Walling Off Districts, ‘Pick and Choose’ Transfers vs. Equal Access for All

Only two Arkansas school boards, which could choose to participate in Inter-district School Choice, have sought and received exemptions because of conflicting federal court orders:

The seven school boards of Garland County have no choice, as their districts are precluded from participating because they are under an active federal court order.

Camden Fairview has been granted exemption only on transfers to/from Harmony Grove, which is the only district specifically mentioned in its consent decree.

The basis of Jacksonville/North Pulaski’s exemption is the 2014 Desegregation Settlement Agreement, which was written (poorly and with inequitable conditions) by its attorneys when they ran the Attorney General’s office. The Agreement expires at the conclusion of the 2018-19 school year, so unless U.S. District Judge D. Price Marshall, Jr. allows otherwise, JNPSD will be compelled to participate in Inter-district School Choice in 2019-20.

Last year, when the State Board of Education voted in favor of parents’ appeal of El Dorado’s denial, the district’s attorneys – Allen P. Roberts, P.A. of Camden – beat a path to U.S. District Judge Susan O. Hickey seeking a federal blessing of their client’s exemption. Inexplicably, the State of Arkansas did not intervene on behalf of its State Board of Education, and El Dorado’s attorneys were able to make their case with no opposition. As a result, the judge ruled in their favor.

When the State Board also sided with parents over the Hope School District’s denial, its attorneys – also the Roberts firm – tried the same tactic in Judge Hickey’s court. This time, however, the State of Arkansas intervened, and that case remains undecided.

Most recently, the State Board denied claims of exemption for the 2018-19 school year:

All are represented by the Roberts Firm, which upon denial, rushed to its favorite mouthpiece to proclaim the State Board’s decision segregative and its actions a “nullification” of federal law.

Not that they matter to the firm, its blog mouthpiece, or the status quo, but here are the facts:

Rather than participating in Inter-district School Choice, which is open to all, the firm’s clients have long participated in “Legal Transfers,” which require the permission of both the resident and receiving school districts. This method allows the districts to “pick and choose” who gets in or out.

As a result, El Dorado – the go to example of the lawyers and home of the El Dorado Promise (which began in 2007) – routinely denies all transfers from non-resident African-Americans, while accepting nearly all non-resident White students. Conversely, it rarely allows any resident White students to leave, while letting nearly all resident African-American students go.

As a result, since 2009-10, when El Dorado accelerated its acceptance of non-resident White students (from 2 to 103), the district has averaged 68.22 non-resident students – 58.55 White (85.83%), and 5 Black students (7.33%). And yet, the district’s attorneys have the audacity to call the State’s law segregative. Clearly the districts and their attorneys are valuing creation and defense of artificially created racial percentages over equal access for all. But, over the past 13 years, their actions have done nothing to stem the decline of both White and Black students in each of their districts.


