Valley v. Rapides Parish School Bd., 499 F. Supp. 490 (W.D. La. 1980)

Louis Berry, Alexandria, La., for plaintiff.

John Ward, Baton Rouge, La., for defendant.

Franz Marshall, Civ. Rights Div., Dept. of Justice, Washington, D. C., for intervenor.

NAUMAN S. SCOTT, Chief Judge.

This suit to integrate the public school system of Rapides Parish, Louisiana has been on trial since March 23, 1965. It is before us now on motions by the plaintiff and by the Government (intervenor) for additional relief. This school system is operating presently under our decree dated July 9, 1971, as amended. The decree was agreed to by plaintiffs and defendant. The Government took no appeal.

The issue presented by the motions is whether a unitary system ever was achieved. In our preliminary judgment of June 6, 1980 we recognized that the system was not unitary; that the plan of the Government's expert, Dr. Gordon Foster, was not acceptable and was rejected; that a suggested plan would be drawn by the Court, and that the filling of vacancies in the office of principal at several schools was enjoined pending further orders of the Court. Our suggested plan was filed on July 3, 1980, and comments and alternatives received. A suggested alternative to our original junior high school plan was filed and published on July 30, 1980. The hearing scheduled for August 1, 1980 was converted to a status conference since no additional evidence was offered.

*491 We have considered all of the alternatives to our original plan as well as the responses and comments of the parties and others. Based on this consideration we adopt the following:

The expertise of the undersigned consists of almost ten years experience as a Federal District Judge in an area not unfamiliar with the problems of school desegregation. The guidelines utilized are the product of this experience.

The scope of the evidence in the case presented at the hearing beginning April 29, 1980 was limited to that part of the Rapides Parish School system located in Wards 1, 8 and 9 which comprised substantially less than the total Alexandria-Pineville metropolitan area. We have informed the parties that we consider the dimension of the matters at issue to be system-wide. Since the evidence did not contain information sufficient to evaluate the system outside Wards 1, 8 and 9 and since the data on those three wards was incomplete (pupil locator maps, etc.) we have utilized the services of Superintendent Nichols (white), Assistant Superintendent Townsend (white), and Assistant Superintendent Davis (black) to assemble and submit information as it was requested by us. This data can be identified as Court Exhibits 1-20. Court Exhibit 1 was requested by us from the Alexandria Daily Town Talk.

There is one allencompassing purpose: the adoption of a plan which achieves the greatest amount of integration with a reasonably assured prospect of success. Our use of all guidelines set out below will be governed by their contribution to this essential purpose. When they fail to contribute they will be discarded.

1. Busing. Busing has been an essential element of our public school systems for many years. A parent will accept extensive busing to achieve an objective which he approves. He will protest busing for purposes which he disapproves even though the distance be short. Hence, it is not the busing itself but the specific purpose which he approves or disapproves. The plan will utilize busing purposefully and constructively. Busing must be racially non-discriminatory.

2. Neighborhood Schools. We recognize that neighborhood schools in metropolitan areas should exist but only to the extent that they do not impair or inhibit the establishment of an integrated school system. They do not exist outside metropolitan areas. We recognize also that the neighborhood concept is fundamental and most important in the early years of school and that it becomes progressively less important as the pupils become more sophisticated in the later years of elementary school and in junior high school and high school. We shall recognize the neighborhood concept but only to the degree that it does not hinder or inhibit the establishment of a unitary system.

3. Practicality. We shall use all tools lawfully available for our purposes. We shall not adopt measures which are lawful, but have no reasonable prospect of success. We shall give due recognition to physical circumstance and to individual interests as they exist which can exert a substantial impact on our prospects of success, and design remedies which will accommodate, where possible, such circumstances and individual interests.

Although we shall carefully balance the equities between the black and white communities, this is not an end within itself and must give way if it constitutes a substantial obstruction to the successful implementation of the plan.

4. School Construction. Construction of new school buildings, disposition of old school buildings and school sites can substantially affect the development of a unitary system.

