Judge denies NAFA intervention request

U.S. District Judge Robbie James on Tuesday declined a request by a Neville alumni group and two Monroe parents to intervene in the Monroe City School Board's consent decree.

In late January, the Neville Alumni and Friends Association, Greg Jones and Nici Hanks appealed to the court for permission to be involved in the consent decree. The request and subsequent filings stated that the petitioners did not think the Monroe City School Board was looking after the best interests of the district.

Both the school board and the U.S. Department of Justice objected to the request to intervene.

Hanks, Jones, NAFA board member Dwayne Ludley, school board Vice President Brenda Shelling and Superintendent Brent Vidrine testified at an April 4 hearing at the federal courthouse in Monroe.

In his ruling, James said applicants to intervene must prove:

• that their application is timely;
• that they have interest in the transaction;
• that the disposition of the action would affect the applicant's ability to protect that interest and 
• that the interest must be inadequately represented by the parties already involved.

James said the parents and NAFA failed to act in a timely manner because the desegregation case had been ongoing for many years and parents were aware of consent decree actions in previous years.

Judge hears NAFA's consent decree plea

"This court has presided over a number of longstanding desegregation cases and brought them to resolution over the past few years," James wrote. "In many cases, the members of the school boards are not in agreement about the proper courses of action to take to resolve the case because of the conflicting interests of their constituents. Although it is clear to the court, the parties, counsel and the public at large that this school board is particularly contentious, they have been able to reach agreement with the DOJ on proposals and the individual plaintiffs have also had the opportunity to provide input if they wish."

Additionally, while the judge noted that their concerns about the board's hiring of Educational Planning Group as the independent court monitor was sincere, the applicants said they wanted to keep staffing at Neville and its feeder schools the same, which would interfere with implementation of the consent decree.

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The court, he said, "consistently held that the interest in a particular neighborhood school does not constitute a legally cognizable 'interest.'”

James said the three school board members who supported the original motion — Bill Willson, Vickie Dayton and Jennifer Haneline — represent the applicants' interests, as do the court and the DOJ.

Intervention, James said, would not resolve the case more quickly, and if NAFA or parents have concerns about the process, they may file "a motion for leave to file an amicus curiae (friend of the court) brief."

Follow Bonnie Bolden on Twitter @Bonnie_Bolden_ and on Facebook at http://on.fb.me/1RtsEEP.