2:69-cv-00043-CIV Date Filed 10/06/17 Entry Number 4 Page 1 of 7

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE

DISTRICT OF SOUTH CAROLINA
CHARLESTON DIVISION

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, )

)
Plaintiff, )
) CIVIL ACTION NO.: 2:69-cv-0043-civ
)
)
v. )
)
GEORGETOWN COUNTY SCHOOL )
DISTRICT, )
)
Defendant. )
____________________________________)

MEMORANDUM IN SUPPORT OF THE PARTIES JOINT MOTION

FOR DECLARATION OF PARTIAL UNITARY STATUS

Defendant, Georgetown County School District (the District), by and through its school

board, and Plaintiff, the United States of America (United States), respectfully submit this

Memorandum in Support of the Parties Joint Motion for Declaration of Unitary Status (containing

their joint stipulations) seeking a declaration of partial unitary status in the areas of facilities,

extracurricular activities, and transportation.

I. BACKGROUND

The United States initiated this school desegregation case on January 15, 1969, and on May

21, 1970, the Court approved a desegregation plan. The plan was modified on several occasions,

including on August 28, 1997. These desegregation orders still govern the District.

In relevant part, the 1997 Order requires, contingent on funding, a new high school and

middle school to be built in Carvers Bay with state of the art facilities which shall compare

favorably to the facilities at other schools in the District. 1997 Order at 5. The Order also
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requires that provided the bond referendum passed, the District build a new elementary school to

replace the Sampit Elementary School and relieve the overcrowding of Andrews Elementary

School. 1997 Order at 11. The District completed the new construction for Sampit Elementary

School, Carvers Bay High School, and Carvers Bay Middle School in 2000. The 1997 Order states

that the quantity and quality of the extracurricular activities (including, but not limited to,

athletics) provided at Carvers Bay schools shall compare favorably to the extracurricular offerings

offered at each of the other schools in the District serving the same grade levels. 1997 Order at

8. With regard to transportation, the 1970 Order states that all vestiges of a dual transportation

system should be eliminated and a unitary system effected which makes no distinction between

transported students. Bus routes should, in most cases, pick up all students living on the route,

regardless of the school attended. 1970 Order at p. 3.

The United States, with the cooperation of the District, has conducted a comprehensive

compliance review, including requesting and analyzing data from the District, conducting site

visits to District schools, and analyzing publicly available information. After completing its

review, the United States has determined that the District has satisfied the requirements for unitary

status in the areas of facilities, transportation, and extra-curricular activities and programs. The

parties now stipulate that the District has eliminated to the extent practicable the vestiges of its

prior de jure system in the areas of facilities, extracurricular activities, and transportation and

hereby consent to a declaration of unitary status in these areas.

II. LEGAL ANALYSIS

A school district is unitary when it: (1) fully and satisfactorily complied in good faith with

the courts desegregation orders for a reasonable period of time; (2) eliminated the vestiges of prior

de jure segregation to the extent practicable; and (3) demonstrated a good faith commitment to the

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whole of the courts order and to those provisions of the law and the Constitution which were the

predicate for judicial intervention in the first instance. See Missouri v. Jenkins, 515 U.S. 70, 88-89

(1995); Freeman v. Pitts, 503 U.S. 467, 491-92, 498 (1992); Bd. of Educ. of Oklahoma City Pub.

Sch., Indep. Sch. Dist. No. 89 v. Dowell, 498 U.S. 237, 248-50 (1991); Belk v. Charlotte-

Mecklenberg Bd. of Educ., 269 F.3d 305, 318 (4th Cir. 2001).

The Supreme Court has identified six areas, commonly known as the Green factors, that a

court must address as part of the determination of whether a school district has fulfilled its duties

and eliminated vestiges of the prior dual school system to the extent practicable. These factors

include: (1) student assignment; (2) faculty; (3) staff; (4) transportation; (5) extracurricular

activities; and (6) facilities. Green v. County School Bd. of New Kent County, 391 U.S. 430, 435

(1968); see also Dowell, 498 U.S. at 250; Jenkins v. Missouri, 122 F.3d 588, 591, fn. 3 (8th Cir.

1997). The Green factors are not intended to be a rigid framework, as the Supreme Court has

approved consideration of other indicia, such as quality of education, in determining whether a

district has fulfilled its desegregation obligations. See Freeman, 503 U.S. at 492-93.