Although revision of pupil assignments was the principal additional relief requested we have restated other elements of the plan which have been established in plans previously approved in these proceedings.

1. Pupil Assignment. At the close of the 1979-80 school year Rapides Parish Public Schools were attended by 25,049 students, 8,942 of whom were black and 16,107 white. This figure includes the enrollment of three schools which are not properly part of the integration plan. Kelso-Twin Cities is an alternative school having a total enrollment of 126 students-36 black and 90 white. Lakeside Elementary is a school for trainable mentally retarded children having 92 black and 61 white. St. Mary's is a Catholic institution for mentally retarded children to which the Rapides system contributes a total of 148 students-21 black and 127 white.

           PUPIL MEMBERSHIP AS OF MAY 31, 1980
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      SCHOOLS                   PUPILS            TOTALS
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                           B       %        W
Aaron Elem.               279  (100.00)       0      279
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Acadian Elem.             273  (100.00)       0      273
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Alexandria Jr. High       256  ( 43.7 )     329      585
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Alexandria Sr. High       409  ( 33.2 )     820     1229
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Barron Elem.                8  (  1.5 )     523      531
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Bolton High               429  ( 43.4 )     559      988
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Boyce Elementary          195  ( 40.8 )     283      478
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Brame Jr. High            309  ( 38.4 )     496      805
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Brasher Elem.             176  ( 43.0 )     234      410
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Buckeye Elem.               0               602      602
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Buckeye High                0               704      704
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Cherokee Elem.             53  ( 12.0 )     385      438
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Forest Hill Elem.          26  (  8.3 )     285      311
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Glenmora Elem.             60  ( 21.4 )     220      280
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Glenmora High              69  ( 27.0 )     186      255
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Mary Goff Elem.            35  (  5.0 )     669      704
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Horseshoe Dr. Elem.       130  ( 33.8 )     254      384
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Huddle Elem.              175  ( 44.6 )     217      392
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Jones St. Jr. High        779  ( 93.9 )      56      835
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Kelso-Twin Cities          36  ( 28.5 )      90      126
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Lakeside Elem.             92  ( 60.1 )      61      153
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Lecompte Elem.            230  ( 61.5 )     144      374
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Lincoln Road Elem.        274  ( 99.0 )       3      277
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Lincoln Road Prim.        209  ( 97.7 )       5      214
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Martin Park Elem.         125  ( 27.0 )     339      464
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Lessie Moore Elem.        108  ( 28.0 )     279      387
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Nachman Elem.              74  ( 17.0 )     362      436
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N. Bayou Rapides          108  ( 24.7 )     329      437
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Oak Hill High               4  (   .3 )    1004     1008
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Paradise Elem.             11  (  1.5 )     687      698
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Peabody Elem.             375  (100.00)       0      375
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Peabody Magnet            628  ( 65.6 )     329      957
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Pineville Elem.            50  ( 10.6 )     419      469
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Pineville High             189  ( 17.8 )     868     1057
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Pineville Jr. High         81  ( 13.7 )     508      589
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Plainview High              0               357      357
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Poland High                30  (  9.6 )     281      311
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Rapides High              138  ( 44.2 )     174      312
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Carter Raymond Jr. High   218  ( 62.1 )     133      351
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Reed Avenue Elem.         195  ( 75.8 )      62      257
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Rosenthal Elem.           154  ( 49.4 )     158      312
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Ruby-Wise Jr. High         11  (  3.6 )     294      305
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Rugg Elem.                105  ( 35.6 )     190      295
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St. Mary's                 21               127      148
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Silver City Elem.         423  (100.00)       0      423
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Slocum Elem.              117  ( 33.0 )     238      355
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S. Alex. Elem.            414  ( 99.5 )       2      416
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S. Alex. Primary          249  ( 99.6 )       1      250
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Tioga High                240  ( 23.6 )     775     1015
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Tioga Jr. High             13  (  1.4 )     872      885
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Wettermark High           174  ( 49.1 )     180      354
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Lincoln Williams Elem.    185  ( 92.9 )      14      199
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        TOTALS          8,942            16,107   25,049

Total enrollment of the system, after subtracting those students attending Kelso-Twin Cities, Lakeside and St. Mary's is 24,622 students-8,793 (35.7%) black, and 15,829 (67.3%) white.

