Attorney General argues for dismissal of school board suit

Attorneys with Louisiana Attorney General Jeff Landry's office presented arguments to  the federal 5th Circuit Court of Appeal here last Thursday seeking dismissal of the ongoing desegregation litigation facing the St. Martin School Board.
The school desegregation issue goes back to the late 1960s, and while the parish school system was granted unitary status in the early Seventies, legal action filed  by individuals represented by the NAACP and the U.S. Justice Department in 2015 led to a reopening of the case and the intervention of Federal District Judge Elizabeth E. Foote.
Judge Foote has imposed a number of requirements on the local school system over the past seven years and recently ruled that parish schools are not in compliance with federal laws in the areas of student and faculty assignment, student discipline and graduation pathways.
Board attorneys have filed motions contending that many of the judge's mandates are improper and proposing action to meet other court imposed requirements.
The issues will be argued before Judge Foote in a trial scheduled for Aug. 8.
In conjunction with that action, Landry has agreed to handle an appeal to the U.S. 5th District Court of Appeal.
Bill Stiles, chief deputy AG, said he felt last Thursday's hearing before a three-judge panel "went well."
He said the judges questioned the fact that the federal court overseeing the 1969 desegregation issue, as well as the plaintiffs in the case, had found no objection to the existing racial makeup of the Catahoula Elementary School, which was predominantly white.
Before the start of the 2021-22 school session, Judge Foote ordered the Catahoula school closed and its students transferred to schools in St. Martinville. She said actions taken by the school board to increase the minority race enrollment at the school were not sufficient to change the school from a majority white makeup.
"We came out of the hearing with a positive feeling," Stiles said. "I think there are reasons to be hopeful."
The 5th Circuit judges did not indicate when they might issue a ruling on the board's appeal.
Lawyers with Landry's office presenting the board's position included Morgan Brungard, Shea McPhee and Liz Murrill.