The remedies favored by the previous generation of civil rights activists are being rejected by a younger generation that has witnessed the ineffective nature and corrupting influence of pouring more and more money on school districts that fail to properly educate low-income African-American students.
In a boldly-worded decision yesterday, U.S. District Judge Brian S. Miller ordered the virtual end of $70 million in annual state deseg payments to the Little Rock, North Little Rock, and Pulaski County Special districts. Here is a snippet from the Arkansas Democrat Gazette‘s coverage:
Miller wrote that, after listening to hours of testimony and reading thousands of pages of court submissions, it became clear to him that the state’s payments to the districts had become a reward for poor performance.
“The problem with this process is that it results in an absurd outcome in which the districts are rewarded with extra money from the state if they fail to comply with their desegregation plans and they face having their funds cut by the state if they act in good faith and comply,” Miller wrote.
“It seems that the State of Arkansas is using a carrot and stick approach with these districts but that the districts are wise mules that have learned how to eat the carrot and sit down on the job,” Miller continued. “The time has finally come for all carrots to be put away. These mules must now either pull their proverbial carts on their own or face a very heavy and punitive stick.”
It was also striking how the racial pandering that may have worked on the previous generation of African-Americans no longer works. As Judge Miller explains, it is downright insulting. Again, here is a longer clip from the Dem-Gaz’s coverage:
He said it appeared to him that few if any of the participants in the case “have any clue how to effectively educate underprivileged black children.” He said some participants in the desegregation case seem to believe there is a “magic spell that will do the trick, such as some special racially based formula or program.
“Even more concerning, however, is that it seems that some of the participants do not really care,” he said.
Miller criticized some of the witnesses and evidence presented to him last year, saying that some testimony was not relevant, or it was based on flawed logic, or that it was “appalling.”
He said some of the witnesses viewed the judge’s role as that of the innkeeper in The Canterbury Tales who had the job of determining which of the travelers at his inn told the best story.
Miller cited court testimony about seemingly unfair differences in pay for basketball and football coaches, which he said was an inaccurate analysis because football coaches are required to work during the summer and their contracts reflect that extra time.
“This truth, however, did not stop minute after grueling minute of mindless testimony about the injustice suffered by the basketball coach,” Miller wrote.
He also called attention to a witness who said teachers let their students “rap” in class as a way to promote reading and speaking English correctly.
“Although, at first blush, it might seem understandable for this witness to assume that a middle aged black judge would find this appealing, that presumption is simply untrue,” wrote Miller, who is black and said that doing rap does not necessarily lead to literacy or speaking correctly.
Of course, the three Little Rock area school districts have no idea how they will function without the extra $70 million they get from the state each year and have made no sensible contingency plans for the day when the deseg gravy train eventually had to end. They’ve received over $1 billion in extra funds since 1989 and, according to the Court, have virtually nothing to show for it.
If you would like to see the entire ruling, click here.
(edited for typos)
Jay P. Greene's Blog 
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