The tables immediately below demonstrate that integration of the black student population in Alexandria has no reasonable prospect of success (it is overwhelmingly black) unless the entire metropolitan area of Alexandria-Pineville-Tioga and Ball is incorporated into the plan.

The evidence establishes that there is no concentration of white students available in the Cheneyville area to integrate Lincoln Williams Elementary (92.9% black). Consequently Lincoln Williams (K-8) must be closed and its student body must be assigned to other schools in the Lecompte area.

                    B             W          TOTAL
Alexandria
Elementary   3,791  (59.9%)  2,541  (40.1%)   6,332
----------------------------------------------------
Jr. High     1,344  (60.4%)    881  (39.6%)   2,225
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High         1,466  (46.2%)  1,708  (53.8%)   3,174
----------------------------------------------------
TOTALS       6,601  (56.3%)  5,130  (43.7%)  11,731
Pineville-Tioga
Elementary     339  ( 8.8%)  3,503  (91.1%)   3,842
----------------------------------------------------
Jr. High        95  ( 8.8%)    986  (91.2%)   1,081
----------------------------------------------------
High           429  (20.7%)  1,643  (79.3%)   2,072
----------------------------------------------------
TOTALS         863  (12.3%)  6,132  (87.7%)   6,995

*493
Elementary     468  (45.5%)    561  (54.5%)   1,029
---------------------------------------------------
Jr. High       142  (47.0%)    160  (53.0%)     302
---------------------------------------------------
High           217  (41.2%)    310  (58.8%)     527
---------------------------------------------------
TOTALS         827  (45.5%)  1,031  (55.5%)   1,858

We have previously declared our intention to resolve the student assignment problems of the entire parish. The two areas discussed above are the only remaining problem areas. The schools in all other parts of the parish have been successfully integrated and where racially identifiable schools remain, their existence is easily justified. Consequently, the following plan is proposed for student assignment in the metropolitan and the Lecompte areas:

                                 1979-80             1980-81
GROUP  I                        W      B           W         B        T
S. Alexandria Primary
(K 2)                           1  249(99.6%)       1    297(99.6%)  298
Nachman Elementary
(K 5)                         362   74(17%)       315    162(33.9%)  477
Rugg Elementary (K 5)         190  105(35.6%)     171     93(35.2%)  264
Huddle Elementary (K 5)       217  175(44.6%)     193    132(40.6%)  325
Rosenthal Elementary
(K 5)                         158  154(49.4%)     163    104(38.9%)  267
Lessie Moore Elementary
(K 5)                         279  108(28%)       234    155(39.8%)  389
Ruby-Wise Elementary
(K 5)                         294   11(3.6%)      221    110(33.2%)  331
S. Alexandria Elementary
(6)                             2  414(99.5%)     189    149(44%)    338
GROUP II
Lincoln Road Primary
(K 2)                           5  209(97.7%)       5    226(97.8%)  231
Martin Park Elementary
(K 5)                         339  125(27%)       297    173(36.8%)  470
Horseshoe Drive Elementary
(K 5)                         254  130(33.8%)     217    140(39.2%)  357
North Bayou Rapides
(K 5)                         329  108(24.7%)     218    169(43.7%)  387
Brasher Elementary
(K 5)                         234  176(43%)       199    156(43.9%)  355
Cherokee Elementary
(K 5)                         385   53(12%)       325    170(34.3%)  495
Lincoln Road Elementary
(6)                             3  274(99%)       202    162(44.5%)  364
GROUP III
Silver City Primary (K 2)       0  423(100%)        0    323(100%)   323
Mary Goff Elementary
(K 5)                         669   35(5%)        469    180(27.7%)  649
Paradise Elementary
(K 5)                         687   11(1.5%)      399    108(21.3%)  507
Pardue Road Elementary
(K 5)                                             435    234(35%)    669
Ball Elementary (K 5)                             481    119(19.8%)  600
Peabody Elementary (6)          0  375(100%)      245    159(39.3%)  404
GROUP IV
Pineville Elementary
(K 5)                         419   50(10.6%)     370    139(27.3%)  509
Barron Elementary (K 5)       523    8(1.5%)      447    131(22.7%)  578
Slocum Elementary (K 5)       238  117(33%)       210    149(41.5%)  359
Reed Avenue Elementary
(K 5)                          62  195(75.8%)     111    104(48.4%)  215
Acadian Elementary (6)          0  273(100%)      172    114(39.8%)  286
GROUP V
Poland Elementary (K 6)       281   30(9.6%)      150    137(47.7%)  287
Lecompte Elementary
(K 3)                         144  230(61.5%)     223    185(45.3%)  408
C. Raymond Jr. High
(4-8)                         133  218(62.1%)     282    256(47.5%)  538
Rapides High (9-12)           174  138(44.2%)     310    217(41.1%)  527
GROUP VI
Alexandria Jr. High (7-8)     329  256(43.7%)     389    288(42.5%)  677
Brame Jr. High (7-8)          496  309(38.4%)     497    339(40.5%)  836
Jones Street Jr. High
(7-8)                          56  779(93.3%)     422    313(42.6%)  735
Tioga Jr. High (7-8)          425   11(2.5%)      342    237(40.9%)  579
Pineville Jr. High (7-8)      508   81(13.7%)     364    262(41.9%)  626
Note: It is also part of the plan that white principals be appointed by
defendant School Board at Acadian, Lincoln Road, Peabody and South
Alexandria elementary schools and Jones Street Junior High School and
that black principals be appointed at Ball, Mary Goff, Lessie Moore
elementary schools and at Pineville Junior High School.
Note: See Appendix "A" for description of school zones.

This plan achieves our sole purpose, the greatest amount of integration with a reasonably assured prospect of success.

a. We have utilized our equitable tools to the fullest extent.

b. Dr. Foster's rejected plan described 21 elementary schools in the metropolitan area. Of these, 18 had a black population in excess of 48.7%. Twelve were majority black. It is our experience that racially identifiable schools located in underprivileged (black) portions of the metropolitan area have no reasonable prospect of successful integration with student ratios shown in the Foster plan. Much of this was induced by limitations placed on Dr. Foster. By comparison, the prospects for successful integration under this plan are dramatic.

c. 100% of the black student population in the parish will attend integrated schools for ten of the thirteen years of their education. 90.4% will attend fully integrated public schools for the entire thirteen years of their public education. Any one of the 9.6% may attend integrated schools for the entire thirteen years by exercising his right of transfer under the majority to minority rule. Thus all black students in the metropolitan area may attend integrated public schools for the entire thirteen years of their public education if they wish to do so. 100% of the black students outside the metropolitan area are assigned to integrated *494 schools for the entire thirteen years of their public education.

d. The method used to integrate the elementary schools in Groups I-IV is generally the same. In Group I, for instance, grades 3-5 in Nachman, Rugg, Cherokee and South Alexandria Elementary were clustered. Thus each school would ordinarily become a one-class school with students from all schools in one class attending one school, and the entire class (from all four schools) bused to a different school each year. We determined that better attendance by whites would be assured if schools in the black area became 6th grade schools, each integrated class having attended school together in grades 3, 4 and 5. We were also aware that busing the entire class to a different school in the white area for grades 3, 4 and 5 would accomplish nothing for integration and that both blacks and whites would be better served if the class from the school in the black area were split in three sections with each section attending one school in the white area for a period of three years. Blacks and whites alike would benefit from attending the same school for 3 out of the 4 years during which the class was clustered. It would also reduce the busing of whites. All students, whether clustered or not, attend the 6th grade in one of the four 6th grade centers in the black area.