Camden Fairview

Enrollment by RaceTotal 2 or More RacesAsian BlackHispanicNative American
Native Alaskan 
Native Hawaiian
Pacific Islander 
White Percentage White 
 2004-05 2,939 0 13 1,856 10 5 0 1,055 35.90%
 2005-06 2,807 0 8 1,802 16 5 0 976 34.77%
 2006-07 2,729 0 7 1,730 21 6 0 965 35.36%
 2007-08 2,576 0 12 1,629 27 4 0 904 35.09%
 2008-09 2,478 0 14 1,581 30 4 0 849 34.26%
 2009-10 2,455 43 17 1,521 26 3 3 842 34.30%
 2010-11 2,438 70 14 1,478 42 0 4 830 34.04%
 2011-12 2,425 81 15 1,481 40 0 4 804 33.15%
 2012-13 2,429 90 13 1,456 44 1 3 822 33.84%
 2013-14 2,437 88 11 1,453 52 1 4 828 33.98%
 2014-15 2,567 102 12 1,553 54 3 4 839 32.68%
 2015-16 2,554 107 11 1,561 54 1 4 816 31.95%
 2016-17 2,511 107 13 1,519 62 1 4 805 32.06%
 2017-18 2,477 114 12 1,495 61 3 3 789 31.85%
 13-Year Numerical   Increase/Decrease -462 +71 -1 -361 +51 -2 0 -266 
 13-Year Percentage   Increase/Decrease -15.72% +165.12% -9.23% -19.45% +500.1% -40% 0% -25.21% 
  • The City of Camden is 39.5% White. The district is 31.85% White.
School Choice by RaceTotal Enrollment2 or More RacesAsianBlackHispanicNative American
Native Alaskan
Native Hawaiian
Pacific Islander
WhiteTotal Choice Percentage WhitePercentage Enrollment 
 2004-05  2,939 0 0 6 0 0 0 0 6 0% .20%
 2005-06 2,807 0 0 4 0 0 0 0 4 0% .14%
 2006-07 2,729 0 0 3 0 0 0 0 3 0% .11%
 2007-08 2,576 0 0 3 0 0 0 0 3 0% .12%
 2008-09  2,478 0 0 3 0 0 0 0 3 0% .12%
 2009-10 2,455 0 0 3 0 0 0 4 7 57.14% .29%
 2010-11 2,438 0 0 3 0 0 0 3 6 50% .25%
 2011-12 2,425 0 0 3 0 0 0 2 5 40% .21%
 2012-13 2,429 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 2 100% .08%
 2013-14 2,437 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 100% .04%
 2014-15 2,567 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 100% .04%
 2015-16 2,554 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 100% .04%
 2016-17 2,511 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 100% .04%
 2017-18 2,477 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 100% .08%
 13-Year Numerical   Increase/Decrease -462 0 0 -6 0 0 0 -3 -5 
 13-Year Percentage   Increase/Decrease -15.72% 0% 0% -100% 0% 0% % -75% -83.33% 

El Dorado

Enrollment by RaceTotal2 or More RacesAsianBlackHispanicNative American
Native Alaskan
Native Hawaiian
Pacific Islander
WhitePercentage White
 2004-05 4,565 0 36 2,489 83 4 0 1,953 42.78%
 2005-06 4,577 0 33 2,495 138 4 0 1,907 41.66%
 2006-07 4,430 0 31 2,461 144 6 0 1,788 40.36%
 2007-08 4,570 0 34 2,480 175 5 0 1,876 41.05%
 2008-09 4,625 0 30 2,463 205 3 0 1,924 41.6%
 2009-10 4,625 30 34 2,416 222 6 0 1,917 41.45%
 2010-11 4,646 36 49 2,365 254 5 0 1,937 41.69%
 2011-12 4,581 52 44 2,309 262 3 0 1,911 41.72%
 2012-13 4,474 77 37 2,246 277 5 0 1,832 40.95%
 2013-14 4,516 101 49 2,256 302 4 0 1,804 39.95%
 2014-15 4,502 111 50 2,216 343 3 0 1,779 39.52%
 2015-16 4,522 135 56 2,220 379 6 0 1,726 38.17%
 2016-17 4,403 130 50 2,154 404 6 3 1,656 37.61%
 2017-18 4,411 123 60 2,162 394 5 0 1,667 37.79%
13-Year Numerical Increase/Decrease -154 +93 +24 -327 +311 +1 0 -286 
13-Year Percentage Increase/Decrease -3.37% +310% -66.67% -13.14% +374.7%  +25% 0% -14.64% 
  • The City of El Dorado is 44.5% White. The district is 37.79% White.
School Choice by RaceTotal Enrollment2 or More RacesAsianBlackHispanicNative American
Native Alaskan
Native Hawaiian
Pacific Islander
WhiteTotal ChoicePercentage WhitePercentage Enrollment
 2004-05 4,565 0 0 4 0 0 0 0 4 0% .09%
 2005-06  4,577 0 0 6 0 0 0 0 6 0% .13%
 2006-07  4,430 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 1 0% .02%
 2007-08 4,570 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 1 0% .02%
 2008-09 4,625 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 2 0% .04%
 2009-10 4,625 1 1 7 2 0 0 92 103 89.32% 2.23%
 2010-11 4,646 1 2 7 3 0 0 88 101 87.13% 2.17%
 2011-12 4,581 1 2 4 1 0 0 68 76 89.47% 1.66%
 2012-13 4,474 1 1 4 1 0 0 53 60 88.33% 1.34%
 2013-14 4,516 2 1 7 2 0 0 56 68 82.35% 1.51%
 2014-15 4,502 3 1 6 2 1 0 48 61 78.69% 1.35%
 2015-16 4,522 3 1 4 2 0 0 45 55 81.82% 1.22%
 2016-17 4,403 2 0 3 2 1 0 40 48 83.33% 1.09%
 2017-18 4,411 2 0 3 0 0 0 37 42 88.1% .95%
 13-Year Numerical   Increase/Decrease -154 +1 0 -1 -2 0 0 -55 +38
 13-Year   Percentage     Increase/Decrease -3.37% +100% 0% -25% -100% 0% 0% -59.78% +950%

