United States v. School Dist. of Omaha, Civ. No. 73-0-320.

• Decision Date: 27 April 1976
• Docket Number: Civ. No. 73-0-320.
• Citation: 418 F. Supp. 22
• Parties: UNITED STATES of America, Plaintiff, Nellie Mae Webb et al., Intervenors, v. The SCHOOL DISTRICT OF OMAHA et al., Defendants.
• Court: U.S. District Court — District of Nebraska

418 F. Supp. 22

UNITED STATES of America, Plaintiff Nellie Mae Webb et al., Intervenors, v. The SCHOOL DISTRICT OF OMAHA et al., Defendants.

Civ. No. 73-0-320.

United States District Court, D. Nebraska.

April 27, 1976.

Ross L. Connealy, Dept. of Justice, Washington, D. C., for plaintiffs.

Robert V. Broom, Legal Aid Society, Omaha, Neb., for intervenors.

Gerald P. Laughlin, Omaha, Neb., for defendants.

MEMORANDUM OPINION

SCHATZ, District Judge.

This matter comes before the Court for approval of a comprehensive student integration plan to be implemented this coming fall term in the School District of Omaha.

On June 12, 1975, the Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit in United States v. School District of Omaha, 521 F.2d 530 (8th Cir. 1975), cert. denied, 423 U.S. 946, 96 S.Ct. 361, 46 L.Ed.2d 280, ordered that the Omaha School District be integrated, established guidelines for the achievement of that goal, and further ordered that this Court should retain jurisdiction to insure that a comprehensive student integration plan would be effective and would be carried out. The Court of Appeals further ordered that it would be the responsibility of the Board of Education to develop a comprehensive plan for integrating the student body, that such plan should be presented to this Court no later than January 1, 1976, and that the Omaha School District should be integrated no later than the beginning of the 1976-77 school year. The guidelines to be followed in developing and implementing the student integration plan, together with a discussion of all relevant factors to be considered in formulating the plan, are set forth in full in the opinion of the Court of Appeals, and cases cited therein, and it is not necessary to review those matters here at this time.

Thereafter, on December 31, 1975, the School Board presented to this Court a proposed plan for integrating the student body in the Omaha School District. Following the submission of that plan, the Court, on January 21, 1976, entered an order that the parties would have until February 2, 1976, to file written objections and briefs in support thereof with reference to the proposed plan. The Court further ordered that a hearing would be had on February 20, 1976, with reference to the Court adopting and approving a plan for student integration in the Omaha School District and requested that any alternative plans be submitted to the Court on or before the hearing date.

On February 2, 1976, the intervenors filed their objections to the proposed plan and on February 4, 1976, the plaintiff, United States of America, filed a "response" to the proposed plan which included some objections and some suggested changes in the proposed plan. On February 17, 1976, the defendant School District submitted certain adjustments to its original plan, by letter, which is now filed herein.

On February 20 and 23, 1976, a hearing was held at which time all the parties were given full opportunity to adduce evidence in opposition to and in support of the proposed plan of the Omaha School Board and on the second day of the hearing, the intervenors filed and submitted certain alternatives to the proposed plan. On March 17, 1976, the plaintiff, United States of America, filed certain amendments to its original response of February 4, 1976, and on March 23, 1976, intervenors filed an "amplification" to their February 23, 1976, suggested alternatives. Thereafter, on April 8, 1976, the defendant Omaha School District filed its response and reply concerning the plaintiff's and intervenors' alternative plans. The matter is now ready for determination by this Court as to a final comprehensive student integration plan for the School District of Omaha.

It should be noted, at the outset, that all the parties herein, and the Board of Education and its Task Force,¹ have gone about the assignment of formulating a student integration plan with exemplary good faith, cooperation and sincere efforts to resolve the problem. An adversary approach has been minimal. To the contrary, the parties, the School Board and the Task Force have evinced a genuine dedication to the formulation and operation of an excellent integrated school system within the framework of the law.²

Obviously, the scope and magnitude of the problem makes the formulation of any total and comprehensive integration plan an inherently difficult task. No one plan can completely reconcile all of the divergent views which are necessarily involved in this matter. No plan, standing alone, is perfect. In Green v. County School Board of New Kent County, 391 U.S. 430, 439, 88 S.Ct. 1689, 1695, 20 L.Ed.2d 716 (1968), the Supreme Court acknowledged, "there is no universal answer to complex problems of desegregation; there is obviously no one plan that will do the job in every case. The matter must be assessed in light of the circumstances present and the options available in each instance."

The obligation of this Court is to adopt a just, equitable and workable plan in accordance with the guidelines and other relevant factors to be considered as mandated by the Court of Appeals; a plan that promises to achieve now and hereafter the greatest possible degree of actual desegregation in the Omaha Public School District, taking also into account the practicalities of the situation. Furthermore, the plan must be effective and, of course, must be carried out. "The measure of any desegregation plan is its effectiveness." Davis v. Board of School Commissioners, 402 U.S. 33, 37, 91 S.Ct. 1289, 1292, 28 L.Ed.2d 577 (1971). See also Green v. County School Board of New Kent County, supra, 391 U.S. at 439, 88 S.Ct. 1689.

As previously noted, modifications, alternatives and amendments to the School District's proposed plan have been explored, studied and briefed by the parties and also by this Court. Each of the parties has, in effect, submitted an original plan, as well as amendments and modifications thereto. The parties have been given every opportunity to offer evidence in explanation and support of their proposed plans and in opposition to the respective proposals of the other parties.

It is safe to say that the utmost care has been exercised in the adoption of a student integration plan and that no feasible alternatives have been overlooked or disregarded. This Court is now confident that all available options have been fully explored, together with the possible benefits and particular problems involved with each particular one.³

Having carefully considered the various aspects of each proposal in great detail, this Court hereby adopts the proposed plan of the Omaha School Board as modified by the February 17, 1976, letter and as modified by the plaintiff's latest amendments to its original response (Filing No. 146). No alternative plan has been shown to be as feasible or as promising in its effectiveness which also is in compliance with the mandate of the Court of Appeals. This modified School Board Plan is fair in relation to all of the...