DOJ: Information was inaccurate

The U.S. Department of Justice, in court filings made this week, alleges that the Monroe City School District provided inaccurate information regarding compliance with an ongoing consent decree.

Along with 20 sealed exhibits, the Department of Justice, school board attorney Doug Lawrence and Scott Wolleson, counsel for Superintendent Brent Vidrine, submitted a stipulation into the court record. Vidrine and the board did not agree to all of the assertions made in the stipulation, but all parties agreed that the documents were authentic.

Wolleson said the stipulation contains the Department of Justice's "misplaced innuendo." He said the district has provided, and will continue to provide, information as requested to the Department of Justice, but there is some question as to whether it is a requirement of the consent decree.

Recent timeline

Both the Department of Justice and the school board agreed to the following timeline. Vidrine did "not stipulate the truth of the factual assertions" included but did agree that the documents were correct.

June 24: U.S. filed request for the board to be held in contempt

July 6: After first hearing related to the motion, it was determined the district would provide a list of teacher and administration assignments on Aug. 15.

Aug. 12: First day of school for Monroe City Schools

Aug. 15: Lawrence emailed the Department of Justice a letter, a faculty roster as of Aug. 12, a report on the racial demographics and credentials of administrators and a chart summarizing the racial composition of teachers at individual schools as detailed in the faculty roster.

Aug. 29: Lawrence sent a letter via email asking whether the Department of Justice would prosecute its contempt motion in light of Aug. 15 information.

Sept. 1: Department of Justice sent two letters in response. One said the district had yet to comply with the consent decree. The second said information provided Aug. 15 was "incomplete and contained serious errors that called into question the reliability and accuracy of the Monroe City School District’s personnel records. In that letter, the United States asked the District to have its faculty members complete a survey wherein each faculty member could report their race and credentials."

Sept. 6: Lawrence replied that the district "acknowledges obvious errors in the staffing data/credentials that were identified in your second letter of Sept. 1, 2016." He attached a spreadsheet from the district send that day that provided " the correct data and credentials for staff.”

Sept. 7: Lawrence emailed a letter explaining the district disagreed that it had not cured noncompliance. Lawrence also emailed additional information about principals and the race and credentials of several long-term substitute teachers — including those assigned to Carver Elementary, Berg Jones Elementary and Lincoln Elementary.

Sept. 8: Lawrence emailed an an updated list of long-term substitute teachers.

Sept. 9: District provided the Department of Justice with some survey responses. Thirteen teachers self-identified as a race different than that provided in the Sept. 6 roster. Lawrence also emailed a list of faculty assignments made subsequent to the July 6 hearing.

Sept. 12: In response to questions from the Department of Justice, Lawrence emailed an updated list of faculty assignments made subsequent to the July 6 hearing. The district has assigned new principals to six of its schools by this date.

Sept. 16: Lawrence provided a letter from Vidrine regarding personnel changes, a document summarizing additional proposed personnel changes and a document regarding selection criteria for faculty serving at J.S. Clark Magnet Elementary School.

Sept. 19: All parties met in court, Wolleson enrolled as Vidrine's counsel, and the hearing was continued to Oct. 12.

Sept. 20: The district reassigned some principals and teachers.

Oct. 3: Lawrence emailed the Department of Justice, attaching a Sept. 22 information request letter from the Department of Justice and the information requested therein, including confirmation of which personnel changes were made after the Sept. 19 hearing and missing
faculty survey responses. The Department of Justice holds that the list of personnel changes provided contained material inaccuracies.

Oct. 4: Lawrence sent email from Vidrine confirming that the list of personnel changes were made on Sept. 20.

Oct. 5: Lawrence provided all 2016-17 school year contracts between the district and reassigned administrators.

Read the story: MCSB contempt matter to be ruled on

Administration swap

On Sept. 19, administrators being moved to principal positions signed contracts with the school district. Principals at Neville High School, Sallie Humble Elementary, Carroll High School and Carroll Junior High School were demoted and new principals of another race were placed over the schools.

The administration changes were made so late in the year, Vidrine said Sept. 20, because the district requested and was denied relief regarding administrative shifts at a July 6 status conference with the Department of Justice.

A letter from the board attorney followed up on the request Aug. 15, and the district, he said, received a letter Sept. 7 stating the request was denied. After that, he said, he began to process the transfers needed to be in compliance.

In response to multiple local news reports on the changes, the Department of Justice attorneys Michaele N. Turnage Young and Kelly D. Gardner sent a letter stating:

"Although the district is under an obligation to desegregate its faculty to comply with federal law and cure its noncompliance with the operative consent decree, the district has always had the discretion to determine what specific personnel changes it would make to accomplish that end. The Department of Justice did not mandate the specific personnel changes and played no part in the district’s decision to “swap” the principals and assistant principals at four schools. In fact, when the district advised the department of its intent to make those specific swaps, the department conveyed to the board’s counsel and the superintendent that it had significant concerns about use of such transfers to achieve compliance with the terms of the consent decree."

Read the story: DOJ weighs in on admin swaps

DOJ summary

Neither the district nor Vidrine agree to the following assertions from the Department of Justice.

From July 6 to Sept. 19, the district:

• "hired at least six new teachers of whom three white teachers were assigned to schools serving disproportionately white student enrollments and three black teachers were assigned to schools serving disproportionately black student enrollments."
• "hired six new principals and assigned a white principal to a school serving a disproportionately white student body and assigned a black principal to a school serving a disproportionately black student enrollment."

The district already has been declared unitary regarding student assignments. The current consent decree requires that teacher and principal assignments will be made so that at no point will the ratio of black or white staff members "indicate that a school is intended for black students or white students" and faculty at all schools will be equally qualified, regardless of the students' race.

According to the Department of Justice, Monroe City Schools employ 12 long-term substitutes — two white and 10 black. Ten of those do not have a valid Louisiana teaching certificate. Two do not have a college degree, and both work at schools whose populations are almost entirely black. Eleven of the long-term substitutes work at schools with almost entirely black student populations.

In Louisiana, substitute teachers are not required to have teaching certifications or a college degree.

A conference call for counsel with U.S. District Judge Robbie James is set for 1:30 p.m. Oct. 18.

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