An agreement reached between plaintiffs and defendants calls for the resolution and end of the lawsuit, Ellis v. the Board of Public Instruction of Orange County, Florida following approval by the court. Last night the school board voted yes in favor of an historic agreement, following many years of review and study by the board.
Next, the agreement goes to a federal judge who will determine if the district shall receive unitary status. Should the federal judge declare unitary status, federal court supervision of Orange County Public Schools will be withdrawn and the school system will no longer be considered segregated by law. School Board Chairman Joie Cadle said, “This day is historic for Orange County Public Schools. I am proud of the work that we have done to assure that every child in our schools is afforded a quality education.”
The settlement agreement provides the framework for accomplishing the goal of unitary status in a manner that is consistent with law established by the Supreme Court. This means the agreement is considered fair, reasonable, adequate and equitable to all parties. Superintendent Ronald Blocker said, “Tonight this system is proudly saying to the courts that we are ready to be declared unitary-that is, one system without the close scrutiny that shadowed us for over four decades.”
The agreement covers four major areas:
· facilities and construction
· equitable use of facilities
· faculty recruitment
· extracurricular activities
The district agrees to replace, renovate and provide additions to certain schools. The facilities are to be fully adequate in order to provide a complete range of educational opportunities and to take advantage of existing and new technologies.
The superintendent shall adopt a recruitment policy based on the sound educational value derived from employing a diverse staff. The policy will encourage recruiting employees from a broad range of backgrounds and experiences characterizing our nation. The district must designate a person to carry out, monitor and provide reports on the recruitment policy.
Regarding extracurricular activities, the superintendent shall assign an administrator who will insure that adequate and complete information about all extracurricular activities is available to all middle and high school students on a timely basis.
District 5 School Board Member Kathleen “Kat” Gordon said, “Once approved we as a board know that our work is cut out for us. Every parent, every child, every citizen needs to see to it that OCPS, once this agreement is settled, will work together to provide equitable facilities and opportunities to all children.”
Each side agrees to the appointment of a team of two monitors to examine, assess and evaluate the manner in which the district satisfies the agreement. The team members are Dr. Leonard Stevens, a national consultant on desegregation issues and Dr. Richard Hunter, Education Professor at the University of Illinois-Champaign.
I wonder if this would have made a difference in the decission to move evans high school if it had been made sooner? They are rebuliding on the same site even though it has been professionally established that the present ninth grade center would have been better. Thanks for the article.