e. Neither the plaintiff nor the government has objected to the proposed student assignment plan except as follows:

The plaintiff has reurged the pairing alternative suggested in the August 25, 1970 decree of the Court of Appeals. However, plaintiff has submitted no evidence, no authorities in support of this alternative. We have examined this plan. It is fragmentary, out of date, and uses schools which no longer exist. It is incomplete and deficient in that it does not mention the following elementary schools: Acadian, Silver City, Aaron Street, Horseshoe, Cherokee, Nachman, Huddle, Brasher, North Bayou Rapides or any of the schools in Pineville or Tioga. We reject this alternative.

The Government objects to the transfer of black students in grades 1 and 2 from Acadian, Peabody, and Aaron to Silver City and Lincoln Road Primary. We have adopted, reluctantly, the Government's suggestion that these students be transferred to majority white schools because this transfer will increase materially the ratio of black students in Wards 9 and 10.

We have adopted the Government's suggestion that the Ruby-Wise 6th grade be sent to one of the 6th grade centers, but have rejected the Government's suggestion that Ruby-Wise grades 1-5 be paired with Reed Avenue. Although the present ratio of Reed (75.8% black) must be relieved, we are opposed to the pairing with Ruby-Wise if any other viable alternative will serve. Such pairing will render the role of Ruby-Wise far more burdensome than any of the other elementary schools north of Red River.

In lieu of the pairing suggested, we converted Reed into a majority white (48.4% black) school. To accomplish this we assigned Old Karst Park No. 1 to Ruby-Wise. These students previously were being bused to Reed and Rosenthal. We assigned to Reed students (white) from the area lying between Highway 1 and the river north of the present Reed Zone. In addition we assigned to Rosenthal that portion of the present Reed Zone lying east of Monroe Street.

f. All of the objections made by the Board have received our serious consideration. Those alternatives relating to grades 6-8 in the metropolitan area are unacceptable for one of two reasons. Either they abolish Jones Street as a junior high school or they utilize some schools for special purposes. Both alternatives are unfair to the black community.

However, the suggested alternatives for Group V have compelled changes in our original plan. We are impressed by and have given very careful consideration only to those objections pertaining to the closure of Lincoln Williams (Cheneyville), Poland and Forest Hill. We have now decided that the campus of Carter Raymond (Lecompte) *495 is insufficient to accommodate the student population previously assigned it. We determined that Poland should be reopened for grades K-6, assigned to it those same grades in Lincoln Williams. This brought a heavy black ratio to Poland which we reduced by allowing a number of Lincoln Williams students (64 blacks and 12 whites) to remain at the Lecompte Elementary Schools. Poland grades 7 and 8 will attend Jones Street and Poland grades 9-12 will attend Rapides High.

We rejected the suggestion that Lecompte Elementary be closed and replaced by Forest Hill. Although the Forest Hill plant is more modern, Lecompte Elementary is very well maintained, and a very adequate educational facility. It has much the better location for the purposes of integration. Forest Hill draws the bulk of its population from the area between Forest Hill and Lecompte. They bus almost as far to go to Forest Hill as they would to Lecompte. Woodworth students have bused voluntarily to Lecompte for many years and their bus routes are much more arduous than those from Forest Hill will be. For these and other reasons Forest Hill should remain closed.

g. As we informed all persons who have conferred with us since the publication of our original plan, we were not satisfied with the alternative (closing Tioga Junior High) or any of our other alternatives regarding junior high schools. We have considered all of the many alternatives submitted. Some of them, as we have stated previously, closed Jones Street as a junior high school, others involved one grade schools, or the substitution of special purpose schools in the black area in lieu of general purpose schools. Our original plan had the very objectionable feature of closing Tioga Junior High School, making the role of that single community far more burdensome than the other junior high schools in the metropolitan area. Consequently, we have adopted our own alternative published July 30, 1980. Although this plan also has deficiencies, it is far better than any of the alternatives suggested. It relieves Tioga of the inequities of the original and spreads the burden of busing far more evenly in other areas.

