Unitary steps snag desegregation deal

The attorney for the Pulaski County Special School District says he is certain it will take judicial intervention to settle an agreement that is key to the final approval of the proposed settlement to a 31-year-old federal school desegregation lawsuit.

On Tuesday, U.S. District Judge D. Price Marshall Jr. granted a requested extension to the school district and the Joshua intervenors, giving them until Dec. 16 to either settle the disputed details about the district’s unitary status on their own or turn it over to a federal magistrate judge for mediation.

“I don’t think it will go to a magistrate; I know it will,” the school district’s attorney, Allen Roberts, said in a phone interview Tuesday.

The extension comes after a request for more time was filed Monday by Roberts and John Walker, the attorney representing black students in Pulaski County’s three school districts known as the Joshua intervenors.

The letter to Marshall on Monday said that the initial deadline for that very day was “simply too ambitious.”

“Should I say it was self-evident? It was kind of a plea. I think John [Walker] and I kind of simultaneously looked up and realized that the Dec. 2 date was there. We were left in a position of agreeing amongst ourselves. We realized there was still some progress that we could probably make - bringing our people together - before we dropped it in the magistrate’s lap,” Roberts said.

At the heart of the “transitional agreement” between the two entities are the steps the school district will take to attain unitary status in nine areas, including facilities, student-discipline procedures and student achievement. According to the document, any disputes between the district and the Joshua intervenors will be referred to a federal magistrate judge.

Walker said in a phone interview Tuesday that everything is still on track, but he was mum on the details.

“I wouldn’t discuss that with you. There was nothing sinister going on. There was just not enough time,” Walker said.

Roberts said he was optimistic that they could come to an agreement on at least five of the elements of unitary status, but that still leaves “four that are going to require a lot of work.”

It will take a magistrate, he said, to “help us through the more cumbersome ones.”

The biggest hurdle is equalizing the condition of the district’s facilities, Roberts said. There is just simply too much to do in too little time, he said.

“We’ve obviously got to replace some school buildings. I don’t even know if you can build a high school in one year, two years. It is a long process. If you’re talking how long it will take us to get a construction plan approved, that can be measured in months. But to actually get it finished will take a few years to finance and build,” Roberts said.

The tentatively approved settlement of the 1989 case was negotiated last month by attorneys for the state; the Little Rock, North Little Rock and Pulaski County Special school districts; the Joshua intervenors; and the class of all employees in the three school districts known as the Knight intervenors.

Under the agreement, the state will pay a total of $65.8 million a year through the end of the 2017-18 school year in desegregation aid to the three districts. In the final year, the money can be used only for construction and renovation of academic facilities.

The agreement also calls for the state to pay $250,000 to each of the three districts to reimburse them for their legal fees, and $500,000 to the Joshua intervenors and $75,000 to the Knight intervenors for legal fees.

Marshall has given his preliminary stamp of approval on the settlement, but a final ruling will not be made until after a Jan. 13-14 “fairness hearing.”

The judge has scheduled a March hearing on the motion for release in the event that the proposed settlement doesn’t get final approval.

Last week, Marshall required the parties to the case to publicize the terms of the agreement and to publicly notify individual members of the Joshua class or their attorneys that they are entitled to address the judge with evidence and objections about the proposed agreement at the January hearing.

Objections must first be submitted in writing to the federal court by Dec. 23.

Members of the Joshua class who have questions about the lawsuit, the settlement or the fairness hearing can put their questions in writing to John Walker, the lawyer for the Joshua intervenors. His address is 1723 Broadway, Little Rock, Ark. 72206, or [email protected].

Members of the Knight intervenors can direct questions to their attorneys, Mark Burnette or Clayton Blackstock, 1010 W. Third St., Little Rock, Ark. 72201, or [email protected] or [email protected] .