Hope

Enrollment by RaceTotal2 or More RacesAsianBlackHispanicNative American
Native Alaskan
Native Hawaiian
Pacific Islander
WhitePercentage White
 2004-05 2,767 0 0 1,407 447 4 0 901 32.56%
 2005-06 2,711 0 7 1,371 542 5 0 843 31.1%
 2006-07 2,635 0 5 1,361 542 7 0 720 27.32%
 2007-08 2,601 0 6 1,305 556 9 0 725 27.87%
 2008-09 2,550 0 11 1,255 587 6 0 691 27.1%
 2009-10 2,541 0 12 1,214 634 6 12 663 26.09%
 2010-11 2,493 0 7 1,173 678 5 5 625 25.07%
 2011-12 2,460 0 6 1,153 691 5 2 603 24.51%
 2012-13 2,489 11 9 1,161 706 3 1 598 24.03%
 2013-14 2,489 9 4 1,163 726 3 2 582 23.38%
 2014-15 2,501 10 9 1,157 743 3 0 579 23.15%
 2015-16 2,492 18 8 1,151 773 4 0 538 21.59%
 2016-17 2,349 27 8 1,081 758 2 0 473 20.14%
 2017-18 2,247 33 8 1,022 774 4 0 406 18.07%
 13-Year Numerical
 Increase/Decrease
 -520 +22 +1 -385 +327 0 -12 -495
 13-Year Percentage   Increase/Decrease -18.79% +200% +14.29%-19.45%+500.1% 0% -100% -54.94%
  • The only inter-district school choice Hope had for the period was one White student in 2014-15.
  • The City of Hope is 34% White. The district is 18.07% White.