It should also be noted that Jones Street Junior High School would have a total population of 735 students, 313 (42.6%) of whom are black. The population assigned to Jones Street Junior High is drawn from the following areas:

WARD 1:    Jones Street Area (Zone A)     313
WARD 9:    Down-Town Pineville (Zone D)    53
           Holiday Park Area (Zone C)      47
WARD 10:   Kingsville Area (Zone G)        83
           Village Green (Zone C)          34
WARD 11:   Libuse to Holloway (Zone B)     87
           Lake Hills (Zone C)             12
           Ruby-Wise (Zone F)              53
WARD 2:    Poland (Zone E)                 53

Although this parish first encountered integration problems in 1965, and has had an active history of integration endeavor since that time, the Buckeye schools have shouldered no responsibility. Out of a combined population of 1306 students, 87 are being assigned to Jones Street. They, like all the other students so assigned are already bused, their buses simply are being turned in another direction. They are the students in each ward that are nearest to Jones Street. We find this alternative to be the most equitable at our disposal.

h. The record discloses that all high schools in the metropolitan area are well integrated. The intervenor complains that the attendance figures in Peabody Magnet School are misleading because many of the white students, because of courses requiring them to spend a substantial amount of time offcampus in offices and shops, are not full-time students. The school system has lost many white students in the past through unsuccessful efforts to integrate Peabody High School by student assignment. Any method of clustering or pairing is educationally destructive and would jeopardize progress at the other high schools which are well integrated. The alleged deficiencies can be remedied by additional effort within the magnet school concept. The School Board cannot effectively begin this task while implementing the balance of this plan prior to the commencement of the 1980-81 school year. Appropriate plans *496 and recommendations should be submitted by the School Board prior to January 1, 1981.

A committee to commence these activities will be appointed, after consultation with the Board, on or before October 1, 1980.

Mr. Eugene Millet has just been appointed assistant superintendent for instruction. We intend to appoint him chairman of the committee. As a member of the staff, and as a specialist, he is uniquely qualified to act. Other members of the committee will be appointed after we have consulted Mr. Millet. Annual progress reports will be submitted by the committee.

None of the parties have opposed this plan.

i. In order to make the plan more acceptable to blacks and whites alike it is required that the principals in Ball, Mary Goff and Lessie Moore Elementary Schools and Pineville Junior High School be black and that the principals in South Alexandria, Lincoln Road, Peabody and Acadian Elementary be white. This policy shall be maintained unless waived by special order of this Court.

2. School Construction. The construction of new schools in outlying portions of the metropolitan area hinders and inhibits integration. No school site shall be selected, no school construction begun, no school facility disposed of (including leased) and no school facilities shall be enlarged (by portable classrooms or otherwise) without the express approval of this Court.

3. Designation of Faculty and Other Staff. The Singleton ratio of faculty and staff (31.5) as stated in our previous decrees is confirmed and shall be maintained. More specifically, the ratio of black principals shall be filled by priority at the beginning of each school year unless waived by special order of this Court. It has come to our attention that the ratio is one short, so that the first principal now to be appointed must be black.

The current policy that a minority assistant principal must be appointed as soon as the number of minority students in a school reaches 20%, is now rescinded. This policy, though helpful in the past, has resulted in over-staffing in some instances, and under the plan now adopted, is no longer necessary. It is now ordered that in each school the assistant principal be of the race other than that of the principal of that school.

4. Enforcement. We shall use every means possible to assure that students in the system attend only those schools to which they have been assigned.

5. Policy. Policies previously adopted by this Court (Transportation, Majority-to-Minority Rule, etc.) are hereby reaffirmed unless specifically rescinded (Student Assignment) by this plan.