Oklahoma City Public Schools Board of Education v. Dowell Brief Amicus Curiae Dekalb County Board of Education
Public Court Documents
June 1, 1990
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Brief Collection, LDF Court Filings. Oklahoma City Public Schools Board of Education v. Dowell Joint Appendix Vol. III, 1990. da41bf45-c09a-ee11-be36-6045bdeb8873. LDF Archives, Thurgood Marshall Institute. https://ldfrecollection.org/archives/archives-search/archives-item/c8fc6fab-2ada-494a-ab46-ff1759120e1a/oklahoma-city-public-schools-board-of-education-v-dowell-joint-appendix-vol-iii. Accessed April 29, 2025.
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No. 89-1080
In The
Supreme Court of the United States
October Term, 1989
—------------♦--------------
THE BOARD OF EDUCATION OF OKLAHOMA CITY
PUBLIC SCHOOLS, INDEPENDENT SCHOOL DISTRICT
NO. 89, OKLAHOMA COUNTY, OKLAHOMA,
vs.
Petitioner,
ROBERT L. DOWELL, ET AL.,
Respondents.
--------------- «---------------
On Writ Of Certiorari To The United States
Court Of Appeals For The Tenth Circuit
--------------- ♦---------------
JOINT APPENDIX
VOLUME III
--------------♦--------------
J u lius L. C h am bers *R onald L. D ay
C h arles S tephen R a lsto n Suite 260
*N o rm a n J. C h ach kin 6303 Waterford Blvd.
99 Hudson Street, 16th Hoor Oklahoma City, OK 73118
New York, N.Y. 10013
(212) 219-1900
J a n ell M. B yrd
1275 K Street, N.W.
Suite 301
Washington, D.C. 20005
(202) 682-1300
Attorneys For Respondents
"̂ Counsel of Record
(Additional Attorneys For
Respondents Listed on
Inside Cover)
(405) 842-5988
C h arles J . C ooper
■ it*'
M cG uire, W o ods, B attle
& B ooth
N.W.
20006^
1627 Eye St
, Washington
* (202) 857-T7'
Attorneys For
^Counsel of Rec rd
tioner
Petition For Certiorari Filed January 3, 1990
Certiorari Granted March 26, 1990
COCKLE LAW BRIEF PRINTING CO., (800) 22S-6964
OR CALL COLLECT (402) 342-2831
V
J o hn W. W a lker
J o hn W. W a lk er , P.A.
1723 So. Broadway
Little Rock, AR 72201
(501) 374-3758
L ew is B a r ber , J r .
B a r b e r / T r a v io lia
1523 N.W. 23rd Street
Oklahoma City, OK 73111
(405) 424-5201
Attorneys For Respondents
1
VOLUME I
Relevant Docket Entries............................... 1
Motion to Close Case............................................................ 29
Letter Opposing Motion (June 2, 1975)....................... .32
Opposition to Motion to Dismiss and Memo Brief
(June 30, 1975)............................. .34
Transcript of Proceedings at Hearing on Novem
ber 18, 1975 .................. ..................................................... 38
Order Terminating Case (January 18, 1977)............... 174
Opinion of the United States District Court For
the Western District of Oklahoma, 606 F. Supp.
1548 [1985]................. 177
VOLUME II
Opinion of the United States Court of Appeals For
the Tenth Circuit, 795 F.2d 1516 [1986],............. 197
Final Pretrial Order (May 29, 1987) (Excluding
Witness and Exhibit Lists)............................................ 215
Excerpts from Transcript of Proceedings at Hearing
Conducted June 15-24, 1987
Record, Volume II
William A.V. Clark ............... ............. .......................235
Finis Welch........................ .............. ......................... 262
Record, Volume III
Finis Welch (continued).............................................. 274
Belinda Biscoe............................... 305
Susan Hermes ....................... 321
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Page
Record, Volume IV
Susan Hermes (continued).........................................330
Clyde M use....................................................................334
John F in k ........................................................................344
Betty H il l ............................................. 347
Maridyth McBee................................. 354
Vern M oore.................................................................. 359
Betty Mason........................... 370
Record, Volume V
Betty Mason (continued).............................................375
Alonzo Owens, J r . ........................................... 379
Tommy B. W h ite ................................................... .. . 381
Carolyn Hughes............................................................389
Arthur W. Steller......................... 395
Karen Francis Leveridge............................................ 401
Odette M. Scobey.................................... 402
Linda J. Johnson........................... 410
VOLUME III
Record, Volume VI
Gary E. Bender.................................................. 418
Robert A. Brow n......................... 424
Billie L. Oldham......................... 428
John J. Lane.............................................. 430
Herbert J. Walberg. ............................. 436
11
TABLE OF CONTENTS - Continued
Page
Ill
Record, Volume VII
Robert L. Crain. .................... ............. .........................452
Yale Rabin. ................................................. . 463
Record, Volume VIII
John A. Finger, Jr................... ........................ .. 482
Mary Lee Taylor............... .......................................... 487
Gordon Foster.................... ....... ....................... .. 501
Record, Volume IX
Gordon Foster (continued) ....................................... 515
Clara Luper...................................................................516
Melvin Porter .......... ................ ...................... .......... 521
William Alfred Sampson.......................................... 524
Arthur S te ller............................................................ 531
Selected Exhibits Admitted Into Evidence at
Hearing Conducted June 15-24, 1987
Record, Supplemental Volume I
Plaintiff's Exhibit 48
Racial Composition of Elementary School Facul
ties, 1972-73, 1984-85, 1985-86, 1 9 8 6 -8 7 ............... 539
Plaintiff's Exhibit 50
1984- 85 Elementary Enrollment and Faculty -
Percent Black........................... ...................... 543
Plaintiff's Exhibit 52
1985- 86 Elementary Enrollment and Faculty -
Percent Black.................................................... ........... 546
TABLE OF CONTENTS - Continued
Page
IV
Plaintiff's Exhibit 54
1986-87 Elementary Enrollment and Faculty -
Percent Black.................................................... . 549
Plaintiff's Exhibit 56
Minutes, December 10, 1984, School Board Meet
ing....................... ....................... ..................... ............ . 552
Record, Supplemental Volume II
Defendant's Exhibit 5D
Population Change in East Inner-City Tracts,
1950-1980 .................................................... '................561
Defendant's Exhibit 5E
Black Population Turnover in East Inner-City
Tracts ................................. 562
Defendant's Exhibit 6
Population Growth/Change in Oklahoma City 563
Defendant's Exhibit 10
Abstract, Clark, Residential Segregation in Ameri
can Cities.................................................... 566
Defendant's Exhibit 11
Oklahoma City Public Schools, Percent Black in
Residential Zones ............................................... 568
Defendant's Exhibit 21
White Population in Oklahoma City SMSA,
1970-1980 ............. 571
Defendant's Exhibit 24
Black Population in Oklahoma City SMSA,
1970-1980 ................. 572
Defendant's Exhibit 38
School Districts in Comparably Sized SMSA's .. 573
Defendant's Exhibit 40
Indices for Residential Zones ................... .. 576
TABLE OF CONTENTS - Continued
Page
V
Defendant's Exhibit 45
Indices for All Schools.............................................578
Defendant's Exhibit 63
Racial Composition of Elementary Schools (K-4),
1985-86.......................................................................... 580
Defendant's Exhibit 67
Student Population by Race, 1970-1986........... 584
Defendant's Exhibit 76
Minutes, July 2, 1984 School Board Meeting.. .. 586
Defendant's Exhibit 79
Minutes, November 19, 1984 School Board Meet
ing....................... 602
Defendant's Exhibit 108
Majority-To-Minority Transfers.................................609
Defendant's Exhibit 119
Extracurricular Activities Report - High Schools 611
Defendant's Exhibit 120
Extracurricular Activities Report - Middle
Schools. .......................... 612
Defendant's Exhibit 140
Parental Organization Statistics............... 613
Defendant's Exhibit 142
Adopt-A-School Statistics............................. 614
Opinion of the United States District Court For
the Western District Of Oklahoma, 677 F. Supp.
1503 [1987] (Reproduced in Petition for Writ of
Certiorari at App. IB; not reproduced in Joint
Appendix)
Opinion of the United States Court of Appeals For
the Tenth Circuit, 890 F.2d 1483 (1989) (Repro
duced in Petition For Writ of Certiorari at App.
1A [majority], 46A [dissent]; not reproduced in
Joint Appendix)
TABLE OF CONTENTS - Continued
Page
RECORD, VOLUME VI
418
GARY E. BENDER
* * *
[p. 831] Q. Do you serve on the Equity Committee?
A, Yes, I do. I'm chairman of the Equity Committee.
Q. How long have you been chairman?
A. Two years.
Q. Both years that it's been in operation?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. Does the NAACP have representatives on the
Equity Committee, to your knowledge?
A. Yes, sir, to my knowledge, three.
Q. Does the Urban League have representatives on
the Equity Committee?
A. Yes, sir, to my knowledge, one.
Q. Would you explain for the court the type of
things that the Equity Committee has looked at during
these last two years?
A. What we've focused on is facilities and text
books, various areas of building maintenance, areas that
we felt that would be [p. 832] an equitable issue. Of
course, sometimes if - you run into if one bathroom leaks
and the other bathroom leaks across town, that's an equi
table issue.
But we have tried to make equity across the board so
that each child is being taught the same material, have
419
the same textbooks, the same material, the same oppor
tunity to learn.
Q. I'd like to direct your attention to defendant's
Exhibit 107, which is in evidence, and may be in the book
in front of you. That particular exhibit has already been
admitted into evidence as a document containing mate
rials concerning the activities and functioning of the
Equity Committee.
While you were on the Equity Committee, and in
doing this type of work did you make a determination as
to the condition of the facilities in the northeast quadrant
of the District as compared to other facilities throughout
the Oklahoma City District?
A. Yes, we did.
Q. What were your findings?
A. It was surprising. We found that the building
usage or the run-downness of the buildings were not in
the northeast quadrant, but they were also in the - there
were more in the south, southeast part of town. The
buildings in the northeast were fairly decent and compa
rable to the buildings in the north part of town.
Q. Did the Equity Committee do any studies
regarding the [p. 833] quality of teachers or the ability of
teachers or the degrees that teachers held throughout the
district?
A. Right. We asked for that. We came back and we
asked for that. We felt that there may be a loophole that
we were missing in equity if we didn't find out how the
teachers were fairly educationally in breakdown, and we
420
did do that study, and the study is contained in this
section here.
I would like to say that we did find out that teachers,
across the board, were teaching and children were learn
ing on a great - on a large scale, and they were profes
sionally involved across the district,
Q. Did the committee analyze the level of parental
involvement at the various elementary schools?
A. Yes, sir, and this is where we're going to have to
make the - a more bite in the equity issue, in that we
found that, even like in the Northeast Quadrant, if you
had a school who had an active PTA and PTO, then the
school was being supplied, the teachers were being sup
plied with everything they needed, whereas, right down
the street you had an inactive PTA, then there was an
inequity situation right there in the same neighborhood.
There's going to have to be more of a bite and an up
build of the PTA and PTO in the school district across the
board.
Q. Do you feel that as a result of the implementa
tion of the neighborhood plan that the level of parental
involvement in the [p. 834] district has increased?
MR. SHAW: Objection, Your Honor. Leading.
MR. DAY: I'm asking for an opinion.
THE COURT: Overruled.
Q. (BY MR. DAY) Let me restate my question.
A. Yes, sir.
421
Q. Do you have an opinion as to whether or not the
level of parental involvement in the Oklahoma City
schools has increased since the implementation of the K-4
neighborhood plan?
A. We have found that some PTA's have flourished
because of the neighborhood school program.
Q. Now, when the Equity Committee would find a
defficiency [sic] in any school in the district, what would
they do?
A. Well, a point in case, we found a very high
defficiency [sic] in Telstar, and we were very concerned
about the kids. They were disabled kids who were being
- didn't have the right facilities.
We immediately went back to the board - well, to
Elton Mathews and related our concerns to him, which
they - the district - I mean the board, the administration
got on it right away and corrected the errors.
And we found that throughout the two years, that
when we find defficiencies [sic], such as termite damage,
asbestos, or whatever, they were real helpful in respond
ing to that immediately and didn't let it lag, just got right
on it.
* * *
[p. 837] Q. What is your understanding of the
purpose of the majority-to-minority transfers?
A. Well, my understanding there is that the parents
have a right to have their child go anywhere they would
like them to go.
422
Q. For what purpose, though? What is your under
standing of the restriction?
A. To me it would be for convenience. At the time
Cory was going to Quail Creek, he could come back in
the first grade and go back to Village as a day care. We
didn't trust him with a key, but - and Candice was at
Quail Creek. And so - I'm sorry, Village.
Q. No, I didn't mean to interrupt you.
A. Oh, that's okay.
But - so we felt, as a convenience, they would be in
the same place, we are a close family, and to me it's just
convenience. Wasn't anything - that's why we opted that.
We have that option.
* * *
[p. 840] Q. I believe you mentioned that buildings
that have more active PTA's get more of something.
Would you describe what it is they get?
A. Well, it could be pencils. If you have an active
PTA and the teachers request - if you're familiar with
PTA, I'm sure you are - the parents - the teachers may
request something from the PTA, then the PTA would
respond to that need. If you didn't have an active PTA,
you could go in and find, in a case in point, pencil
sharpeners, each class would have one.
