Federal Judge Signs Off On Desegregation Case Agreement

After all major parties in the long-running desegregation case involving three central Arkansas school districts agreed to a settlement in November, a federal judge has signed off on the deal.

The resolution will end more than 30 years of litigation involving the Little Rock, North Little Rock, and Pulaski County school districts as well as state payments to those districts totaling $65 million annually.

As part of the agreement, the three school districts will receive:

• $65.8 million a year for next four fiscal years.
• For three years, Little Rock would get $37.3 million, North Little Rock would receive $7.6 million, and the Pulaski County would get $20.8 million.
• In the fourth year, the money would be earmarked for construction projects tied to academic facilities in the three districts.

Attorney General Dustin McDaniel (D) has been seeking a state solution to the case throughout his tenure in office.

On Monday (Jan. 13), U.S. District Judge Price Marshall said the agreement brokered by McDaniel was “fair, reasonable and adequate.”

“I think this is a day that we can write about in the book, put a circle around and remember that we did something important,” Marshall said at the end of a court hearing.

Since a 1989 settlement in which the state acknowledged a past role in segregation of Little Rock area schools, the state has paid about $1.2 billion to bolster desegregation programs in the Little Rock, North Little Rock and Pulaski County school districts.

McDaniel called Marshall’s ruling “a historic milestone for the state and Pulaski County students.”

“We also know our hearts have changed as people over the decades and we want to do the right thing. We want to provide the best quality education. We recognize it is key to the success of our state, and it’s not just a legal obligation but a moral imperative,” McDaniel said.

Editor’s note: Arkansas News Bureau reporter Rob Moritz contributed to this article.