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IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE

NORTHERN DISTRICT OF ALABAMA
EASTERN DIVISION
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ANTHONY ,ll..iJEJt, ~ al.,

Plaintiffs,
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,
Plaintiff-Intervenor
and Amicus Curiae,
NATIONAL EDUCATION
ASSOCIATION,
Plaintiff-Intervenors,

v.
MACON COUNTY
BOARD OF EDUCATION, et al.,

Defendants.

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05 APR 18 Pi 3: 39

CIVIL ACTION NO. 70-251-S

) MOUNTAIN BROOK SCHOOL DISTRICT

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AGREED ORDER OF UNITARY STATUS AND DISMISSAL

In December 2004, the United States initiated a review of the Mountain Brook School

District (Mountain Brook). Upon analysis of the information and data provided by Mountain
Brook, the data reported by the U.S. Department of Education, and the record in this case, the
parties agree that Mountain Brook has fulfilled its affirmative desegregation obligations under
the Fourteenth Amendment and applicable federal law, entitling it to a declaration of unitary
status. As indicated by the signatures of counsel below, the parties respectfully request that the
Court approve this Agreed Order of Unitary Status and Dismissal and terminate jurisdiction over
this case.

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I.

PROCEDURAL HISTORY
This action is part of the state-wide school desegregation litigation, Lee v. Macon County

Bd. ofEduc., initiated in 1963. The United States entered the case as a Plaintiff-Intervenor and
as amicus curiae on July 3, 1963 . On July 3, 1974, this _Court entered an Order applicable to
three school systems, including Mountain Brook, from among the defendants in Lee. The Court
stated that Mountain Brook had been "operating a unitary school system for the past three years,"
and replaced the regulatory injunction in place at the time with a permanent injunction imposing
certain desegregative conduct requirements. The Court then placed this case on its inactive
docket, making it subject to reactivation "on proper application by any party."
In December 2004, the United States initiated a review of Mountain Brook. As a result of
this review, the parties now approach the Court and request approval of this Agreed Order of
Unitary Status and Dismissal.

II.

STIPULATED FACTS
A.

Student Assignment

For the 2004-2005 school year, Mountain Brook had approximately 4247 students, of
whom 4186 are White (98.5%), 9 are Black, 17 are Hispanic, and 35 are Asian. The District
operates 6 schools. These schools and their enrollments are set forth below.

2004-2005 School Enrollment

SCHOOL

ENROLLMENT

White

Black

Other

Brookwood Forest Elementary (K-6)

491

485

Cherokee Bend Elementary (K-6)

498

491

Crestline Elementary (K-6)

699

684

12

Mtn. Brook Elementary (K-6)

606

603

Mtn. Brook Junior High (7-9)

991

979

Mtn. Brook High (1 0-12)

962

944

17

TOTAL

4247

4186

52

No students enrolled in the District reside outside of the District. No students who reside within
the District attend schools outside of the District.
B.

Faculty and Staff Assignment

For the 2004-2005 school year, Mountain Brook employed 359 teachers, 352 of whom
were white; all administrators are white. The few minority teachers are assigned to several of the
District' s schools.
C.

Transportation

There is no evidence indicating that Mountain Brook does not equitably provide bus
transportation to all students in the district.
D.

Facilities

There is no evidence indicating that the quality of facilities are racially identifiable.
E.

Extracurricular Activities

There is no evidence indicating that Mountain Brook does not offer all its extracurricular
activities on a non-discriminatory basis.
III.

LEGAL ANALYSIS
The goal of a school desegregation case is to convert promptly a de jure segregated school

system to a system without "white" schools or "black" schools, but simply schools. Green v.
County School Bd. of New Kent Countv, 391 U.S. 430, 442 (1968). The standard established by
the Supreme Court for determining whether a school district has achieved unitary status, thus
3

warranting termination of judicial supervision, is: (1) whether the school district has fully and
satisfactorily complied with the court's desegregation orders for a reasonable period of time; (2)
whether the school district has eliminated the vestiges of past de jure discrimination to the extent
practicable; and (3) whether the school district has demonstrated a good faith commitment to the
whole of the court's order and to those provisions ofthe law and the Constitution which were the
predicate for judicial intervention in the first instance. See Missouri v. Jenkins, 515 U.S. 70, 8789 (1995); Freeman v. Pitts, 503 U. S. 467,491-92,498 (1992); Board ofEduc. of Oklahoma
City Pub. Sch. v. Dowell, 498 U.S. 237,248-50 (1991).
The Supreme Court has identified several areas which must be addressed 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 include the six areas commonly known
as the "Green factors": (1) student assignment; (2) faculty; (3) staff; (4) transportation; (5)
extracurricular activities; and (6) facilities . Green. 391 U.S. at 435 ; see Dowell, 498 U.S . at 250;
Jenkins v. Missouri. 122 F.3d 588, 591 (8 1h Cir. 1997).
Based on the information and data provided by Mountain Brook, including the
demographics of the District, and on all the surrounding facts, Mountain Brook has complied
with the Court' s desegregation orders for a reasonable period oftime and has eliminated the
vestiges of past de jure discrimination to the extent practicable in the areas of student assignment,
faculty, staff, transportation, and extracurricular activities, which are "among the most important
indicia of a segregated system." Dowell, 498 U.S. at 250 (citations omitted).

IV.

CONCLUSION
The Court concludes that the Mountain Brook School District has met the legal standards

for a declaration of unitary status, and that it is entitled to dismissal of this action.
Accordingly, it is hereby ORDERED that all prior injunctions in this case are
DISSOLVED, jurisdiction is TERMINATED, and this case is DISMISSED WITH PREJUDICE.
ENTERED THIS

I(

DAY OF

/J-,ui1 , 2005.

(}~~
STATES DISTRICT JUDGE

UNITE
APPROVED :
R. ALEXANDER ACOSTA
Assistant Attorney General

MIAH GLASSMAN
.S. Dept. of Justice
Civil Rights Division
Educational Opportunities Section
950 Pennsylvania A venue
Patrick Henry Building
Washington, D.C. 20530
(202)514-4092
FAX (202) 514-8337
Plaintiff United States ofAmerica

NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, Inc.

161h Floor
99 Hudson Street
New York, NY 10013-2897
(212) 965-2200
Fax: (212) 226-7592
Plaintiffs Anthony T. Lee, et al.

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DONALD B. SWEENEY, JR.

BRADLEY ARANT
One Federal Place
1819 Fifth Avenue North
Birmingham, AL 35203-2104
(205) 521 -8000
Fax: (205) 521-8800

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Defendant Mountain Brook School District

NORTHERN DISTRICT OF ALABAMA

HUGO L . BL A CK UNITED STATES COURTHOUSE
1729 5TH A V ENUE NORTH

BIRMINGHAM , ALABAMA 352032040

OFFICI A L BUSINESS

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