Q. Who is providing those pencil sharpeners?
A. The parents.
Q. The parents?
423
A. Right.
Q. And if the parents do not provide the pencil
sharpeners or the PTA is not active, then I take it that it
may be that the students will go without those pencil
sharpeners?
A. No, they'll just go with less.
* * *
[p. 842] Q. Part of the dissatisfaction has based
upon the notion that interaction occurred only once a
year, wasn't it?
A. Right. But in some schools it occurred three
yjtimes - in actuality in numbers, sometimes one school,
and that of King, had six occurences, three by letter and
^'three by visit.
So some flourished while others didn't, and that's -
that's our aim for this fall, to insure that that takes place.
Q. Why is the student interaction plan even neces
sary?
A. Well, it's a balance. It's - it's to help each child
that is in the - a child that's in another area know another
child and become familiar with that child so when they
get do [sic] a fifth-year school - center that they would
know each other.
Q. Why is that important?
A. Well, it's important for - as they grow, they learn
each other. They know the - when they get to another
school, they won't be so frightened, without having no
424
knowledge of individuals there. They'll know somebody,
have a friend there, they'll have acquaintances there.
* * *
ROBERT A. BROWN
[p. 848] A. * * * Incidentally, as a reading specialist I
was in the Chapter I Program.
I was an assistant principal at the Middle School level
for two years, and then last year moved to principal at
the elementary level.
Q. Where were you assigned immediately before
your assignment at King?
A. I was at Moon Middle School. That's in the same
area.
Q. Based on your educational background and
experience, do you have an opinion, Mr. Brown, as to
whether or not the racial composition of the schools
affects the academic achievement of black students?
A. It does not.
Q. And would you tell the court why you hold that
opinion?
A. I hold that opinion based on 17 years working
with predominantly black students. 18 years I'd have to
say now. And in that time what I have seen is that
blackness is just another element that you consider in
dealing with children. It does not predetermine or deter
mine what's going to happen to them educationally.
That's made up by the staff, by the teachers, by how you
work with the children.
* * *
425
[p. 849] Q. Was there any particular reason why you
wanted to be assigned to King Elementary?
A. I did not have a lot of - a lot of input as to where
I was assigned, but I was very pleased with the assign
ment. It matches well with my experience.
The students, academically, at King need the kind of
expertise that I have in the area of reading, and I think by
- you know, we were talking about that earlier just now. I
think that, by applying that expertise and by working
with that staff and by addressing those problems specifi
cally, that I'm in the right spot. I think I'll do some good
things for that school.
Q. Do you hold an opinion as to whether or not
parental involvement in the child's educational process
has an impact on academic achievement?
A. Certainly. It certainly does. Yes, it has an impact.
Q. Why?
A. The - the child that we deal with at school goes
home. If what we are doing is supported, is carried on,
even, at the home, then you've - you've got a better
chance to effect any kind of chance you want to. The
child's going to learn more.
I have a lot of parents that come in with concern
about children, and they will ask what they can do at
home, and they're given instructions and materials and
things that they can use at home. They can certainly make
an impact.
* * *
426
[p. 853] Q. At this point in time, Mr. Brown, do you
favor the school board's Neighborhood Plan?
A. Yes, I do.
Q. Why?
A. At my building, it's - it's generated a strong
sense of belonging, a strong sense of ownership among
the children. It's - it's developed a feeling about the
school that I didn't see, or at least didn't see as much of
in the days when they were transported all over the
district.
In my building I've got parents who are in the build
ing daily, and not just one or two, but several daily. I've
got PTA participation by parents who walk over who
would not be able to attend otherwise.
It enhances everything we do. The instructional pro
gram has improved. The teachers are able to make quick
contact. We have quite a few parents without telephones.
I've got teachers that go by their homes and see them
because they're right there [p. 854] in the area. I've got
parents that we can send letters home to and they show
up the next day.
To those of us that have been in the district a long
time, parents participation is definitely up.
Q. Have you personally noted an increase in the
level of parental involvement in the district since the
Neighborhood Plan was implemented?
A. In those buildings where I've been working, yes.
427
Q. Have you noticed any change in the discipline
problems of students since the implementation of the
Neighborhood Plan?
A. There's a - there's a quicker response from par
ents in discipline problems. I don't have near the prob
lems that we used to have in getting the parents to come
in. It's -
You know, as we go through the year there are some
kids that get in more trouble than other children, and I'm
getting those parents up without exception. I couldn't say
that in previous years. There were several people who I
never saw.
Q. Does King have a viable PTA unit?
A. Yes, it does. It's very active.
Q, Do - you mentioned earlier that those parents
sometimes come to school and volunteer to do various
things. Would you tell the court some specifics in that
regard?
A. Yes. Not only the PTA members, but we have
other parents as well, who will come into the building.
Because we're - because we're neighborhood and
they're [p. 855] able to just walk over in many cases, you
know, two or three blocks. They come in and they stand
in with classroom teachers. They work in a support room
there. They come in and support us on fund raisers.
Our major fund raiser was run almost completely by
parents this year, and, in this day and age of budgetary
considerations, that's real handy.
428
They tutor children. They help the teacher get mate
rial ready. It's not at all uncommon for the parents to be
running off things for teachers, to be going from different
- room to room to bring things to them. Just they're
involved in every way you can think of.
* * *
tp. 860] THE COURT: And what is that opin
ion?
MR. SHAW: Your Honor, I would just like to
note our continuing objection.
THE COURT: Yes, you have it.
THE WITNESS: I think that the Finger Plan
achieved the objective of creating a unitary district.
THE COURT: Do you have an opinion as to
whether or not the unitary system continued after the
court released its jurisdiction in 1977 to and through the
year 1985/6? Do you have an opinion?
THE WITNESS: Yes, sir.
THE COURT: And what's that opinion?
THE WITNESS: In my opinion, the unitary
school system is still going. It's still in existence.
* * *
BILLIE LEANNE OLDHAM
[p. 863] Q. Do you have an opinion as to whether or
not there has been an increase in the amount of parental
involvement in the school since the adoption of the
Neighborhood Plan?
A. Yes, I do.
429
Q. What is your opinion?
A. I feel like it's increased tremendously. I have
spent a lot of time in the different buildings across the
district helping them to organize their units, and I see a
great increase in our parental involvement.
Q. Do you believe that if the Neighborhood Plan is
allowed to continue that we will see additional increases
in parental involvement?
A. Yes, I do, because each year - when they first
start, it's usually just a handful of parents, but then as
they get going and the parents see that there is a real
value, you know, they want to continue to be involved. So
it will just continue to grow. Everybody wants to be
involved in something that's exciting.
Q. In your opinion, if parents become involved in a
PTA while their child are [sic] in grades K through four,
would they be more likely to remain active in the PTA
when their child attends grades five through twelve?
A. Yes, I feel like they would, because you're - just
like anything else, you are building a base.
* * *
[p. 868] Q. Do you - have you attended any national
PTA conventions?
A. Yes, I have.
Q. Do you have any knowledge about the trends in
PTA participation nationally over the past decade or two?
430
A. Well, not really. Not as far as - because I haven't
been involved in capacities that I could answer that ques
tion.
Q. Now, are you aware of the increasing participa
tion of women in the work force over the past decade?
A. Yes.
Q. And does that include, to your knowledge,
women who are the sole support of their families as a
result of divorce or other family changes?
A. Yes.
Q. For those parents who have returned to the work
force, would it be more difficult, in your opinion, for
them to participate in PTA activities than if they were not
in the work force?
A. It's more difficult maybe during the daytime, but
a lot of people have flexible job schedules.
That's part of the PTA's job. As our society changes
we, must make changes.
* * *
JOHN JOSEPH LANE
[p. 880] Q. And what inferences did you draw from
your conversations?
A. In terms of the individuals, I found them compe
tent, even enlightened, very well connected with national
organizations and what was going on beyond Oklahoma.
I would have to go so far as to say that, by any definition,
they are professional individuals.
I would have to say that, as I listened to them, I
gathered a picture of - beginning to form a picture of a
431
very progressive kind of district, fair in its public state
ment of policy. I found people very willing to be
involved.
I sensed that the board was very hard working and
willing, unlike what I have seen in other districts, frankly,
to be very collaborative with the central office.
Without waxing too eloquent here, or attempting to
be, I found, time and again, that their stated philosophy
of establishing excellence is, in fact, a dream, but it's one
that I think they're taking the steps to realize.
Q. Doctor -
A. They firmly believe that every child can learn.
Q. Doctor Lane, you have looked at a number of
other school districts. How does Oklahoma City School
District compare to those other districts?
[p. 881] A. In what regard?
Q. In implementing an effective schools program
and in carrying out their instructional philosophy.
A. It compares very favorably. As I look - as I
personally have tried to, over the years, develop effective
schools before it was in vogue to call them such, I have
found that this district, laboring under tremendous fiscal
constraints, has made giant strides.
In the area of communication with parents and
among the staff themselves, I - I've seen great progress.
In terms of leadership, emphasis on instruction, mon
itoring closely the progress of the children, it's really
already exemplary.
432
Q. Why did you then also conduct interviews?
A. Well, frankly, to get out into the field and see if
what I read and what I heard was true.
Q. And how did you go about conducting these
interviews?
A. I have already indicated that I had worked with
the North Central, and I opted to - to take that approach,
that I would - I had already read the documents, I have
visited with key individuals. I would now, instead of
visiting classrooms, I would visit individual school sites
and interview with the principals.
* * *
[p. 885] Q. So no principals felt like they were being
cut short or any favoritism shown; is that right?
A. That's correct.
Other kinds of questions in that regard dealt with
central office support for the schools, and here I was
looking for a kind of - I can't even say the word measure,
exactly - but a soft measure.
Over the years, I've also noticed that schools can be
excluded from connections, if I can put it that way, with
the central office. The principal calls and there's no
response. And I asked questions along those lines: "When
you call the central office, are you met with courtesy? Do
you feel that there is a response, that you will get sup
port?"
I was looking for two things, as I have said, one for
uniformity, but also, since the district says that it is an
effective school district, support for the local school is, in
433
addition to the five correlates of school effectiveness that
have been mentioned several times in testimony, school
support is yet another one, and I found, once again, that
all of the principals felt that when they called there was
response and support.
In the same vein -
Yes.
* Jfr Jfr
[p. 889] Q. Doctor Lane, did you also look at curric
ulum?
A. Yes, I did, with two particular things in mind.
One, of course, to see whether, in fact, the curriculum was
uniform across the board, and the other a more concrete
kind of thing. I've already referred to curriculum guides.
I wanted to know whether, in fact, curriculum guides
were available and were they being used.
I found that, in fact, the curriculum was uniform
across the board, that curriculum guides were being used,
but the principals, moreover, required lesson plans, and
these lesson plans involved the curriculum guides.
* * *
[p. 891] Q. Doctor Lane, there's been lots of discus
sion in the case about parental involvement.
In your professional opinion, how important is par
ental involvement to a student's education?
A. The two principal agents in the education of a
child are the teacher and the parent. Any program that
434
will bring the teacher and the parent closer together is a
good program, it seems to me.
The parent gains better understanding of the school's
objectives, the teacher's personal objectives, the teacher's
perception of his or her child, and they are able, collab-
oratively, to work for a better education for the child.
Furthermore, some experts have estimated that,
though it's quality time, we hope, a child is in school
about 13 percent of the time. 87 percent of the time,
between roughly birth and age 18, is spent out in the
community and with the family.
Anything that can augment the positive aspects of an
education in that neighborhood and with the parent and
the teacher is a positive thing and a good thing.
* * *
[p. 893] Q. So in every school there was some type
of involvement of parents?
A. Some type of - some type of involvement, with
the exception of two schools. I can't quite recall which,
but I do remember that there were two that didn't have
the them, but the other 28 schools did.
Q. Was it your impression that this involvement
had increased over the last two years?
A. It was the report of the principals that it had
increased, and, in some instances, had increased dramati
cally, some nothing that parent participation had moved
from 13 to 30, 35 members, which is - is quite an increase
over a period, frankly, of just a few months.
Q. Did you also look at facilities?
435
A. Yes, I - yes, I did. I didn't know until testimony
yesterday that there was need for about 200 million dol
lars in repairs, but, as a lay observer of that kind of thing,
I can - I can attest that there - the buildings of many of
them are in - in serious need of, perhaps, some structural
changes and improvements.
Nonetheless, I found that the schools were clean, well
maintained, and, in accordance with both my inquiry
about uniformity and about matters relating to school
effectiveness, they provided safe environments.
[p. 894] Some principals did express concern about
the presence of asbestos, and I understand that that's
before the board and they understand that something
needs to be done.
Q. But was it your general impression that there
was uniformity among the schools regarding their facili
ties?
A. As with finance, as with teachers, as with facili
ties, the principals reported that, in fact, the district is
financially strapped, if one suffers, we would all suffer.
That, in fact, the formulas devised for allocation of
resources were very scrupulously followed.
* * *
[p. 897] Q. In your professional opinion, and based
on your observations throughout the district, is the effec
tive schools program working here in Oklahoma City?
A. Yes, indeed it is. In addition to the five correlates
that they have announced as characteristics of school
effectiveness, more recent research has lengthened the list
a bit to include the very kinds of things the district is
436
doing; namely, other hallmarks of an effective school are
those which, in addition to the five that have been men
tioned, strong instructional leadership through monitor
ing, include also such areas as involvement of parents,
collaboration between the central office and the site-level
schools, support from the district office up and down the
line, planning and communication, and these are in evi
dence.
