Schools closer to racial parity

School and attendance zone reconfigurations mandated under a consent decree handed down by a federal court judge appear to have moved racial ratios at a number of parish schools closer to levels acceptable by the plaintiffs in a desegregation suit and the U.S. Department of Justice.
The new information was disclosed in an ethnic breakdown of school attendance released last week by the St. Martin School Board.
One of the many objectives of the legal action taken by parties represented by the NAACP and the DOJ is to have student populations at all schools closely mirror the racial makeup of the entire school population.
For the 2015-16 school session, a review of the approximately 8,400 parish public school students showed a ratio of 50.7 percent white and 46.2 percent black.
Federal guidelines generally allow a variance of ±15 percent.
During the 2015-16 session, eight parish schools – Breaux Bridge Primary and Elementary, the Early Learning Center in St. Martinville, St. Martinville Primary and Jr. High, Parks Middle, Catahoula and Stephensville – fell outside this range (35.7 to 65.7 percent white) and another two schools – Breaux Bridge Jr. High and Cecilia Primary were border line.
But, under the consent decree handed down by federal District Judge Elizabeth E. Foote, the school board agreed to eliminate grades 6, 7 and 8 at Catahoula Elementary, where just over 91 percent of the students were white, transferring youngsters in those grades to St. Martinville Jr. High which was only 26.2 percent white.
At the same time, the board was ordered to modify the Catahoula/St. Martinville attendance zones for children in preK to grade 5 so that some black students attending SM Primary (which was 70 percent black) would be shifted to Catahoula.
The Breaux Bridge/Parks attendance zones were also adjusted so that a group of mostly white students attending Parks Primary and Middle schools (62.3 and 72.1 percent white, respectively) would be shifted to Breaux Bridge schools which had heavily black majorities.
Although it appears that some parents moved their children out of the public school system as a result of the above changes, the number of black students at Catahoula rose from 16 to 31, reducing the white percentage from 91.5 to 82.3, still out of the recommended range.
The changes also resulted in an increase in the white percentage at SM Jr. High from 26.2 to 39.2, although there were negligible changes at ELC and SM Primary.
Significant changes were seen at Parks and Breaux Bridge Schools, as the accompanying chart reveals.
The white percentages at Parks Primary and Middle dropped from 62.3 and 72.1 percent, respectively, to 53.8 and 63 percent.
An increase in white students at the three lower Breaux Bridge schools resulted in the white percentage jumping from 31.4 to 40.7 percent at BB Primary, from 29.1 to 35.8 percent at BB Elementary, and from 33.6 to 39.4 percent at BB Jr. High.
The attendance zone changes did not affect BB High, and the student body there changed very slightly, going from 53.9 to 51.0 percent white.
An analysis of the 2016-17 racial makeup of the parish’s 16 schools now shows only four schools – ELC, SM Primary, Catahoula and Stephensville – still well out of the acceptable range. BB Elementary (35.8 percent white) is just within the range while Cecilia Jr. High (65.4 percent white) falls just outside the upper limit.
Commening on the report, Superintendent Dr. Lottie Beebe said “We are pleased with the initial success of the new student assignment plan as it has resulted in further desegregation. We would note that the effect of the new zones will be examined within the grade levels - high schools, junior highs/middle schools, and preK-5. We will continue to implement the Board’s obligations under the Court’s order and expect continued success.”
She also pointed out that Stephensville Elementary has been excluded from student assignment considerations due to its geographic isolation and that Pre-K students are not considered at any school because attendance is not mandatory.