A court may consider the adequacy of the Districts compliance with regard to each of the

Green factors individually and relinquish federal judicial supervision in stages. Id. at 489-491. In

other words, a court may declare certain Green factors unitary while it retains continuing

jurisdiction over the remaining non-compliant areas. Id. at 490-91.

A. Facilities

Physical facilities should be deemed unitary when the District has ensured, to the extent

practicable, that its facilities are not amenable to racial identification simply on the basis of their

physical condition. Swann v. Charlotte-Mecklenberg Bd. of Educ., 402 U.S. 1, 18 (1971). The

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District must take corrective action to produce facilities of like quality, with differences in

facilities, if such exists, being the result of non-race factors. Id. at 18-19; Belk, 269 F.3d at 328.

For over 30 years, this Court has overseen and approved of the Districts construction of

new facilities, along with the renovation of facilities. See 1980 Order at p. 1-2; 1997 Order at

2-11; 21-23. The District currently operates 20 schools in four attendance zones, including an

alternative education center and a charter school: Andrews Elementary School, Browns Ferry

Elementary School, Kensington Elementary School, Maryville Elementary School, McDonald

Elementary School, Plantersville Elementary School, Pleasant Hill Elementary School, Sampit

Elementary School, Waccamaw Elementary School, Waccamaw Intermediate School, Carvers

Bay Middle School, Georgetown Middle School, Rosemary Middle School, Waccamaw Middle

School, Andrews High School, Carvers Bay High School, Georgetown High School, Waccamaw

High School, Howard Optional School and Adult Education, and Coastal Montessori Charter

School. The schools are each located on an individual campus site and are situated within the court-

approved attendance zones throughout the District. The District has provided information about

its facilities to the United States, including the equitable distribution of computer resources, library

materials, auditoriums, and other amenities. The United States has also inspected the Districts

facilities. The school facilities on each campus, while differing in age, style, and construction,

provide reasonably similar accommodations for student and educational needs, regardless of the

racial demographics of the students at each school. Based on the facts set forth above, and upon

personal review of the facilities during site visits, the United States has consented to unitary status

in this area of operation.

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B. Extracurricular Activities

A school district will be deemed unitary with respect to extracurricular activities if the

activities are available to all students within the School District regardless of race. Singleton v.

Jackson Mun. Sep. Sch. Dist., 541 F. Supp. 904, 908 (S.D. Miss. 1981); Quarles v. Oxford Mun.

Sep. Sch. Dist., 868 F.2d 750, 757 (5th Cir. 1989) (referencing Bazemore v. Friday, 478 U.S. 385

(1986)). The District has submitted information which shows that the District is providing a fair

and equal opportunity for all students to participate in its extracurricular programs and activities

on a non-discriminatory basis, in accordance with these constitutional standards. The District does

not employ discriminatory pre-requisites or race-based criteria to participate in any extracurricular

activities. In its review of the Districts extra-curricular activities, the United States has consented

to a declaration of unitary status in this area.

C. Transportation

The District provides transportation without regard to a students race. The District revises

the bus routes annually based on student enrollment and bus attendance. The United States has

reviewed transportation data provided by the District. Based on that information, the United States

has determined that the District provides transportation [to] all eligible pupils on a non-segregated

and otherwise non-discriminatory basis. Singleton v. Jackson Mun. Sep. Sch. Dist., 419 F.2d

1211, 1218 (5th Cir. 1969). The District has eliminated vestiges of the prior de jure segregated

system in the area of transportation, and the United States has consented to a declaration of unitary

status in this area.

III. CONCLUSION

The U.S. Supreme Court has held that a district court may relinquish its supervision and

control over those aspects of a school system in which there has been compliance with a

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desegregation decree even if other aspects of the system remain in noncompliance and require

federal supervision. Freeman, 503 U.S. at 490-91 (stating that [p]artial relinquishment of judicial

control, where justified by the facts of the case, can be an important and significant step in fulfilling

the district courts duty to return the operations and control of schools to local authorities).

Indeed, the Court emphasized that returning schools to the control of local authorities at the

earliest practicable dates is essential to restore their true accountability in our governmental

system. Freeman, 503 U.S. at 490.

Considering the evidence and relevant factors, the parties request that the Court find that

the District has eradicated the vestiges of past de jure discrimination in the area of facilities,

extracurricular activities, and transportation to the extent practicable for a reasonable period of

time. Therefore, the parties respectfully submit that the District is entitled to a declaration that it

is unitary in connection with its operations of facilities, extracurricular activities, and

transportation; and, accordingly request that the Court withdraw jurisdiction over these areas of

operation of the Districts schools.

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