Q. Does the Neighborhood School Plan enhance an
effective schools program, in your opinion?
A. Yes, it does, because a neighborhood school can
insure greater parental involvement, and one of the hall
marks of an effective school is parental involvement.
Neighborhood schools perhaps can help in that - in that
regard.
Proximity means easy access, and that's very good,
and the neighborhood school does help that.
Q. In your professional opinion, is a Neighborhood
School Plan educationally beneficial?
A. Yes, it is.
* * *
HERBERT JOHN WALBERG
tp. 913] Q. Doctor Walberg, do you have an opinion
as to whether or not the racial composition of a school
has an effect on academic achievement?
A. Yes, I do. I think that racial composition of the
school is irrelevant to how much children learn in school,
and no particular racial composition, such as zero, ten,
fifty, ninety, or a hundred makes important difference for
how much children learn in school.
437
Q. What do you base this opinion upon?
[p. 914] A. May I consult my notes, Mr. Day?
Q. Certainly.
A. I base this opinion on a series of studies that
have been done since 1966, the first of which was the -
sometimes called the Coleman report. It was the survey
of "equality of education opportunity," which was a
study of some 600,000 elementary and secondary stu
dents throughout the United States, carried out for the
United States Congress.
There have been analyses of that survey, and they
have indicated, collectively, no relationship of - that is,
black-for-black learning, how much black students learn
in school to the racial composition of a school, or at least
inconclusive results and a great deal of disagreement.
There have also been major compilations of smaller-
scale studies, particularly various kinds of programs to
change, either on a voluntary or a mandatory basis, the
racial composition in cities and in metropolitan areas.
Some of the reviewers of this have included Nancy Saint
John Others.
I would say that perhaps the most important com
pilation of this evidence was conducted by the National
Institute of Education in 198— 1982, in which six investi
gators who had experience in doing research on this
particular question were brought together by the United
States Department of Education to try to resolve this
question. The results of the compilation indicated an
inconsistent and a very small effect, very [p. 915] close to
zero, such that some studies had had a positive - a small
438
positive effect, some studies have had a negative effect,
but in comparison with the kinds of things that I had
talked to you about earlier, these nine factors, they were
extremely inconsistent and had little impact on learning.
Followups on that, such as Dennis Cutty in 1983, who
reviewed this whole compilation, and I'd like to quote
what he said.
"The conclusion to be drawn from these 19 best
studies is that desegregation has not significantly
improved black achievement levels. What slight positive
nonsignificant gains there were in the 19 studies, came
from the 14 voluntary programs as the five mandatory
programs^sj&wed collectively either no gain or an actual
decline in academic achievement."
Now, this is the basis for my conclusions.
Q. In your opinion, will the fact that some students
in Oklahoma City next year will be attending K-4 elemen
tary schools that are not precisely racially balanced have
any effect on the academic achievement of those students,
either black or white?
A. I don't think it will have any effect at all.
Q. Doctor Walberg, do you have any opinions con
cerning the academic benefits which neighborhood
schools offer?
A. Yes, I do.
Q. Would you tell us about those?
[p. 916] A. I mentioned the studies of parental
involvement or what I call the curriculum of the home,
439
and in compiling studies, I have published a review of
this literature of the studies that had been made through
out the United States in the last 20 years and found that
these studies had extremely good consequences for the
academic learning of children.
Most of the studies - the experimental - that is to say,
the randomized field trials in which some children were
given special parental involvement programs, or the cur
riculum of the home, special tutoring and close relation
ships between the parents and students, indicated quite
sizeable and consistent results.
In addition to that, I personally conducted a study in
Chicago about a dozen years ago in an all-black area of
the city of highly educationally disadvantaged students. I
was asked to help plan the particular program and also to
analyze the statistical test scores, and I also found in my
own personal studies that there were quite strong and
good effects.
* * *
[p. 918] Q. Have you reached any conclusions as to
the educational offerings presently in the Oklahoma City
School District?
A. Yes, I have. In my opinion, the school board
goals and their plans are great aspirations. They have
decided to have an urban thrust to strive to become a
nationally-recognized model urban district.
They have a number of other goals which they've set
forth for themselves, and most important of those is the
general excellence in student achievement and learning.
440
They've tried to, among other goals, assure equity,
pride, and success in the reassignment plan, create a
positive teaching-learning environment, upgrade the
instructional effectiveness of teachers and the instruc
tional leadership of administrator. They have attempted
to target financial resources to effectively achieve short
term and long - priorities and short range plans.
And finally, they have tried to build harmonious
working relationships among the board, superintendent,
employees, residents, and other interested parties.
[p. 919] I would say that they have set forth these
goals and concentrated their efforts on that.
In addition, that's already been mentioned, they have
mounted what I consider to be an extremely ambitious
and successful school effectiveness program with the five
major goals that have already been described. But, in
addition to that, I consider the parental involvement pro
grams highly - have been increasing vastly, and they've
also been very successful.
I would say, finally, that the school district has been
extremely successful in trying to base what they do on
educational research. They have a good - excellent, I
would say - research facility. They've been collecting an
immense amount of achievement date and putting a
strong focus on trying to choose those kinds of programs
that would help most effective in helping all the children
with respect to their learning in the Oklahoma City Public
Schools.
Q. Where do you see the school district headed?
441
A. I think that the school district, if it keeps these
programs in place, and also can increase the - make them
more - still even more widespread, - and I think that they
are near the national norms now. I think they've been
increasing in the last couple of years, but I think that they
can increase still further.
In particular, I think that it's cause for celebration, [p.
920] having more PTA's and PTO's and increasing the
membership, but I think that the school district can push
things even further to get not only some parents in the
school but more parents in the school.
And secondly, I think that we have the beginnings,
although it's very valuable to raise funds, and I think that
the school district is strapped for funds, but I think - and
the parents have been able to raise additional funds for
the school, but I would like to see them doing even more
than this in having what I would call more of this curricu
lum of the home or parental involvement, such that some
of the activities could be focused on more volunteering of
parents in the schools, more tutoring - voluntary tutoring
in the schools, and having the teachers giving hints for
the parents and various kinds of program activities that
they can carry out at home, particularly involving home
work and other kinds of activities that research has
shown has been very conducive to learning and educa
tional achievement.
Q. So I take it, Doctor Walberg, you are of the
opinion that parental involvement does have an impact
on student academic achievement?
442
A. It has an extremely consistent impact, and it also
has a very large impact from the studies that have been
made throughout the United States in the last 20 years.
Q. What conclusions did you reach based on your
interviews [p. 921] with the PTA presidents?
A. The conclusions that I reached is that the major
activities that they have been engaging in is raising
money for the schools. They've also had a series of volun
teer activities, such as book fairs of various kinds.
The other activities include some tutoring and some
provisioning of information about what the school dis
trict is trying to do and the unique characteristics of that
particular school, as well as providing information about
the personal requirements that teachers may have or
what the teachers are trying to do with particular chil
dren.
I also sensed from my interviews with the PTA presi
dents and other representatives that they believe strongly
in the value of parental involvement; that is to say that
many of them believe that it - and mentioned that it
promotes learning; that it promotes a pride in the school,
that it increases friendships of children and parents and
parents with one another; that it is exceptionally good for
discipline, because the parents can be very - in close
touch with the teachers.
They also mentioned that parents can support one
another's efforts by knowing what other parents are
doing in the school.
443
They also mentioned the fact that parental involve
ment can promote more homework, which is very condu
cive for additional learning.
Other conclusions that I made is that a number of the
[p. 922] parents wanted to increase the membership in
their school and also increase the scope of activities,
particularly along the lines that I was suggesting earlier,
not just raising funds, but more volunteers in the school
and more parental involvement.
I also thought that it was interesting that in some
cases grandparents were involved with the PTA. And so
there was some sense of inter-generational continuity
from one group to the other.
There were a number of other miscellaneous points
that people mentioned about how they might send some
of the children to camps, for example.
And then I also looked into the question and asked
them about the - whether they believe that, for those that
were in the K-4 schools, whether distance was a factor in
parental involvement, and I learned that they felt that it -
when the parent is closer to the school, it minimizes the
distance - some of them view it as a safety factor. Some of
them also mentioned the fact that it was much more
practical, and that they could increase their - that par
ents, generally speaking, could be more involved in the
school if they live closer by and it was easier for them to
get there.
Those were my main conclusions.
* * *
444
[p. 927] Q. Do you draw any particular significance
from this exhibit, doctor?
A. Yes. I have - I can look at this exhibit and see
that, although there are some exceptions, generally
speaking the higher the percentage of students that have
free lunch in the school, the lower the achievement levels,
and the fewer the children that get free lunches, indicat
ing higher socioeconomic status school, the higher the
achievement levels within the school.
Q. Which elementary school in the district had the
lowest achievement scores, overall?
A. I believe that the Willard School, which is second
- numbered second, has the lowest achievement.
Q. And what is the achievement NCE for Willard?
A. It's 37.7.
Q. Now, what percent of the students attending
Willard were receiving free lunch?
A. 81.1 percent.
Q. And what percent of the student body at Willard
is black?
A. 6.6 percent.
Q. What percent is other minority?
A. That's 51.9 percent.
Q. And what is the percent white?
A. 41.5 percent.
[p. 928] Q. Now, do I understand correctly doctor,
that the Willard School, which was only 6.6 percent black,
445
had, overall, scored lower on achievement tests than any
of the schools in the district that are 90 percent or more
black?
A. That's correct.
Q. I'd like to direct your attention at this time to
Exhibit 184, which has also been received in evidence,
and I'd like for you to identify an[d] explain that exhibit
to the court.
A. Defendant's Exhibit 184 is entitled "Oklahoma
City Public School's Third Grade Metropolitan Achieve-
ment Test."
It shows, for two school years, the students' national
percentile rank on read - the reading and the mathema
tics test on the Metropolitan Achievement Test. The two
school years are 1985/86 and also 1986/1987.
Q. What significance do you find in this exhibit?
A. I find that when the total population of the
school district is examined at the third-grade level where
test scores were available, that there has been improve
ment in achievement from 1985/86 to 1986/1987.
In the subject of reading, the percentile went from the
43rd to the 45th, and in the subject of mathematics, the
school district went from the 45th percentile to the 51st
percentile, which is above the national average.
* * *
[p. 933] Q. (BY MR. DAY) Just briefly identify the
exhibit for the court and explain it, please, sir.
446
A. This is entitled "Oklahoma City Public Schools
third grade achievement results by race." It shows the
mean normal curve equivalent score on the metropolitan
achievement test for the two most recent school years,
1980 -
I'm sorry, I have the wrong exhibit here.
It's third to fourth grade gains. I'm sorry. This is for
the schools that are - have more than 90 percent black
students in them. Gives the names of the schools across,
going from Creston Hills and including Dewev, Edwards,
Garden Oaks, King, Longfellow, North Highland, Parker,
Polk, and Truman.
It shows that the students in these black schools,
predominantly black schools, are making substantial -
have played substantial gains during this - from third to
fourth grade in the period 1986 to 1987. Eight of the ten
are positive. One or two schools did not make such high
gains, but [p. 934] they lost only slightly.
And, on average, if you look across all of them, you
can find that there is a substantial gain since the institu
tion of the K-4 Plan.
Q. Do you have an opinion as to what's responsible
for the recent gains of black students?
A. I believe that the programs that I have described
and have been described here in testimony in the last day
or two are the reasons why students in these schools are
gaining more than perhaps they have in the past.
Q. Do you believe that the neighborhood school
program for grades K through four, in and of itself, in any
way contributed to the gains made by black students?
447
A. I believe that it is one of the contributing factors.
Yes.
Q. And do you also believe that the level of paren
tal involvement may affect these scores?
A. Yes, I do.
Q. Doctor Walberg, did you direct the preparation
of all of the graphs in Exhibit 185?
A. Yes, I did.
Q. Did you check the accuracy of the numbers?
A. Yes, I did.
* * *
[p. 942] Q. So the figures shown in the representa
tion - the bar graph representation for King and Garden
Oaks are losses. They're not lesser gains. They're losses.
A. Well, perhaps I should clarify this. This is gains
and losses, or, I should say, changes in general relative to
normal progress in school.
So I could say that all the students were making
gains in some sense, because they learned something
during the course of the year. But eight of the schools
made gains that were larger than those of the national
average and two schools made gains that were less than
the average gains made in the United States.
* * X-
[p. 944] Q. You are aware, aren't you, that in grades
five through twelve the district carries out a mandatory
busing program to maintain desegregation and racial bal
ance?
448
A. Yes, I'm aware of that.
Q. So it's fair to say that an effective schools pro
gram can be carried out in a desegregated setting, and
even in the context of a mandatory plan?
A. That's correct.
Q. And is it also true that the factors you identified
as most strongly associated with learning, to the extent
that they are under the control of or can be affected by
school system action can be provided or enhanced in
desegregated schools or in a system carrying out a deseg
regation plan?
A. Well, I need to say that it's possible to do these
things at the same time, but I also need to remind myself,
or to give a full answer, that if there are expenditures
involved, such as monetary expenditures for effective
schools or for transportation, or if the district has a finite
amount of energy and attention that they can give to
things, if they are doing two things simultaneously one
can take away from the other.
So, while it's theoretically possible to do two, three,
or four things simultaneously, we do have to consider the
amount of resources that are expended on each activity as
well as the benefits involved.
