www.2theadvocate.com/news/26129324.html -
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Published on: 7/31/2008
Last Visited: 7/31/2008
School Board members Al Link, Leonard "Tank" Genco, Sandra Bailey-Simmons and Ann Smith spoke during a meeting called to address school desegregation issues.
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Link, who opened the session by giving a detailed history of desegregation efforts in Tangipahoa Parish dating back to a lawsuit filed in the 1960s, assured the audience that no changes would be made during the coming 2008-09 school year.
Link said that the any plan to strike a better racial balance is an "ongoing process" that would take time, detailed planning and eventually input from the public.Parish residents would ultimately not be able to vote on whatever plan is adopted, however.
"It doesn't work that way," Link said, "the courts will eventually decide what will take place with our schools in the future."
The four School Board members repeatedly emphasized that a final desegregation plan has not been adopted.Link said several times that attorneys for the School Board and for the plaintiffs in the case are meeting on a regular basis and seeking to design a plan that would better align racial balance in parish schools.