Mays v. Hamburg Sch. Dist., No. 15-2915 (8th Cir. 2016)
Annotate this CasePlaintiffs appealed the district court's order granting the District's motion to approve the closure of Wilmot Elementary School and to modify the gifted and talented (GT) requirements for the District. In 1988, plaintiffs filed suit under 42 U.S.C. 1983, alleging race discrimination and other claims. The parties negotiated a settlement and, in 1991, the district court entered a Consent Order disposing of issues remaining in the complaint. In this case, the district court approved closure of Wilmot and modification of the GT program as the proper modification of the Consent Order due to the significant changed circumstances. The court concluded that such modification is suitably tailored where the modifications sought by the school district in light of the (1) demographic changes, (2) decrease in enrollment, (3) cost savings, and (4) educational considerations are in line with the initial Consent Order. Accordingly, the court held that the district court did not abuse its discretion in granting the District's motion to approve closure of Wilmot and to modify the GT requirements. The court affirmed the judgment.
Court Description: Smith, Author, with Gruender and Benton, Circuit Judges] Civil case - School Desegregation. The district court did not err in approving the modification of the "gifted and talented" provisions of the consent decree in the matter to permit the closing of a school in light of drastic changes in the district's and the school's population and enrollment and the serious financial impact of continuing to operate the school; further a drop-off in student participation in the "gifted and talented" program supported the modification; finally, the proposed modification to the consent decree was suitably tailored to address the change in circumstances.
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