Judge Stands with Order: Gardendale Can Take Steps Toward Separate School System
A federal district judge has declined to reconsider her ruling two weeks ago that allows Gardendale to break away from the Jefferson County Schools on a limited basis, even though she found that Gardendale’s motives for forming its own municipal school system were racially motivated. In a 49-page supplemental memorandum opinion issued Tuesday morning, U.S. District Judge Madeline Haikala turned down the request by attorneys for the NAACP Legal Defense Fund, representing the original plaintiffs in the landmark Stout v. Jefferson County Board of Education case. That case resulted in the forced desegregation of county schools nearly half a century ago. The attorneys contended Haikala’s finding of racial motivation did not match up with allowing Gardendale to proceed with its separation. Read more Read Haikala’s May 9 order Earlier Stories NAACP Asks Judge to Reconsider Allowing Gardendale to Start Its Own School System Read Hiakala’s initial ruling. NAACP Plans to Ask Judge to Reconsider Gardendale School Order; Ruling in Case Defies Conventional Procedure Judge Haikala Is No Stranger to the Spotlight Federal Judge Gives Gardendale Control Over City’s Elementary Schools, Lets JeffCo Keep Middle and High Schools for Now. What They’re Saying Whites Only: School Segregation Is Back, From Birmingham to San Francisco (Newsweek) Judge: Mostly White Southern City May Secede From School District Despite Racial Motive (Washington Post) Judge Lets White Alabama Town Secede From School District Despite ‘Race’ Being a Factor (NBC News) A Federal Judge Is Letting an Alabama School District Return to Segregation (Salon) A Southern City Wants to Secede From Its School District, Raising Concerns About Segregation (Washington Post)
