct. 3112, 41 L.Ed.2d 1069 (1974), the Court is prepared to render its opinion concerning the remedial aspects of this case.
The PCSSD plan (PCSSD X 83) was generally described as voluntary with mandatory backup. Fritz Friendl, Administrator for Research, Planning and Quality Assurance for Pulaski County Special School District, coordinated efforts within the PCSSD staff and patrons in drafting the plan and presented the plan at the July 30, 1984 hearing. The plan retains the three autonomous school districts and relies on the development of specialty or magnet schools to attract students from one district to another. These magnet schools would be governed by a tri-district committee that would oversee the location of schools, student assignments, transportation, faculty and financing. The fatal flaw with this plan is its undue reliance on voluntary transfers. This Circuit held that "voluntary interdistrict transfers ... as a remedy for an intradistrict violation ... comply with constitutional standards," Liddell v. State of Missouri, 731 F.2d 1294, 1305 (8th Cir.1984) (emphasis added) and in some cases these "freedom of choice" features may still have some vitality. Green v. County School Board of New Kent County, 391 U.S. 430, 88 S.Ct. 1689, 20 L.Ed.2d 716 (1967). However, in the face of the dejure segregative acts found to have occurred and which are continuing, it would be naive to conclude that such a voluntary plan would succeed in this case. The PCSSD plan fails to adequately address the interdistrict segregative effects found to exist and cannot be approved. Little Rock School District v. Pulaski County Special School District, supra, findings of fact numbered 103-105.
The North Little Rock School District (NLRSD) had consistently taken the position that they would not offer an alternative plan, notwithstanding their criticism that they had been denied such an opportunity. However, on the eve of the July 30, 1984 hearing, the NLRSD apparently reached the conclusion to support what has been referred to as the "Masem/Western Wedge Plan." One of the proponents of this plan was Dr. Paul Masem, former Superintendent of the LRSD and an expert retained by the Joshua Intervenors. Dr. David Armor, one of the NLRSD's expert witnesses, presented testimony in favor of such a plan.
The "Masem/Western Wedge Plan" calls for the NLRSD to retain its separate autonomous identity. The PCSSD north and west of Interstate 30 and south of the Arkansas River would become part of the LRSD. The LRSD east and south of Interstate 30 would become part of the PCSSD. Desegregation under the NLRSD plan would depend largely upon voluntary "M to M" (majority to minority) transfers.
The NLRSD plan defines a desegregated school as one having between 20-50% black enrollment. The plan would allow a deviation of five percentage points on either side of these parameters. A racially isolated school under this plan is defined as one having 90% or more students of one race. An Interdistrict Policy Board would be established to administer and coordinate the various provisions of the plan. This Board would include representatives from each district, as well as the Joshua Intervenors.
The Court finds that this plan, like the PCSSD plan, places too much reliance upon the voluntary motivations of the...
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Little Rock Sch. Dist. v. Pulaski Cty. Spec. Sch.
...and relied on the development of specialty or magnet schools to attract students from one district to another. LRSD v. PCSSD, 597 F.Supp. 1220, 1222-23 (E.D.Ark.1984). NLRSD advanced a plan that retained the three autonomous school districts, transferred certain geographic areas from PCSSD ......
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