Q. Well, you're not saying, are you, that if you were
con- [p. 945] suited by a school district that was carrying
out a mandatory desegregation plan and wished to
implement an effective schools program that you would
suggest to them that they should dismantle their deseg
regation plan in order to implement an effective schools
program?
449
A. No, I would not do that. I think they have to
simply assess the amount of energy, resources, financial
resources that they have and come up with the thing
that's in the best interest of the children.
Q. Now, you said you thought there would be no
effect on achievement from attendance at any of the more
than 90 percent black schools next year. Is that -
A. Yes, I think that was concerned with the question
whether the racial percentage would have an effect one
way or the other.
Q. And did you mean to suggest in that answer a
comparison with attendance at a, perhaps, majority white
school?
A. Yes. I think I was being asked to illustrate the
point that racial composition of the school, in my opinion,
does not have a consistent effect on how much black
students learn.
Q. But isn't it correct to say it would be difficult to
determine the impact of moving from a school of - a more
racially mixed school to one of these 90 percent black
schools, for example, between the last year of the Finger
Plan and the first year of the new student assignment
plan, by looking at [p. 946] the test scores that have been
made since then, because there were other changes in
programs, such as the implementation of the effective
schools program at the same time? I mean, we're never
really going to be able to know for sure what was really
happening, since the two changes occurred almost simul
taneously in the district.
450
A. The two changes you are referring to are the
reversion to the neighborhood schools at grades one
through four and the effective schools program?
Q. Correct.
A. And I think I would mention, as well, the
increased parental involvement at that point in time.
Q. Well, -
A. I think it's - I think it's difficult to give the exact
weight, but I do think that there's been considerable
research on effective schools in terms of involvement that
suggests that those things would be conducive to
achievement, so that if achievement had, in fact, gone
down, then I think that that would be quite surprising.
Q. But the fact that achievement has gone up would
not be conclusive. I mean, it would be theoretically possi
ble, for example, that for students assigned back to
heavily black schools, if there was a negative effect on
achievement of some dimensions, it might be outweighed
by the positive effect of some parental involvement and
effective schools program, the [p. 947] factors that you've
mentioned.
A. Well, in my own opinion, I think that the paren
tal involvement and effective schools would lead to
higher achievement, and I say that on the basis of my
school visits and the interviews and the other studies I
have made also, since there have been so many studies of
this throughout the United States.
So I don't think we can be absolutely certain of
anything in educational research, but I think that there's -
I would have very strong confidence that the parental
451
involvement and the effective schools would be the two
major causes of improvement.
* * *
[p. 953] THE COURT: Did you find any dis
crimination between whites and blacks in your study of
the school system?
THE WITNESS: I did not.
THE COURT: Did you make a further study of
whether or not this court should continue supervision of
the school district?
THE WITNESS: I had only thought of that
question since you raised it the last day or two, Your
Honor, -
MR. CHACHKIN: Excuse me, Your Honor.
Respectfully, again I object to the somewhat different
question than the court has previously asked. I believe
and I think it's very clear that that is a decision for the
court to make to a legal issue in the case, and I don't
think this witness is qualified to make it.
THE COURT: Well, I disagree with you on that.
And I think I should at this point - I haven't done it
before, but it's been in the back of my mind.
The pretrial order, agreed to between the parties,
paragraph 7 of the contentions of the defendant reads
* * *
RECORD, VOLUME VII
452
ROBERT L. CRAIN
[p. 971] Q. Have you reached any conclusion?
A. Yes. I think segregated schools are harmful from
American standards, are harmful to black students
because they would inhibit their learning as reflected in
the standard achievement test scores, and it would inhibit
their ability to finish high school and to finish college. It
reduces, somewhat, their political participation. Gradu
ates of segregated schools have worse employment pros
pects.
You could also - the evidence would also be that
white graduates of segregated schools are somewhat -
have somewhat more difficulty in interaction, friend
ships, and conversation with blacks, and are somewhat
more prejudiced.
I'd say those are the main factors that one should talk
about.
Q. What is the basis for your conclusion that segre
gated schools have harmful academic effects and desegre
gated schools presumably do not?
A. Mainly, the META analysis that I did for - origi
nally for the Ford Foundation and the later one I did for
the National Institute of Education. The later one sur
veyed 93 different studies of desegregation achievement.
Most of these were - many of these were doctoral disser
tations written by school principals and school adminis
trators around the country about their own school
districts, and I analyzed these studies and found a pat
tern indicating that black students from segregated [p.
453
972] schools tended to score less well on standard
achievement tests.
Q. Were the results of your analysis uniform?
A. No. there's a - there's been a clear discrepancy,
because about half of the studies done show a sort of
clear positive effect of desegregation, and the other half
show essentially no effect at all. Occasionally a study will
actually show there are negative effects of desegregation.
Q. You're talking about effects on what students?
A. On black students. On black student achieve
ment test scores.
Q. Did you study the effects on white students' test
scores?
A. No, I didn't. That question was studied several
years ago by several different people. They always found
that white test scores were not affected by desegregation,
and I think, as far as I know, all sociologists and psychol
ogists think of that as essentially a closed issue. No-one
has studied it for the last ten years.
Q. So you were studying then the effects of aca
demic achievement on - of desegregation on black stu
dents only, -
A. That's right.
Q. - and the results were not uniform?
A. That's right.
* * *
[p. 1003] Q. Doctor, -
454
A. Can you do this whole analysis a different way.
what I've done here is to look at the same cohort as they
move from one grade to another, but that means you're
switching from one test to another.
A simpler method would be simply to look at the
same grade and say, "This is a reasonably large school
district. You wouldn't really expect the students who
entered - who were, say, thirteen years old to be terribly
different from the students that are twelve years or the
students who are fourteen years old at any one time. Let's
simply look at all the students who were first graders in
1984, all the students who were first graders in 1985, and
students who were first graders in 1986.
Q. I was going to ask you about that, Doctor Crain.
You have been talking about tracing cohorts through.
A. That's right.
Q. Now you're talking about comparing the first
grade in one year with the first grade in another year, and
then doing the same thing for other years.
A. That's right.
Q. For the grades rather?
[p. 1004] A. Yes, we're comparing grades. We're
comparing different cohorts to each other.
If you do that, you get almost exactly the same pat
tern. For example, the first grade gap in the fall of '84 was
eleven points, in the fall of '85 was eleven - the spring of
'84 was eleven points, spring of '85 was eleven points,
spring of '86 was fifteen points. The gap had gotten
worse.
455
That's also true for the second grade, that's also true
for the third grade. There's no difference in the fourth
grade. It's also true for the fifth grade.
On the other hand, in the upper grades, six through
eleventh, the gap got worse in 1986 in only two cases and
got better in four cases. So, you see the same pattern
again in the upper grades. There is improvement in the
gap, declining. In lower grades the gap - the lower
grades, the gap has gotten worse.
Now, this is not very strong evidence that Oklahoma
City is following the national trend in which segregation
is more harmful to achievement. I would expect that to be
the case, but this is really not very strong evidence,
because it's the first year of the plan, and students were
moved around, teachers were moved around, and you
would expect some amount of disruption.
// The best I can say is that certainly the new effective
\ schools program that I've read some literature about is
(working [p. 1005] in the upper grades better than it is the
/ lower grades, and there's no evidence here that - that - at
/ least I would not interpret this as giving any evidence at
/ all to indicate that students are doing better because
they're in a neighborhood school. You would have to say
the students are doing worse. Maybe they'll do better in
some future year, but they're not doing better not.
They're doing worse.
Q. Doctor, you've indicated that the time which has
passed between the implementation of the plan and now
makes it difficult to do a definitive analysis and reach
definitive conclusions.
456
A. Uh-huh.
Q. Would that be - is that your experience in other
situations?
A. Yes. I have worked with achievement tests in a
number of studies, and I've studied desegregation plans.
You do want some time for things to settle down, and
especially you don't want to compare two different tests.
It's always very difficult. Well, you just don't want to do
it. You can't do it most of the time.
* * *
[p. 1008] A. * * * If that's the case, then I would
summarize these results as follows: They indicate that
black families who live in racially mixed and predomi
nantly white neighborhoods have children who score
higher on tests than black families who live in the ghetto,
and I would be absolutely astonished if that were not the
case, and it has absolutely nothing to do with riding a
bus.
This research is absolutely indefensible. No social
scientist in the country would accept this as competent
research. You have to control, you have to match students
on their background characteristics and on previous abil
ity, and every study that possibly could be published
does that. You just have to do that, and this doesn't do it.
* * *
[p. 1011] Q. In your view, does this provision offset
the damages that you have described?
A. No.
Q. Why not?
457
A. They simply - they simply operate at - it's a way
of operating a segregated school system by inviting the
black families to participate in the process of creating
segregation so that it can have a sense of democracy
about it. But it's not -
Q. What do you mean by that?
A. I mean, in a society where blacks have grown up
treated unequally and been separated from whites, it
would be astonishing to expect very many blacks to
volunteer for the frightening experience of sending their
child across town to an all-white school. It's - it's a
burden, it's a lost less efficient that having bus that shows
up to take all the kids, you have to separate your child
from all his friends, and you have to run this risk of
dealing with these whites on the other side of town. You
can't expect black families to be willing to risk that.
Consequently, I think anyone who draws a plan
which puts this provision in knows that only a tiny
percentage will take advantage of it, and that most stu
dents will remain in segregated schools.
* * *
[p. 1019] Q. Doctor Crain, one more area of inquiry.
Do you advocate the same - Do you reach the same
conclusions with respect to desegregation when it comes
to choices regarding higher education?
A. No.
Q. Why not?
A. I think black colleges - I think it's a big mistake
on the part of the Federal Government to - to press for
458
the total desegregation of black colleges, and 1 think the
Federal Government learned that lesson and, in fact, has
backed away from that position.
In a situation where college attendance is voluntary,
there are some black students who would be very uncom
fortable in a desegregated or predominantly white college
and for whom a black college would provide a good
educational opportunity for them.
* * *
[p. 1028] Q. My question to you is this: In your
opinion, - I'm not concerned about someone else's opin
ion - is an urban community like Oklahoma City, through
the implementation of a court-ordered desegregation
plan, capable of eliminating residential segregation by
itself?
A. Well, the school district wouldn't do it without
the help of the City Planning Department, the zoning
board, and all the - I mean, if the rest of the city wants
the school system - if the rest of the city wants residential
segregation, the school system is going to be swimming
upstream. But if you put together a concerted effort over
the next 50 years of -
I've written -
Q. Well, I think you -
A. - on exactly the things the school district could
do to create residential integration, -
Q. I think you've answered my question.
A. Oh.
459
[p. 1029] Q. You've told me that, standing alone, a
school district such as Oklahoma City cannot do that.
A. Okay.
Q. There must be significant effort from all other
governmental entities in the community; correct?
A. That's right.
Q. And, in fact, do you know of any court-ordered
desegregation plan in an urban community similar to
Oklahoma City which has successfully eliminated resi
dential segregation in that community?
A. I don't know any school district which has elimi
nated all residential segregation, however, I have been
quite surprised in this research that I've done with
Dianna Pierce and others about the impact in the change.
* * *
[p. 1066] Q. * * * would you agree that parental
involvement in the schools has a significant impact on
black academic achievement?
A. Yes.
Q. You mentioned the effective schools program,
and I think [p. 1067] you indicated you didn't think that
we have had time in Oklahoma City to see the results of
that; is that correct?
A. Well, I don't know whether you have or not.
Q. Well, what did you testify on direct? Have you
analyzed Oklahoma City's effective schools program?
A. No.
460
Q. So you don't now what impact it's having on
academic achievement, do you?
A. No.
Q. Are you aware that this school district has a
bilingual program?
A. I would - I would assume - I assumed it had
one.
Q. Don't you think that can have a positive effect on
achievement?
A. Yes.
Q. Now, we've been talking about achievement.
Let's switch gears now and talk about the success of black
students in adult life.
Would you agree with me that, besides racial balance
in the school, there are a number of factors which can
have a positive effect on black adult achievement?
A. Yes.
Q. What are those things?
A. Uhm, -
Q. Occupational training?
[p. 1068] A. Yes.
Q. Personal Character?
A. Yes.
Q. Socioeconomic status?
A. Yes.
461
Q. Parental support again?
A. Yes,
Q. There are a number of factors; right?
A. Yes. Yes.
Q. And, would you agree that blacks can achieve
and become successful when these factors come into play
even though they attend schools that are not racially
balanced?
A. Yes.
* * *
[p. 1078] Q. * * * do I understand you correctly that
when all factors remain constant that the racial balance of
the school doesn't have an impact on black academic
achievement?
A. I'll agree with that.
* * 54-
[p. 1093] Q. Well, can you think of any activity
outside of school that would have a positive effect on
blacks?
A. Sure. Playing games on the same team.
Q. Okay. Anything else?
A. Being in Boy Scouts together.
Q. Anything else?
Q. Okay.
A. Going to after-school tutoring together.
462
A. Going to church together, or Sunday School, I
mean. Not church. Those are things that come to mind.
Q. So you will admit that there are interactions
between black students and white students outside of the
classroom which, in your opinion, are beneficial to the
blacks?
A. Yes.
Q. And allow them to become socially acceptable
when they - when they get out of school.
A. Let me just re— I don't know quite what you
mean by socially acceptable. You mean they've learned
how to act so they're socially acceptable to white people?
