Arkansas and all of its divisions are exempt from any further claims in the ongoing Pulaski County school desegregation lawsuit, the state attorney general’s office has told a federal judge.
State prosecutors were responding to a petition brought earlier this month by the Jacksonville / North Pulaski School District asking for the judge’s help in acquiring public funds for the replacement ordered by the Murrell Taylor Elementary School Court. and Bayou Meto.
The Jacksonville District alleges that the state’s stance against funding at the levels desired by the district “has exacerbated one of the remaining vestiges of segregation in this case by refusing to partner with the JNPSD to address the uneven facilities in the district. the district ”.
District Seeks Court Leave to File “Third Party Claim” against Arkansas Secretary of Education, Johnny Key, and Director of State Division of School Facilities and School Transportation public, which is Tim Cain.
Attorney General Leslie Rutledge and Deputy Attorney General Kat Hodge-Guest argued before the judge that the state’s obligations in the trial were “forever ceased” following a 2013 settlement agreement in the trial.
“It is the obligation of the JNPSD to exercise its best judgment and to manage its resources in the manner best suited to meet its desegregation obligations,” state prosecutors wrote.
“The state has no federal obligation to treat the JNPSD more favorably than other districts seeking funding and support for the partnership program,” they wrote. “In fact, the state has provided substantial support to the JNPSD since its secondment. [to become an independent district], including state financial participation at a total cost of $ 43 million for school facilities projects.
US District Chief Justice D. Price Marshall Jr. is the presiding judge.
