Appeals Court hears arguments in Gardendale school case
Lawyers for Gardendale City Schools and lawyers for the NAACP Legal Defense Fund and private plaintiffs argued in front of the U.S. 11th Circuit Court of Appeals in Atlanta today. This came after years of arguments and lawsuits regarding whether or not Gardendale had the right to break away from the Jefferson County School System and form their own, city-controlled system as well as the impact that would have on desegregation efforts by Jefferson County.
Both groups had appealed a decision by Federal Judge Madeline Haikala earlier this year that stated that the judge did find the separation was racially motivated, but would allow the separation from Jefferson County Schools. The ruling set forth a plan to allowed Gardendale City Schools to take over and begin operating Gardendale Elementary and Snow Rogers Elementary immediately and set out a plan for the system to potentially take over the other two schools inside the city limits, Bragg Middle School and Gardendale High School.
The panel reportedly questioned whether the federal judge who heard the case had the authority to find that the new system was racially motivated and still allow it to move forward.
“Once a judge finds that there is a racial motivation in the creation of an institution, it has a duty to end that institution,” former Federal Judge U. W. Clemon said.
Gardendale has long held that the separation is about “local control,” not race.
In a statement, posted to their website today, the Gardendale City School Board said:
“Attorneys for the Gardendale Board of Education presented their Oral Argument today, Thursday, December 14th before the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals. The three Federal Court Justices hearing the argument, charged now with the final task of delivering the Opinion, are Raymond C. Clevenger III, Bill Pryor, and Jill Pryor. We anticipate that it will take the Court several weeks to render their Opinion. It is our sincere hope that this will be the final phase in the legal battle for the establishment of the Gardendale City Schools System.
“All court filings are publicly available on the Gardendale Board of Education web site at www.gardendalecityschools.com. An audio file of the Oral Argument will be provided on this site once it is available from the 11th Circuit. The Board continues to have confidence and highly anticipates the Gardendale City School system becoming a reality for the greater community and our school children. We will continue to keep you apprised as additional information is received and decisions are made.”
The appeals panel is made up of Circuit Judge and former Alabama Attorney General William H. “Bill” Pryor, Circuit Judge Jill Pryor and Circuit Judge Raymond Clevenger III. The decision is likely to take several months.
WBRC/Fox 6 reporter Alan Collins contributed to this report and spoke with former Federal Judge U. W. Clemon.