Is that what you meant?
Q. Well, that was a poor choice of words on my
part.
The point I was trying to make is, as a result of this
interaction, they could better socialize with whites when
they become adults.
A. Yes, it would be helpful.
H* Jfr Jfr
[p. 1097] Q. So all other factors that determine black
adult success will be favorably impacted by virtue of
busing the children between grades five and twelve?
A. That's correct.
Q. And there will be positive benefits sustained and
received by those children at those grade levels?
A. That's right. I believe that's true. Yes.
463
Q, You also testified that, in your opinion, black -
all-black colleges are okay.
A. Yes.
Q. And they produce some - some black scholars.
A. Sure.
Q. But you made the distinction that those are dif
ferent from elementary schools because it's not manda
tory to go to a black college. Is that what you said?
A. Yes. It's not mandatory to go to college at all.
Q. But it is mandatory to go to school.
A. That's right.
Q. Are you aware that in Oklahoma City it is not
mandatory to got to a black elementary school?
A. Oh, yes. I know that.
* * *
YALE RABIN
[p. 1125] THE COURT: Wait, w hat's the
number?
MR. CHACHKIN: Plaintiff's exhibit number 60.
THE COURT: 60?
MR. CHACHKIN: With the overlay, plaintiff's
exhibit 58-A, over it.
Q. (BY MR. CHACHKIN:) Would you describe what
this map is?
A. This map is the distribution of black population
by block, 1970.
464
If I may, I think I should explain the notion of block
so that it's clearly understood what the distinction is
between a block and a tract.
A census tract is the largest, most conventional unit
of data gathering which the census bureau uses, but each
tract is divided, depending on whether it's in a rural or
an urban area. If it's in a rural area, a tract is subdivided
into what are called an enumeration district, an enumera
tion district literally being the area that's covered during
the census by a single enumerator.
In Urban areas, the census tract is divided into
blocks, and blocks are - generally correspond to city,
individual city blocks, that is, an area of land bounded by
four streets, or three streets and a railroad, or a river, but
there are clearly evident boundaries to the block itself.
[p. 1126] So we're talking about a great many subdi
visions within a census tract. There may be as many as
100 or 200 blocks within an individual census tract. So
that this provides a far more precise indication of where
people live within the tract than one which deals with the
tract in aggregate.
Q. So that's -
A. So that this map then shows that distribution,
population by race, by block, for 1970, with the color
designations being precisely the same as they were on the
1960 map.
Q. And this map was prepared under your supervi
sion?
A. Yes, it was.
465
A. I have. Yes.
Q. Are you satisfied with the work done by your
graduate student?
A. I am.
Q. Would you briefly describe the distribution of
black population in 1970 as shown on the map?
A. Yes. As the map indicates/ there has been a j prv
substantial increase in the area in which blacks livm and
\ evidence of some dispersal of blacks to areas of the city in
which they did not live before.
C Most of the direction in which that change has taken
place has been to the north and east, but there are some
/ evidence of small changes that are taking place else-
' where.
Q. And have you checked it for accuracy?
[p. 1127] It may not be visible, but there are blocks in
the southwest that now begin to show up as having more
than ten percent black population in 1970.
But predominantly the growth is from the areas
which were black in 1950. They have expanded in size,
and that expansion has taken place largely to the north.
And the other changejhat I ..would note that's taken
place is that there is also an increase in the intensity, that
is. the degree to which the larger black areas are black.
That is, one
what I will call the central
Q. I believe it's been referred to as the northeast
quadrant.
466
A. The northeast quadrant. And I don't know how
the area further east is characterized, but both of them
show more extensive areas in 1970 which are over 90
percent black than in 1960,
Q. I believe you said a moment ago that there was a
change from 1950. The comparisons that you have been
making are between 1960 and 1970 on these maps.
A. The earlier map was of 1960. This map is of 1970.
My reference to 1950 earlier was to some of the tract
data which I looked at, and that - that information is not
reflected on these maps.
Q. Let me change the exhibit to reflect the 1980
map.
Mr. Rabin, we have now placed on the easel under
neath the [p. 1128] same overlay, which is plaintiff's
exhibit 58-A, a map identified as plaintiff's exhibit 62. Do
you recognize that map?
A. I do. Yes. This is the map of the distribution of
black population by block for 1980. And, again, it uses
the same color indications that were used on the 1960 and
1970 maps.
Q. And this map was also prepared under your
supervision?
A. It was. Yes.
Q. And have you reviewed it for accuracy?
A. I have.
Q. And you are satisfied with the work that your
student did?
467
A. I am. Yes.
Q. Is it an accurate reflection of the census informa
tion?
A. It is.
MR. CHACHKIN: Your Honor, at this time the
plaintiff's would move the admission into evidence of
exhibits 58, 58-A, which is the overlay, 60, and 62.
THE COURT: 58-A?
MR. CHACHKIN: Yes, Your Honor.
THE COURT: And this is 60 -
MR. CHACHKIN: 60 and 62.
THE COURT: You've got 60, 60-A, and 58-A, and
62?
MR. CHACHKIN: No, there's only one A. It's 58,
58-A, 60, and 62.
MR. DAY: No objection.
[p. 1129] THE COURT: Then let the record show
these exhibits are all received in evidence.
Q. (By Mr. Chachkin) have you reached any conclu
sions about the pattern or population movement in Okla
homa City from 1960 to 1980 based on your review of the
census materials, Mr. Rabin?
A. I have. Yes.
Q. Could you describe or state your conclusions?
A. I can, yes, but I would like, if I can, to go back
also ten years, and, frankly, I did that in response to
468
reading Doctor Clark's deposition, and since he had
looked at the population change beginning in 1950, I
thought it would be appropriate if I went back and
looked also, and so that I can include, in some or these
conclusions that I've reached, what those changes have
been. _
If we go back to 1950, we can see that the black /
population in Oklahoma City has increased by two-and-1
three-quarters times between 1950 and 1980. The concern \
trated areas in which blacks live have also increased over
that period of time in both size and intensity, and I think I
that might be best illustrated by looking at some of the j
changes which have taken place at the tract level. '
If we take, as a reasonable indicator of concentration,
- I don't think anybody would question the fact that a
tract that was 75 percent or more black is a concentrated.
black tract. In [p. 1130] 1950 there was one such tract.(
That was tract~297~In~T960, thereCwenTspTto
were 75 percent or more black.
In 1950, the tract that was 75 percent or more black
included 24.9
quarter of all blacks who lived in Oklahoma City in
195071 ~ ’ “ ~ ~
THE COURT: 19-when?
THE WITNESS: In 1950, Your Honor.
THE COURT: Yes.
A. - Less than a quarter of them lived in census
tracts which were 75 percent or more black. In 1960, that
had increased to 69-and-a-half percent of all blacks.. In
1970, that had increased to 73.3 percent.
469
THE COURT: 73-point-what?
THE WITNESS: 73.3 percent.
A. And in 1980, -
THE COURT: How many tracts increased?
THE WITNESS: Oh, I was just giving the popula
tion. I'll go through the tracts if you like.
THE COURT: All right. Excuse me.
A. In 1980, that dropped back to 60.8 percent.
Now, spatially, which is a major concern if we're
dealing with the desegregation of schools whose loca
tions are fixed by where they were built, the area of
concentration has increased very substantially.
As I indicated, there was one such tract in '50, there
[p. 1131] were six such tracts in 1960, there were 13 such
tracts in 1970, and there were 16 tracts in 1980 which
were 75 percent or more black.
Q. (By Mr. Chachkin) Now, did the tracts that were
concentrated black, to use your term, that had more than
75 percent black population in them, always included the
original tracts, or did they - the makeup of the group of
tracts meeting -
A. By "the original tracts," I'm not quite sure.
Q. We start out with the single tract in 1950. Did
that tract remain concentrated through 1980?
A. Yes. Yes. All of the tracts, I believe, from each
previous decade are included in the group which has
expanded during the succeeding decade.
470
Q. And you referred to the proportion of the popu
lation, of the black population living in Oklahoma City.
Are the boundaries of the city and the school district
coterminous?
A. They're not, as far as I know.
Q. And do the boundaries of the - the boundaries of
the city include some of the areas between the portions of
the school district shown on the overlay?
A. I believe they do, but the boundary of the city is
not shown on any of these maps. The tracts which I have
named, though, are all included within the city.
[p. 1132] Q. Now, Mr. Rabin, you said you had read
Doctor Clark's deposition. Are you aware that Doctor
Clark testified in this case?
A. I am. Yes.
Q. Have you also read the transcript of his testi
mony last week?
A. I have. Yes. —.
Q. Do you recall his reference to 17 percent of the
total black population in the concentrated area of black
residences in Oklahoma City?
A. Yes, I do.
Q. Do you know what area Doctor Clark was refer
ring to?
A. Well, it was that reference, frankly, which led to
this analysis, because the impression one gets from read
ing the transcript, because the comment is made in a
471
rather out-of-context way, is that, at present, 17 percent of
blacks live in the concentrated area, when, to the best I
can figure, what he was actually referring to was the area
in 1950, the single tract in 1950 in which, I think -
Let me see if I can find the figure.
Not the single tract. Excuse me. It was -
I've got it straight.
In 1980, in 1980, 16.9 percent of the black population
of Oklahoma City lived in the six tracts in which they
were concentrated in 1960.
I
[p. 1133] Q. And is that the same area of concentra
tion that you have defined for 1980?
A. Oh, no. I mean, the - what was the area of
concentration in 1960 is not the area of concentration in
1980.
I traced through all of the years the transition which
had taken place in those tracts, but it's quite clear that the
area of concentration itself has changed, and it's mislead
ing to refer, in each successive decade, to the same six
tracts as the area of concentration. That area was only the
area of concentration in 1960.
THE COURT: Let me ask you, did you say the
concentration was in 16 tracts or 6?
THE WITNESS: In 1960 -
THE COURT: '80. 1980.
THE WITNESS: In 1980, in 16 tracts.
THE COURT: 16. All right. That's what I thought.
472
THE WITNESS: Yes. One-six. In 1960, in six
tracts.
THE COURT: Yes.
THE WITNESS: If you'd like, I can read -
THE COURT: The population that you're talking
about, the concentration, and 16 blocks is what percent
age?
THE WITNESS: No, these are tracts, Your Honor.
In 1950, 24 -
THE COURT: No, no. I've got that.
THE WITNESS: Yes.
[p. 1134] THE COURT: I'm not clear on 1980.
THE WITNESS: In 1980. there were 16 census
tracts housing 60.8 percent -
THE COURT: Of all -
THE WITNESS: - of all blacks in Oklahoma City.
THE COURT: How much? 60?
THE WITNESS: 60.8 percent of all blacks in
homa City in tracts which were 75 percent or more
THE COURT: Go ahead. I'm through.
A. The - it's also, I think, important that the actual'
numbers have increased very substantially. In 1950, there
were only 5,236 blacks living in this concentrated area.Jn
1980, there are 35,691 blacks living -
THE COURT: In 1980 there was what?
473
THE WITNESS: In 1980, 35,691 blacks lived in
the 75-percent-or-more tracts.
THE COURT: In 1950 it was 5,000?
THE WITNESS: That's right. 5,236.
A. And the proportion of blacks in 1980 is about
two-and-a-half times as great as it was in 1950 living in
those areas.
Q. (By Mr. Chachkin) And, again, just so I'm clear,
the area of concentration in 1980 continues to include
within it or to subsume the areas of concentration in
previous decades.
A. That's true.
Q. Do you know if the area of concentration in 1980,
as [p. 1135] you've defined it, in the northeast quadrant,
includes the area within which most of the schools that
are now more than 90 percent black, the elementary
schools, are located?
A. Yes, it does.
MR. CHACHKIN: Thank you very much.
CROSS-EXAMINATION
BY MR. DAY:
Q. Mr. Rabin, as I understand it, sir, you have a
Bachelor's Degree in Architecture; is that correct?
A. It's a Graduate Degree. Yes. At that time, a Bach
elor's Degree, just as a Bachelor of Law at that time, was
a graduate - I guess you're a little young for that. But,
474
before degree escalation and they started giving attorneys
JD's for what they gave them Bachelor's Degrees for
before, they also gave Architects and Planners Graduate
Bachelor's Degree.
Q. So what do you hold, Doctorate in Architecture?
A. No, no, no, no, no, no.
Q. Master's?
A. No. I have a Bachelor of Architecture. That's
correct.
Q. Do you hold any postgraduate degrees?
A. I do not. No.
Q. And you are not a geographer?
A. No.
Q. And you're not a demographer?
A. That's quite true.
[p. 1136] Q. And you're not a desegregation plan
ner, are you?
A. I don't know what that means. I have taken part
in desegregation planning, but I don't know that there is
such a -
Q. You don't hold yourself out as an expert in
desegregation planning or preparing desegregation
plans?
A. No.
Q. Do you have your vitae in front of you?
475
A. I do. Yes. I think so somewhere.
Q. As you were testifying, we were going over that,
and I note that on 37 separate occasions that you had
consulted or done work for the NAACP or the legal
defense fund; is that correct?
A. I couldn't tell you. I -
Q. Does that sound about right to you?
A. I have no idea.
Q. Well, I don't think it's necessary for you to count
them. It's in evidence.
But would you agree that you do a substantial
amount of work for the NAACP legal defense fund?
A. I did, during the late 60's, a lot of work for them.
Q. Did you testify for the NAACP legal defense
fund in desegregation litigation in the 1960's?