Junction City

Enrollment by RaceTotal2 or More RacesAsianBlackHispanicNative American
Native Alaskan
Native Hawaiian
Pacific Islander
WhitePercentage White
 2004-05 670 0 0 199 4 2 0 465 69.40%
 2005-06 686 0 0 200 8 2 0 476 69.39%
 2006-07 660 0 0 216 5 1 0 438 66.36%
 2007-08 611 0 0 198 4 2 0 407 66.61%
 2008-09 585 0 0 187 5 1 0 392 67.01%
 2009-10 550 1 0 181 4 1 1 362 65.82%
 2010-11 547 0 0 180 7 1 0 359 65.63%
 2011-12 518 1 0 168 7 1 0 341 65.83%
 2012-13 526 1 0 148 7 1  0 369 70.15%
 2013-14 533 1 0 156 7 1 0 368 69.04%
 2014-15 679 0 0 252 13 1 0 413 60.82%
 2015-16 660 0 1 248 17 1 0 393 59.55%
 2016-17 680 0 0 269 14 1 0 396 58.24%
 2017-18 673 0 2 253 20 2 0 396 58.84%
 13-Year Numerical
 Increase/Decrease
 +3 -1 +1 +54 +16 0 0 +69
 13-Year   Percentage
 Increase/Decrease
 +.44% -100% +100% +28.42% +400% 0% 0% +14.84%
  • The City of Junction City is 53% White. The district is 58.84% White.
School Choice by RaceTotal Enrollment2 or More RacesAsianBlackHispanicNative American
Native Alaskan
Native Hawaiian
Pacific Islander
WhiteTotal ChoicePercentage WhitePercentage Enrollment
 2004-05 670 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0% 0%
 2005-06 686 0 0 5 0 0 0 0 5 0% .73%
 2006-07 660 0 0 9 1 0 0 0 10 0% 1.52%
 2007-08 611 0 0 5 1 0 0 0 6 0% .98%
 2008-09 585 0 0 3 1 0 0 0 4 0% .68%
 2009-10 550 0 0 3 0 0 0 1 4 .18% .73%
 2010-11 547 0 0 7 0 0 0 3 10 .55% 1.83%
 2011-12 518 0 0 6 0 0 0 0 6 0% 1.16%
 2012-13 526 0 0 6 0 0 0 2 8 .38% 1.52%
 2013-14 533 0 0 6 0 0 0 2 8 .38% 1.5%
 2014-15 679 0 0 5 0 0 0 2 7 .29% 1.03%
 2015-16 660 0 0 3 0 0 0 0 3 0% .45%
 2016-17 680 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 2 0% .29%
 2017-18 673 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 1 0% .15%
 13-Year Numerical   Increase/Decrease +3 00 -4 -1 0 0 -1 -4
 13-Year Percentage    Increase/Decrease +.44% 0%0% -80% -100%0% 0% -100% -80%
  • Junction City enrollment grew 27.4% (+146 students) between 2013-14 and 2014-15 – +96 Black and +45 White. The district accepts Louisiana residents, a School Choice right it denies Arkansans. Inexplicably, it includes those students in its enrollment total.

Lafayette County

Enrollment by RaceTotal2 or More RacesAsianBlackHispanicNative American
Native Alaskan
Native Hawaiian
Pacific Islander
WhitePercentage White
 2004-05 993 0 0 576 8 0 0 409 41.19%
 2005-06 933 0 3 551 2 0 0 377 40.41%
 2006-07  921 0 2 563 4 2 0 350 38%
 2007-08 876 0 2 530 9 1 0 334 38.13%
 2008-09 771 0 2 498 6 1 0 264 34.24%
 2009-10 801 9 2 495 14 0 1 280 34.96%
 2010-11 763 11 2 468 11 0 0 271 35.52%
 2011-12 681 13 1 409 15 0 0 243 35.68%
 2012-13 704 9 0 422 15 0 0 258 36.65%
 2013-14 689 11 0 390 16 0 0 272 39.48%
 2014-15 648 10 0 392 14 0 0 232 35.80%
 2015-16 628 10 0 389 19 0 0 210 33.44%
 2016-17 583 11 2 369 13 0 0 188 32.24%
 2017-18 583 14 1 356 17 0 0 195 33.45%
 13-Year Numerical
 Increase/Decrease
 -410 +5 -2 -220 +9 -2 -1 -214
 13-Year Percentage   Increase/Decrease -42.29% +55.56% -66.67% -38.19% +112.5% -100% -100% -52.32%
  • The only inter-district school choice Lafayette County had for the period was one Black student in 2004-05.
  • Lafayette County is 59% White. The district is 33.45% White.

Quick Facts

  • The Roberts Firm-represented districts – excepting Junction City’s inexplicable increase – lost more Black (-1,293) than White students (-1,261)
  • The Roberts Firm-represented districts currently have more White (+38) non-resident transfer students, than Black (+4)
  • The Roberts Firm-represented districts – excepting Junction City’s Louisiana enrollment – have declined in enrollment 1,546 students (-13.73%)
  • The Roberts Firm-represented Junction City is 58.84% White, while the City is only 53%. There are only two demographic reasons to exempt from School Choice – Keep some students in; keep some students out.
  • The Roberts Firm-represented Hope has a 16 point gap between its City’s White percentage (34%) and its district’s (18.07%). Using the Roberts Firm’s logic, exemption from School Choice has fomented White Flight.
  • The Roberts Firm-represented Lafayette County has a 27 point gap between the county’s White percentage (59%) and its districts (33.45%). Using the Roberts Firm’s logic, exemption from School Choice has fomented White Flight.
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