Board attorney says DOJ has sought to close district's 1969 desegregation order; board defers action

John Mayo, the board attorney, told the Louisville Municipal School District board that the U.S. Department of Justice has contacted outside counsel about closing the district's desegregation order, which was entered in July 1969. Mayo said the board would need to authorize attorney John Hooks to work with the DOJ on a joint motion to seek court approval to close the case.

The desegregation order, Mayo said, was intended to eliminate the district's prior dual segregated system and to integrate both students and faculty. "The deseg order has not been amended or changed since July 1969 and is still in place today almost 57 years since it was originally in," Mayo said. He told the board the DOJ has pushed in recent years to close similar cases and that several Mississippi districts have obtained unitary status.

Board members and attendees asked how the district documents compliance and how reports to the DOJ are prepared. Mayo said the district provides information to outside counsel for inclusion in the annual reports and that the DOJ also conducts periodic on-site audits, the last of which he recalled occurred in 2014. "I have no reason to believe that it is being falsified," Mayo said when asked whether filings were accurate.

Members pressed on likely costs. A board member asked about the historical expense of retaining counsel for the desegregation work; Mayo said the most recent estimates discussed were "under $10,000" a year for ongoing reporting but cautioned there would be additional attorney expenses to pursue dismissal. Mayo said counsel had indicated a scope estimate "approximately between $2,500 and $5,000" for some work related to the dismissal effort.

Board members also sought clarity on how dismissal would affect attendance zones and whether ending the court order could encourage consolidation or resegregation. Mayo said the districts' attendance zones are codified in district policy and would not change without a board vote. He added that dismissal would not remove broader federal civil-rights law and that any overt attempt to resegregate would be subject to litigation. "If the federal government, the state of Mississippi, or this board decides that consolidation of this district is in the best interest of this district and the students, then the current deseg order will not prevent further consolidation from happening," Mayo said.

After discussion, a board member moved "not to take any action tonight" and to continue studying the matter. The motion was seconded and carried by voice vote. The board then moved to enter executive session for unrelated student-discipline and personnel matters; the desegregation matter was explicitly excluded from that executive session.

What happens next: The board postponed any decision on seeking dismissal and directed further review and discussion at a later date.