A. I did. Yes.
* * *
[p. 1153] Q. * * * is that an accurate statement of
what was happening in those tracts over time?
A. I assume that it is. I mean, I -
Q. Mr. Rabin, are you aware that -
You've read the court's 1963 decision, have you not?
A. Parts of it. Yes. I have not read it all.
Q. Where the judge talked about the state-com
pelled system of desegregation?
476
A. Yes. Yes.
Q. And do you recall the court identifying the
schools that were segregated at that point?
A. Yes.
Q. And those schools lie within those tracts on that
exhibit, do they not, sir?
A. I believe they do. Yes.
Q. And, of course, if you read that decision, you're
aware of the court's mentioning the Shelley V Kraemer
decision which outlaws restrictive covenants?
A. I don't recall that. No.
Q. You don't recall that?
Well, can you understand why Doctor Clark concen
trated on these tracts, the tracts that were identified as
being the [p. 1154] segregated area as of 1963?
A. I'm afraid I don't.
Q. You don't.
A. No.
Q. Well, in 1963, none of these other 16 tracts
you've been referring to, except for these, were predomi
nantly black, were they?
A. That's correct.
Q. All of that movement and growth has taken
place since 1960, has it not?
A. That's true.
477
Q. You're not aware of any action taken by the
Oklahoma City Board of Education, are you, after this
court entered its order in 1963, which caused or com
pelled blacks to be concentrated in these 16 tracts that
you're talking about, are you?
A. Well, but there was a lot of public action. I mean,
in tracts - the highway had enormous impacts in 29 and
38.
Q. I understand,
A. There was urban renewal in 26, 29, and 30. Peo
ple did not simply get up and move.
Q. But my question was, Mr. Rabin, -
A. Many, many people were moved.
Q. My question, Mr. Rabin, was with regard to the
actions of the Oklahoma City Board of Education. Are
you aware of any action that the board took, after this
Court entered its decree [p. 1155] in 1963, which com
pelled blacks to live in those tracts or any of the other 16
which you've identified as predominantly black?
A. I'm not. No. No. '
Q. Okay. And I'm certain, as an expert in this area,
you're familiar with the laws that have been passed
across this country tearing down the past governmental
barriers of discrimination, are you not, sir?
A. I'm familiar with the laws that have been passed.
I'm certainly not familiar with them tearing down the
barriers of past discrimination. They've outlawed many
of the past discriminatory practices.
478
Q. They provide remedies for it, don't they?
A. And they have provided remedies. Yes.
Q. What factors do you believe determine where
blacks in Oklahoma City live today?
Maybe I can go over these with you.
Would you agree with me that the preferences of
black people, in part, are responsible for where they
choose to live?
A. In some part.
Q. All right.
A. Yes.
Q. Okay. For example, the blacks that have moved
out into these other areas that you showed ten percent or
less, -
A. Uh-Huh.
Q. - that's most likely due to their preferences, is it
not?
[p. 1156] A. I would assume so. Yes.
Q. And would you agree with me that their socio
economic level would play a part in where they decide to
move to?
A. It would play a significant part in whether they
could move to begin with.
Q. Yes. And also where they elect to move; right?
A. That's true.
479
Q. You said that you had seen no evidence that
blacks within this area here had relocated.
A. Well, I - that's not what I said. I said it was not
possible to determine, from the census data, whether a
person living in a formerly all white tract, a black person
living in a formerly all white tract, came there from an
inner-city tract in Oklahoma City, or whether that person
came from Los Angeles or Denver or Philadelphia, The
census doesn't tell us that.
Q. Did plaintiff's counsel show you defendant's
exhibit number 7?
A. No. No, I -
Q. That has been admitted into evidence,
Mr. Rabin, -
A. Uh-huh.
Q. - As a map showing the relocation of black fami
lies from the northeast quadrant into other areas in the
district. This particular map shows families with kinder
garten children in school year 74/75 who, by 75/76,
relocated.
A. Uh-huh.
[p. 1157] Q. And each line here has a number at the
base, and that shows the number of families that actually
relocated from this area out into these various areas.
A. I see. Any - Is there a total somewhere?
Q. You can add them up here.
A. Well, it looks like, - except for the two large
arrows in the center, it looks like something substantially
480
under a hundred out of a population of many, many
thousands.
Q. But doesn't this show to you that black children
and families living in the Oklahoma City district have, in
fact, left this northeast quadrant and moved out into
other areas in the community.
A. I have no doubt that that took place.
Q. You said you had - you didn't have any evi
dence.
A. I said - Mr. Day, I - I said one could not tell from
the census, that's all, and one cannot tell.
Q. But one can tell from the evidence, can't they?
A. Yes, or something like this.
Q. Now, this exhibit -
Let me back up just a moment.
While we were talking about 5-D, did you note this
footnote that said the proportion of total Oklahoma City
black population living in these tracts, 1950 was 82 per
cent, in 1960 was 84 percent, and in 1980 was 16.8 per
cent?
A. Yes. I determined those things on my own.
* * *
[p. 1159] buying homes. What the census tells us, the
census asks a sample of people in each tract, first of all,
whether they lived in the same house - whether they
were living in the same house as they did five years
previously. If the answer to that question is "no," it then
481
follows up with questions about whether their previous
house was in the same city, in the same country.
* * *
Q. So this 42-percent turnover is not significant to
you.
A. No. It would be significant, and I'm sure, know
ing how careful Doctor Clark is, that if the data had
indicated that these moves represented some substantial
distance from where these people had earlier lived, he
would have told us that.
Q. Mr. Rabin, how many of the 16 tracts which you
identified earlier in your testimony are actually located in
the Oklahoma City School District? Those are the 16
tracts that contain 75 percent, I think, of the black popula
tion in 1980.
A. I cannot answer that. I can give you the numbers
of those tracts.
* * *
RECORD, VOLUME VIII
482
JOHN A. FINGER, JR.
[p. 1191] But it's also true about these achievement
tests. The scales aren't uniform. It's easier to gain at the
lower level - lower part of the scale than it is the higher
part because the items are easier.
So, in addition to the comments that were made
yesterday about the - the norms on the tests which make
it difficult to make year-to-year comparisons, I just noted
that, also. Lots of schools are using these tests, but it's
very difficult to know what to do with the results.
We all know that socioeconomic status is correlated
with the test results, and sometimes I think the problem
is that the tests are better at measuring socioeconomic
status than they are at measuring achievement.
Q. So would - would you try to draw conclusions
about the effectiveness of a program alteration that was
made in the last year or two on the basis of -
A. I don't believe it's possible to draw conclusions
like that.
MR. CHACHKIN: Thank You. You may cross
examine.
483
CROSS-EXAMINATION
BY MR. DAY:
* * *
[p. 1192] Q. Would you agree with me that no com
pulsory desegregation plan is designed to operate for
ever?
A. You're question is, is a compulsory desegrega
tion plan designed to last forever?
My answer to that question is, "No."
* * *
tp. 1196] Q. Doctor Finger, would you agree with
me that, when one is designing a compulsory desegrega
tion plan, and particularly talking about pairing and clus
tering schools and busing children to and from those
schools, that it's important to take the age of the child
into consideration when formulating the plan?
A. Yes.
Q. And when you originally prepared the - your
plan, which is called the finger plan, and it was approved
by the court in 1972, you recommended exempting kin
dergarten students from busing, did you not?
I'm - I'm not quite sure exactly what my recommen
dation was. I've been trying to recall.
I believe that what recommended was that - an
option be given, that the - either children could - either
kindergarten children would be bussed or not, and it
might depend upon the circumstances, whether it was an
all-day kindergarten or a part-day kindergarten.
* * *
484
tp. 1198] Q. You're aware, of course, that in 1971
that the percent of black students in the district was 23
percent and that by 1985 it had increased to 39 percent,
and that, on the other hand, white student population in
'71 was 76.6 percent and by 1985 it dropped to 49.6
percent?
A. Yes.
Q. So we had - after the Finger Plan was imple
mented, we had a situation where the percent of black
population within the student body was rising and the
percent of white population was dropping.
A. Yes.
Q. And, in light of that change over time and demo
graphic changes, do you feel that it would have been
equitable to modify the plan to equalize the burden?
A. Well, I would have - I would have expected that
- that the original plan would have been quite exten
sively modified. I - I didn't expect to find the fifth-grade
centers still in existence. They were, I thought, something
that was put in as kind of temporary thing.
I guess I would have expected to find that the fifth-
grade centers had been incorporated into - into middle
schools, and I was really surprised when I find that the
fifth-grade centers [p. 1199] are being kept and moved
out of the minority neighborhoods where they were origi
nally put to provide some equity for the minority stu
dents. I was surprised about that, and I would have
>pened that - that people
didn't anticipate, that they - that our cities would become
485
more minority, that the birth rates would change, that the
number of children - number of white children in cities
would change. A lot of things have happened since 1972.
The world today is not the same as it was in 1972, and -
and very drastic changes have taken place, and I - I know
it's been very difficult for the school board and the school
department to contend with all of these differences that
occurred, and - and I can see that these decisions are
really tough. But -
So the question is, did I think they should have
provided more equity, well, I would have thought they
would have been looking for ways to make the whole
system work more efficiently, so people would be more
satisfied with it, so people would say, "Oh, our schools in
Oklahoma are good? We're running good schools. We
want to go to those schools." But I guess what happened
was that the changes came about so fast people just
couldn't do all those things.
* * *
[p. 1201] Q. Have you had the opportunity to
review the stipulations and contention of the parties in
the pretrial order?
A. Well, I - I'm not sure. Try me, Mr. Day. I may
have.
Q. Well, let me try to simplify this, Doctor Finger.
In other words, are you aware that in the plaintiffs'
contentions in this case, that they are acknowledging the
[p. 1202] problems that the stand-alone concept created?
Are you aware of that?
A. Yes, I am. I criticized them a little bit for that.
* * *
486
[p. 1207] Q. * * * Now, do you see any schools that
are going to be 90 percent or more white next year on that
page?
A. No.
Q. Do you see any schools that are going to be 90
percent or more white on page two of that exhibit?
A. No.
Q. So would you agree that there are no racially, as
you put it, segregated white schools in Oklahoma City?
A. Elementary Schools. You had just asked me
about Middle Schools and High Schools.
Q. No, those were Elementary Schools.
A. Yes, I know. I just wanted to clarify that.
Q. Okay.
A. When you said "Schools," and they talk about
Elementary Schools there. My comment had to do with
where these Elementary Schools get assigned at the -
Q. Okay.
A. - Junior High - at the Middle-School and High-
School level.
Q. But do I understand you correctly that, in your
mind and in your opinion, there will be no racially segre
gated white Elementary Schools next year?
A. Well - well, I just want to call your attention to
the fact that we've changed the rules a little bit.
Q. How have we changed the rules?
487
tp. 1208] A, Well, we had been talking about percent
black, and there will - now we're talking about percent
minority. So we just need to make it clear, there will be -
there will be a lot of schools in - in Oklahoma City next
year that have less than ten percent black students in
them, but there won't be any schools that have less than
ten percent minority in them. So we should just be sure
that we're talking about the same thing.
Q. Well, I understand what you're saying, and I
appreciate it, and I happen to agree with it.
But my question, Doctor Finger, to you was that there
will be no segregated white Elementary Schools next
year.
Q. There will be no schools that have less than ten
percent minority, but there will be schools that have less
than ten percent black. How you label these as segregated
or not is what the words mean, and segregated has
always been a difficult word.
* *
MARY LEE TAYLOR
tp. 1216] MR. CHACHKIN: Your Honor, we
offer Doctor Taylor as an expert witness in social psychol
ogy and the study of race relations and racial attitudes.
THE COURT: Let the record show that Ms. Tay
lor is qualified in the subjects mentioned by counsel as an
expert.
* * *
[p. 1225] A. * * * But I think the important point is
that the - the Finger Plan did not eradicate the impact of
the earlier official discrimination; it merely suspended it
488
by separating the schools from the residential situation.
And now that the schools are linked again to housing, we
have, again, the impact of the earlier official discrimina
tion in the schools.
Q. But you - you did say that you were aware that
there had been some shifts in the distribution of black
population; is that correct?
A. Yes. I know that the black population has
declined in some particular areas. I also know that black
residents of Oklahoma City have moved into areas that
formerly were entirely white, were virtually entirely
white.
It seems to me an important point here is that the
reciprocal change has not occurred. White residents of
Oklahoma City have not moved into the area that was
historically, traditionally black, and so the primary signif
icance of the movement we've seen is that there are fewer
black residents in the black residential area than there
would have been had there not been some movement into
white areas.
* * *
[p. 1229] Where Doctor Clark and I disagree is in our
view of the genesis of the economic and - economic
factors and preferences. He sees them, as I understand
him, as incidental individual matters, and I think this
view suffers from taking - from having a limited perspec
tive on the impact of discrimination over time.
In fact, I think that economic resources and prefer
ences are proximate causes of residential segregation, but
they are also effects of past officially-produced residential
489
segregation. In that sense, they're intervening links. They
help to explain why the black residential area, once it was
created through official segregation, continues to exist
even in the absence of continuing official action.
