JACKSON — The U.S. Justice Department and private plaintiffs are spurning the latest desegregation plan from a Mississippi school district.
In court filings Friday, federal officials and private plaintiffs both wrote that they prefer the desegregation plan a federal judge ordered in May to the latest plan offered by the Cleveland school district.
U.S. District Judge Debra Brown ordered Cleveland to merge two middle schools and two high schools, with all high school students attending the combined campuses of Cleveland High School and Margaret Green Junior High School, which are on Cleveland’s historically white west side. Both schools now have more black students than white students. All middle school students would attend the current campus of East Side High School, where all but two students are now black.
Overall, 68 percent of the district’s 3,600 students are black and 27 percent are white. Remaining students are Hispanic or Asian.
The district, after years of fighting to preserve both high schools, agreed to consolidation after Brown’s order. It initially proposed to merge all students at Cleveland and Margaret Green, but the Justice Department and some black residents objected, saying it was unfair that the black community would lose its schools. The district now wants students in grades 9 and 10 to attend East Side, while those in grades 11 and 12 would attend the Cleveland High campus, but would classify it was one school.
Brown has left her order in effect, but has said she’s willing to reconsider, especially if all the parties involved agree.
Government attorney Peter Beauchamp criticized the district’s plan, writing to Brown that it “fails to equitably balance the burdens and benefits of desegregation across the Cleveland community, and is both less feasible and less educationally sound than the court’s adopted plan.”
He also said having students switch schools three times is undesirable, citing research that shows such transitions “may create academic and social difficulties for students.” Beauchamp asked Brown to stick to her original order and not hold a hearing on possible changes in January. He also wrote that time is growing short to make changes to Brown’s order before mergers take effect in August.
The school district is planning for Brown’s order, and lawyer Jamie Jacks told Mississippi Public Broadcasting students will hold an election in January to choose a new name and mascot for the combined high school. Bolivar Central Braves, Cleveland Central Wolves or Wolfpack, and Cleveland Trojans are the finalists.
The private plaintiffs echoed Beauchamp’s concerns, saying they see “no benefit” to the district’s plan compared to Brown’s order. However, they’re offering their own blueprint, which lawyer Shakti Belway didn’t include in her letter to Brown.
Belway didn’t immediately respond to an email seeking clarification.
“In broad terms, this plan would integrate the middle and high schools by grade level, maintain schools on both sides of town in a manner that is proportional based on student population, and fairly utilizes school facilities,” Belway wrote. “The plaintiffs’ compromise plan addresses the concerns plaintiffs have raised with the (district’s) most recent plan to split the high school into two-grade level schools. Moreover, it specifically addresses previously expressed concerns from the district about possible white student departure.”
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