NEWS

Judge OKs MCSB deadline extension

Bonnie Bolden

bbolden@thenewsstar.com

On Thursday, U.S. District Judge Robbie James approved new deadlines for the Monroe City School Board to meet under its consent decree.

On March 9, the school board met with Educational Planning Group, the independent court monitor hired by the board; representatives from the U.S. Department of Justice; and workers with the Intercultural Development Research Association — South Central Collaborative for Equity. The parties agreed on the new deadlines under the consent decree.

The new deadlines have been shifted as follows:

Feb. 1 to April 19: “the district shall develop, and the school board shall approve, written policies or contracts that make a material portion of the Superintendent’s performance evaluation (and the performance evaluations of other district personnel responsible for implementing the consent decree) contingent on compliance with this consent decree.”

Feb. 15 to April 4: “the district will ensure that the homepage of the website for each of its high schools prominently features information regarding the medical magnet program.”

April 1 to April 15: the "district shall implement all recommendations outlined in the report . . . , unless it first provides the United States written justification why any such recommendations should not be implemented."

Feb. 1 to April 1: “the independent court monitor shall provide the United States with a written status update regarding the assessment of specialized academic programs.”

March 1 to June 1: “the district shall develop and implement a formal plan (the “plan”) for: publicizing the availability of specialized academic programs; ensuring that Black students are not underidentified for participation in such programs and rectifying any existing underidentification; training guidance counselors, faculty, and staff on the proper method(s) of identifying students for placement in specialized academic programs; and making such programs equally accessible to all qualifying students regardless of the school they attend.”

Feb. 29 to April 4: “the district will have completed a review of the racial make-up and credentials of the faculty in its schools districtwide.”

Feb. 1 to April 1: " the district shall develop a draft incentive plan and submit the plan to the United States for comment.”

March 1 to May 3: “the United States shall comment on the draft incentive plan.”

May 1 to May 25: The district will "require statements of intent from teachers who will voluntarily transfer.”

May 15 to June 6: The district will provide a plan and information on all teachers, including race, credentials and most recent performance rating.

June 1 to June 30: The district will assign teachers in accordance with the consent decree's requirements.

Board President Rodney McFarland said earlier this month that the deadlines only change when certain elements of the decree must be met but not when the district will be out from under the decree or what standards the district must meet.

MCSB OKs new consent decree dates

Consent decree suit

A hearing on an appeal for the Neville Alumni and Friends Association, Greg Jones, and Nici Hanks to be involved in the consent decree is set for 10 a.m. April 4.

In late January, NAFA, Jones and Hanks appealed to the court for permission to intervene in the Monroe City School Board's desegregation case. A memorandum to the appeal included statements from three Monroe City School Board members — Bill Willson, Vickie Dayton and Haneline.

That appeal was approved on Feb. 2 by U.S. Magistrate Judge Karen L. Hayes but rescinded on Feb. 3. U.S. District Judge Robbie James was named the only judge to hear the matter.

The DOJ and the Monroe City School Board filed separate memorandums of opposition to the request. The court determined that information provided by board attorney Doug Lawrence to refute the board member's claims was protected by attorney-client privilege was sealed in the court record.

In its memorandum, the DOJ asserted that "the applicants’ asserted interests — including their apparent interest in ensuring that the disposition of this lawsuit does not result in undesirable changes to three historically white schools that continue to enroll the majority of the District’s white students — are not sufficient to justify intervention as of right."

On March 9, the attorney for NAFA, Jones and Hanks filed a reply memorandum in support of the motion for leave to intervene. In it, the group further outlines its argument against involvement from the Educational Planning Group and advocates for a proposal that University of Louisiana at Monroe faculty members act as the independent court monitor and medical magnet program advisers.

"For the opposition to imply that NAFA and parents of students at what the opposition refers to as 'white' schools have no legitimate interest in desegregation is, quite frankly, offensive," the reply reads. "First, the continued designation of Neville, Lee, Lexington, and Sallie Humble as 'white' schools in the face of uncontested demographic evidence to the contrary is illogical and does a disservice to all of the black students and professional educators at these schools."

The group alleges that the board ignored parts of the 2010 consent decree and the current issues are caused by long-term failure to act.

"The existing parties have failed to adequately represent the legitimate interest of movants; otherwise, the District would now be unitary," the reply reads.

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