I think your question here is an important question
because, once the black residential area in Oklahoma City
was created, there are only - in fact, only two ways in
which it could show fundamental change. One of those
ways is if, indeed, there were a complete abandonment of
the community, and I think this is unlikely to happen,
and it's unlikely to happen, in part, because of the bar
riers to residential mobility among black Americans that I
just described. For that abandonment to take place, there
would have to - residential mobility would have to be a
viable option for all [p. 1230] black residents, and I don't
believe it is.
Q. Is there - I'm sorry, you said there are only - so
that's - so that would be one of the ways?
A. That's right. One of the ways in which there
could be fundamental change in the black community
would be - would be for it to be abandoned.
The other fundamental change that might take place,
in theory, is that white residents might move in. I think
there's a lot of evidence that that is not likely to happen.
We know that it hasn't happened.
Survey data shows that white adults are very sensi
tive to racial proportions, they are typically unwilling to
go into situations where they will be in the racial minor
ity.
490
Survey data was gathered late in the 1970's indicat
ing that 84 percent of whites said they would not move
into a neighborhood that had a bear majority of black
residents, and the researchers that analyzed that data
estimated that no whites in their sample would have
agreed to move into an area that was virtually 100 per
cent black.
This kind of conclusion is congruent with other opin
ion, national opinion poll data. In my own data, white
college students said they would not move into a pre
dominantly black neighborhood even if the home
involved was equal in its physical accommodations to
what they could acquire elsewhere.
This unwillingness of whites to move into a predomi
nantly [p. 1231] black area is often, in fact, taken as a
given and used as the explanation for racial transition.
It's assumed that whites will find the - find being in a
minority so aversive that, once they fear they may some
day be the minority in a transitional neighborhood, they
will move.
I might add that the poll data shows that whites are
more reluctant to move into a neighborhood within a
given proportion of black residents than they are to stay
in a neighborhood that attains that proportion of black
residents. So most of the data that I rely on is conserva
tive in some sense. I mean, it - as applied to the situation
of whites potentially moving into a black area, we have to
raise the percentages even more, although you can't raise
- you can't really - there's already a ceiling effect.
With all - with all this evidence that white - white
residents are not going to move into historically black
491
areas, it's very difficult to see where - how some transi
tion to a racially mixed neighborhood would ever begin
or continue.
Q. And when you were talking about the - what
you referred to as the perpetuation of segregation phe
nomenon, I understood you to suggest that what Doctor
Clark regarded as preference was tied to a history of
official discrimination and segregation.
Is that also true of the - the white aversion that
you've described to moving into established black neigh
borhoods?
[p. 1232] A. Yes, I think there's a lot of evidence that
white attitudes about desegregation are, in fact, shaped
by the history of segregation that those whites have been
exposed to.
There's a well-documented phenomenon, called the
fait accompli phenomenon in the literature. Public opin
ion shifts to follow existing policy, to accept existing
policy as it continues, and public opinion, in fact, changes
when policies and leaders change.
This can be a force for progressive transition, but in
places like Oklahoma City, where the black neighborhood
was created by state action, the involvement of public
officials, the fait accompli phenomenon implies that
white avoidance of desegregation would be particularly
great for that reason. In other words, the official segrega
tion encourages attitudes that segregated - segregation is
appropriate, justified, that it's undesirable, in fact, -
would be undesirable for whites to live in predominantly
black neighborhoods.
492
Attitudes then are, in part, shaped by the institu
tional history, the history of official discrimination, and
then, of course, those attitudes have an impact on future
policy, they feed back in making it more and more diffi
cult to change policy in the future.
The - we've certainly seen, in the case of segregated
schools, that there was considerable white attitudinal
resistment - resistance to change from segregated to
desegregated [p. 1233] schools, and it took a lot of official
action and continuing official action to remedy that.
* * *
Q. (BY MR. CHACHKIN) Doctor Taylor, I think
when we broke you were discussing the extent to which
white attitudes are tied to a background of official dis
crimination.
A. That's right. I had talked about the fait accompli
effect and the fact that I believe white attitudes are, in
fact, shaped by the history of discrimination.
I might note, in addition, this is another place where
Doctor William Clark and I agree about some of the facts
and do not share our perspective on those facts. We - we
are in agreement that white preferences are a factor that
will - that - a factor involved in explaining why whites
have not moved into the predominantly black residential
area a [sic] in Oklahoma City.
[p. 1234] Where we disagree, I believe, is that Doctor
Clark apparently sees those preferences as individual,
incidental factors. I see those preference as being shaped
by the history of discrimination in the area.
493
Q. Now, earlier, when you were talking about fac
tors that limited residential mobility of blacks to leave the
established black area, I asked you about the impact upon
that of the years during which the Finger Plan was in
effect here.
Let me ask you the same question with respect to
white racial attitudes which you've said are heavily influ
enced by past discrimination.
What was the impact of the elimination of the current
effects of that discrimination as the school enrollments, at
least, during the time that the Finger Plan was in effect,
did that - would that have been something that would
have changed attitudes?
A. Well, of course, to my knowledge, we don't have
evidence on - about the impact of the Finger Plan period
on white attitudes in Oklahoma City. One would hope
that it changed white attitudes about school desegrega
tion to some extent.
It evidently did not change white attitudes about
residential segregation enough that we have seen any
tendency for white residents of Oklahoma City to move
into that predominantly black area, and - and I think that
that is not surprising, in fact, given the long duration of
the official discrimination [p. 1235] that preceded the
Finger Plan.
Also, it seems to me that the Finger Plan itself
acknowledged that there were limits to the sort of over
night change that could be created in white attitudes in
the sense that the schools in the black residential area
were made fifth-grade centers. My understanding of that
494
is that it was anticipated that the white community would
be more receptive to the plan if, indeed, the children at
the younger grades were not assigned to those schools in
the historically black area.
So in the Finger Plan itself there seems to have been
some accommodation, some acceptance, if you will, of the
limits of overnight attitude change among whites.
And you might notice - I've seen the data on requests
for - the recent data on requests for school transfer, and,
here again, we do not see large numbers of white parents
requesting transfers for their children that might be trans-
fered [sic] into predominantly black schools. Again,
there's no evidence there of an accute [sic], positive
impact of the Finger Plan history on white attitudes.
Q. You're talking about the exhibits that were pre
sented regarding majority-to-minority transfers?
A. That's right.
Q. Let me ask you, in conclusion, if you could, just
to briefly summarize again your overall view of the con
nection between the racial composition of schools in the
northeast [p. 1236] quadrant today and the various kinds
of discrimination that existed in Oklahoma City in the
past and particularly prior to 1972 when the Finger Plan
was ordered into effect.
A. To summarize, in 1965 the court noted that the
segregated schools and residential area were a product of
official discrimination. I believe that the segregation in
the residential area has continued to show that impact of
official discrimination. It's continued to show that
495
impact, in part, because of the barriers to black residen
tial mobility out of the area, - I talked about that - in part
because of white avoidance that itself was shaped by that
institutional history.
During the - during the Finger Plan, in fact, the
impact of that earlier official discrimination on the
schools was interrupted, but now that the link between
housing and schools has been resumed, in my view the
impact of the earlier official discrimination is now
reflected in the schools, as well.
Now, I think that the black children whose families
have moved into what were formerly all-white areas will
benefit from the desegregated school experience they
receive.
I'm - I think it's fortunate that there are not more
black children left in the predominantly black residential
area to experience the segregated schooling that they will
receive, because I think that those children in the 98 and
99 percent black schools in the - in the historic black
residential area will suffer the same harms of the segre
gated schooling that [p. 1237] they had suffered before
the Finger Plan was implemented, and I think it's a good
thing that there are not more of them, that the mobility
that's existed has moved some black children out of the
area. But I think the number of children remaining in the
area is too large. It's too large a number to be paying the
price for official discrimination.
MR. CHACHKIN: Thank you, Doctor Taylor.
496
CROSS-EXAMINATION
BY MR. DAY:
Q. Doctor Taylor, when were you first contacted
about testifying in this case?
A. I believe in mid-March.
Q. There past year?
A. That's right.
Q. When was your first trip to Oklahoma City in
connection with this case?
A. This week. This week.
Q. This past week?
A. That's right.
Q. And when did you come in?
A. I - I actually spent a few days in the western part
of Oklahoma. Flew into Oklahoma City on Friday, trav
eled out to the western part of Oklahoma for a couple of
days, and came back here on Sunday. Uh-huh.
Q. Doctor Taylor, it sounds to me from listening to
your [p. 1238] testimony that you have reviewed a sub
stantial amount of the evidence in this case; is that cor
rect?
A. I have - I have certainly reviewed some of the
evidence in this case. Yes.
Q. And including prior case decisions and things of
that nature?
497
A. Yes.
Q. You've reviewed the K-4 Plan, the Finger Plan,
and those sorts of things; correct?
A. Yes.
Q. Based upon your educational background and
your experience and your review of the facts in this case,
you don't feel that the Oklahoma City Board of Education
adopted this neighborhood plan with the intent to dis
criminate against blacks do you?
A. I have no evidence of that at all. I did not mean
to suggest it.
Q. Well, in fact, when you gave us your deposition
approximately one month ago under oath you told us
that you found no evidence of intentional race discrimi
nation; isn't that true?
A. I probably said I knew of no evidence. I stand by
that. I know of no evidence of intentional - of intent to
discriminate by the current school board.
Q. Yes. Okay. And I'm specifically referring to in the
adoption of the 1984 K-4 Plan; okay?
A. Uh-huh.
* * *
[p. 1241] Q. * * * based on your experience, you do
agree that the extent to which responsible blacks are
hired in top administrative positions over time can very
well have an impact on the institutional racism concept
that you've told us about.
A. I think it can. Yes.
498
Q. And would you tell the court how the placing of
qualified blacks in upper echelon positions can have an
impact on institutional racism?
A. I think that, in general, placing black individuals
in positions of institutional responsibility, for one thing,
sends out a message that that kind of position is appro
priate and attainable.
It can - although it does not necessarily - it can also
represent - bring about changes in institutional policy.
There are all kinds of examples where, indeed, the incor-
pora- [p. 1242] tion of minority groups - blacks, other
racial minorities, women - has brought about a change in
the policy of institutions, and there are also a lot of
examples where that incorporation has not brought about
a change in the policy of the institutions. So I think that's
by no means guaranteed, but it's a possibility.
Q. Well, it's more likely to help than not help, isn't
it?
A. I think I would agree that - to that. Yes. Uh-huh.
Q. In your preparations for testifying in this case,
were you told or did you read any information which
showed that presently in Oklahoma City that there's a
black man on the board of education that holds the posi
tion of vice-president?
A. I did know that there was a black man with the
board of education. Yes.
Q. And did you know that there was a responsible
black person. Mr. Vern Moore, filling the position of
executive director of personnel?
499
Q. Were you aware that one of the assistant super
intendents in the district is black, Doctor Betty Mason?
A. No, I've not known about the racial composition
of the assistant - of the superintendent's staff.
Q. So I guess you weren't aware that as early as '71
and '72 and '-3 and '-4 that the Oklahoma City Board of
Education placed responsible black individuals in upper
echelon admini- [p. 1243] strative positions?
A. I simply had not looked at data bearing on that
issue.
A. I don't think I have known that until now.
* 34- *
[p. 1245] Q. Now, if, Doctor Taylor, children in
Oklahoma City have been bussed continuously for thir
teen years into that area and without the result of increas
ing the white population in that area, would you agree
with me that a school board, through the implementation
of a desegregation plan alone, cannot bring about change
to eliminate that residential segregation?
A. I would anticipate that there would have to be a
number of institutional - official policies in addition to a
school desegregation plan in order to substantially
change an established black residential area that devel
oped through official discrimination.
Q. And when you're talking about additional poli
cies, you're talking about policies by other governmental
agencies besides the board of education, aren't you?
A. Yes.
500
[p. 1246] Q. Now, do you have an opinion, if the
court ordered the continued busing of children into that
area, if that, alone, even if it were done indefinitely or in
perpetuity, could integrate that area?
A. Resident - you mean residentially integrated
that area?
Q. Yes.
A. I would not anticipate that a school desegrega
tion plan, alone, would bring about total residential
desegregation of an area that had been earmarked a black
area during the years of official discrimination.
Q. And if I understood your testimony, you're tell
ing us that there are a variety of factors, aside from action
by the Oklahoma City Board of Education, which have
had an impact on the patterns of residential segregation
in this community over time?
A. Yes.
* * *
[p. 1255] Q. Well, the point I was trying to make,
Doctor Taylor, is that in light of the M-to-M transfer
option, if a parent so desires, they're not compelled to
send their children to predominantly black schools in
Oklahoma City today.
A. I understand that - that there is a formal opening
for parents to enroll their students in schools outside the
neighborhood and that some black parents have used that
opportunity.
Q. So those parents are not compelled to keep their
kids in predominantly black schools, are they?
501
A. Those parents are not.
* * *
GORDON FOSTER
[p. 1265] A. * * * The inequitable part that I would
perceive at the introduction of the plan was the fact that
all of the first-grade - or the fifth-grade centers who were
in the black community and the white students, grades
one through four, were able to stay in their home base
schools for those first four years. Ordinarily when we do
a plan we attempt to randomize that so that neither racial
group will feel that they're being overburdened in terms
of the grade level of which their children are sent away
from their home base school.
In this particular plan, what happened was all the
fifth-grade centers were in the black community, and all
the one-through-four centers were in the predominantly
non-black community. So, in a sense, that didn't really
remove the racial identifiability of those schools, because
everybody knew that fifth-grade centers were formerly
black schools, and so that the - the fact that they were
black schools carried over, I think, to some extent over
that plan. So there was, I believe, some inequality at that
point.
[p. 1266] Now, as the Stand-alone feature of the plan,
of the so-called Finger Plan, developed those schools that
were terminated as Stand-alone Schools over the period
of the Finger Plan, I agree with the testimony by Doctor
Muse and others that this would have tended to discrimi
nate or be unequal - not discriminate, necessarily - but
be unequal to black parents and children because, as a
Stand-alone School was changed, - this has already been
described in testimony quite a bit formerly - but as
502
Stand-alone Schools were changed, the black students
who had been assigned for the first four years to those
schools had to be bussed further distances because the -
the schools which were really available were further
away from the northeast quadrant.
Q. Let me interrupt you for just a moment. I believe
you said - I want to see if you meant to say - I think you
used the word "terminated." Are you referring to the
introduction or the termination of Stand-alone Schools?
A. I'm talking about the schools that were closed
after the plan was started that were Stand-alone Schools
and then, because of racial differences, got to the point
where they -
I'm sorry. Well, some were terminated, yes, in the
70's. I can't remember the exact figures, but I believe the
Finger Plan started with something like nine or ten
Stand-alone Schools. And when these schools reverted
back to the K-4 or K-5 status, then the black children who
were attending those [p. 1267] had reassigned to other
predominantly non-black schools.
I'm sorry if I misspoke. I can't pick up the thread of
your question.
The other problem that concerned Doctor Muse and
the black community was the fact that this Stand-alone
feature also contributed to lesser and lesser enrollment in
the black schools, and there was imminent danger of their
falling below the necessary enrollment to continue as
functional elementary attendance centers, and so the
black community was continually in jeopardy of losing
the schools in their area in the northeast quadrant.
503
Q. Have you analyzed the - the results of the 1985
Student Assignment Plan adopted by the school district?
A. Yes.
Q. Do you have an opinion as to whether the dis
trict is being operated as a desegregated school system
under that plan?
A. I do.
Q. And would you tell the court what your opinion
is and the basis for that opinion.
MR. DAY: Excuse me, counsel.
Your Honor, I believe that calls for a legal conclusion
for which this witness is not qualified.
MR. CHACHKIN: Your Honor, I think if the
witness doesn't understand the question he can indicate
that.
THE COURT: Yes. Overruled.
[p. 1269] A. * * * Now, if you look at the current
year, 1986/87, the ten highest percentage black schools in
enrollment, of course, averaged 99 percent black. The
faculty assigned to these ten highest percentage black
schools in enrollment came out at 48 percent black.
So what we had was, in two years after the introduc
tion of the '85 plan to go back to neighborhood schools,
the faculty also increased in the highest black schools 17
percent black.
By contrast with that - and you get an idea of the
disparity if you look at the ten lowest percentage black
504
schools in enrollment in 1984/85 before the plan. Their
enrollment averaged approximately 20 percent black. The
faculty assigned to those schools was 24 percent black,
which is about six percent beneath the black schools, and
the next two years, for the current year, 1986/87, the ten
lowest percentage black schools in enrollment dropped
from 20 percent black to six percent, and the faculty
assigned also dropped from 24 down to 20, which means
that, essentially, that under the 1985 plan implementa
tion, the blacker schools in enrollment became much
blacker in percentage black faculty, while in the schools
with the least black enrollment, the faculty becomes [p.
1270] less black.
Q. Are those findings consistent, in your opinion,
with the operation of a desegregated school system?
A. No.
Q. Andy why not? What - what are the conditions
that -
A. Well, one of the factors which makes you deseg
regated or segregated is your faculty assignment or your
faculty composition in each school as well as your stu
dent assignment or your student enrollment, and, to the
extent that faculty becomes - a school is racially identifia
ble by virtue of its faculty assignment, then this further
makes the school segregated or desegregated. And I'm
simply saying that there was a trend, since 1985, for this
to become more of a problem.
* * *
[p. 1275] Q. And again, I just want to be sure it's
clear for the record, you're satisfied that the exhibits
505
accurately reflect the date from the sources that are iden
tified in the exhibits.
A. Yes. I checked those.
Q. And you received those exhibits from counsel?
A. Yes.
* * *
Q. (BY MR. CHACHKIN) Now, Doctor Foster, you -
in describing the last four of those exhibits that dealt with
faculty, you talked about patterns of assignment.
You've been here through the defendant's testimony
concerning the new board policy in administrative pro
cedure concerning faculty assignments and affirmative
action goals at [p. 1276] individual schools; is that cor
rect?
A. Yes.
Q. What's your opinion concerning the new policy
and procedure in light of - how is that going to affect the
patterns that you've noted in your own analysis?
A. In my opinion, if these are followed out in a
fairly short time, they should be productive to the extent
that all schools would - would be in line.
Pardon me a second while I get my file.
According to the policy in the affirmative action plan,
my understanding is that their goal - which is a goal and
it's not a quota or anything - is based on having 36.9
percent black, and then assignment - and evidently both
assignment and employment would be based on that,
506
with a leeway of plus or minus ten percent in terms of
compliance.
I'd just simply like to comment that I think the
assignment part will be a little more difficult, because
their labor force right now at the elementary level, for
example, is only around 30 percent, or a little less, black,
which means that you have a gap there of about seven
percent, which makes getting the schools in compliance a
little more difficult.
Other than that, I think if the personnel services as
the board adopted the policy signs off on all transfers and
employment and they won't approve them unless they're
in line with the goals that are outlined in the policy, it
should work [p. 1277] out.
It's not that far off as it is right at the moment, but
there are trends and discrepancies that have been obvious
the last couple of years.
* X- *
[p. 1278] A. All right. I prepared an initial draft of a
plan which was finished about the 15th of April, and this
had both plan A and plan B in it, and, since we were
under time constraints, I simply did this in longhand and
sent a copy to New York, and I understand it was then
transferred to — a copy was sent to Oklahoma City.
The major purposes of the plan as requested by the
plaintiffs were to be more equitable in terms of the bur
den of busing; to desegregate all of the eleven predomi
nantly black schools, the ones that were 90 percent, if that
was feasible; and to eliminate the stand-alone schools, in
terms of the concept of stand-alone schools, as much as
507
possible, that feature of the finger plan that seemed to
have difficulty.
Then I set out certain criteria to be followed, which
are contained in the desegregation proposal, which is
plaintiffs' Exhibit 57. Those include the usual type of
criteria that you make for developing a plan.
For example, "A" says that kindergarten students
would not be included in re-assignments. "B" says that
the six elementary schools located in the discontiguous
Arcadia and Star Spencer areas would not be involved in
student reassignments. An attempt to would be made to
treat reassignment and transportation of students at dif
ferent grade levels equitable.
Long-accepted techniques for desegregation would
be [p. 1279] utilized, including pairing and clustering,
which, or course, would involve transportation.
That the grade structures in the plan would be based
on an even split, which was either K-2 or K-3 and -4, or
with the schools that were not reassigned would be left as
K-4 schools. So, in other words, all schools would be
somewhere within the framework of a K-4 situation
except some of them would be only two grades and
kindergarten.
Another criterion was that I would not attempt to do
anything about closing schools, although it appears that
there is capacity enough in the district to probably close
some more schools. I considered this a problem that was
- I should not be involved in. That's a board decision,
and we would simply take the seven schools that were
originally proposed, originally eight, because Edgemere
508
was in the original list, and operate on the basis that
those would be closed, and that was it as far as closing.
And then transportation should be minimized as
much as possible, which is always a part of a plan, and it
should be - in terms of time and distance, should be
feasible, that is, in legal language of the court, it
shouldn't be so far or so long as to be detrimental to the
student's health or educational well-being.
Okay, then with those criteria, and understanding the
purpose of the plan, I developed the first draft, which I
said [p. 1280] was in longhand.
Shortly after this, I think about a week later, I
received from the plaintiffs' attorney three suggestions
for my consideration in the final planning. One was that
Zone 910-B, which is a noncontiguous zone to Columbus,
be reassigned back to Rockwood. This zone contained -
it's really a subzone - contained 32 black students as of
last year, 14 non-black, and 13 kindergarten. And the
suggestion was that if you paired or grouped Columbus
the way it was set up, you would be sending black
children, predominantly black children - I want you to
understand it's a mixture, because 32 black and 14 non
black is not all black - but you would be sending a group
of predominantly black students to a black school in a
grouping situation.
Then another suggestion was that the Coolidge-Polk
Fair be changed to Coolidge and Edwards, and the sug
gestion - the reason for that was that you would save
them approximately a mile in terms of transportation,
because if you look at the northeast quadrant, the Polk
509
School is about a mile or so north of Edwards, and this
would make the pairing a little closer.
And then, if you did that, you would have to change
the grouping of Lee, Wheeler, and Edwards, which was in
the original document, to Lee, Wheeler, and Polk. So I
took those under advisement.
Then in April 29th, 30th, and March - or May the 1st,
I [p. 1281] came out to Oklahoma City for the second time
- I'd been here earlier for three days - to specifically
check the time and distance of these clusters, which I did,
and I have a complete record of each cluster in plan A,
and most of them in - the longer ones in plan B, in terms
of how I got from one school to the other and what the
mileage was and what the travel time between the two
schools was, and I will talk about that later when I
discuss the transportation called for by the plan.
While I was here and went from one of these schools
to the other and looked again at the distances, I decided
that the suggested change from Coolidge-Polk to Cool-
idge-Edwards, which, of course, also involved the Lee-
Wheeler-Edwards cluster in the first plan, was a reason
able one, and I went with that in my revised plan.
In the meantime, the decision - about that time. I
don't know the exact date. - The decision was made not
to close Edgemere, and the first draft of the plan had
been based on closing Edgemere. So we had to readjust
the figures for that.
What this involved, in keeping Edgemere open, was
to change the Monroe-Putnam Heights-Horace Mann
cluster, which was in the first plan, to a pairing between
510
Monroe and Edgemere, and in both plans A and B this
left Putnam Heights and Horace Mann, K-to-four schools
and no reassignments in either one.
Then these changes were made, and on May 5th, I
believe, [p. 1282] the second draft was completed, and
somewhere around - by June the 12th, I had made a final
and revised check of all these figures of the second draft.
I had corrected the mistakes in them, and there were
some in terms of the closing numbers, and I'd added, I
think, three or four pages of explanation.
* * *
[p. 1298] What happens under the consummation of
plan A in terms of totals, you start with eleven black
schools with a one-to-four enrollment of 2,445 blacks,
which represents 46 percent of the district total in grades
one through four, and that's a fairly heavy concentration
in a segregated school. You reduce this under plan A to
one black school with a one-four enrollment of 315
pupils, and that is Parker.
So what you're left with is that only six percent of the
black children in grades one through four are still in
virtually all-black schools.
You also, by plan A, desegregate Western Village
from 67 percent black to 45 percent black.
You desegregate North Highland from 90 to 49 per
cent.
Edgemere, which essentially is close to being racially
non-identifiable already, is put in better racial balance
from 53 to 36.
511
And Wilson, which was included originally for rea
sons I mentioned about Edgemere, is changed from 51 to
29.
In the Northeast Quadrant, you had eight black
schools which were 99 percent or more. They're now,
under plan A, 26 to 49 percent black.
* * *
[p. 1312] Q. Would you tell us what that estimate is?
A. The continuing costs I estimate, using the
board's figures for cost items, only using 85 buses instead
of 125, would be $982,712.
The initial cost - and it all depends on the accounting
figures you use, but I think it's unfair to say that it costs
five million dollars the first year, because I realize if you
go out and buy the buses, you have to either borrow five
million dollars, or whatever it costs, or have the money in
the till, and the common way to do this, though, is to
amortize it, as they've done in continuing costs. And all
I'm saying is you do - if you buy all new buses with cash,
or however you do it, you do have a start-up figure
which would be their figure of 5,400,000. By my way of
reckoning, reduced from 125 to 85 buses, which would be
a factor of .68, which would run you out around three-
and-a-half million, something like that.
In any event, the only difference, if you amortized
the costs with the first year instead of counting the lump
sum, you would have routing costs initially of something
like 13,500, which is in their figures, and I can understand
that. Except for that, -
512
Well, the routing costs go on year to year, according
to their figures, but they also have the first year - well,
the figures are changed, but initially they had $910 for
recruitment, training, and drug testing of new drivers. I
[p. 1313] think that's a - certainly a legitimate cost, and
they've included that in their other figures for the second
revised document.
So, essentially, what we're talking about is continuing
costs using board figures, with a different number of
buses, or $983,000 a year, roughly, and the first year costs,
without the new buses, would be $1,060,000. You can
treat the costs of the new buses any way the district does
that. I don't know how they - how they operate that.
* * *
[p. 1351] Q. * * * weren't you surprised when I told
you there were no 90 percent white schools in Oklahoma
City?
A. I can't remember. I might have been.
Q. Question on page -
[p. 1352] A. But I agree that there aren't any. I mean,
I've sat through the testimony several times.
* * *
[p. 1367] Q. You don't feel that they are more sus
ceptible - you know, they're not fully developed.
A. I don't feel anything at all to that extent. I think
that young children, in many cases, weather the busing
much better than some of the older children.
Q. Well, let me - let's change the subject.
513
Are you aware, Doctor Foster, of any compulsory
desegregation plans in the United States which exempt
first and second graders from compulsory busing?
A. I think in the testimony this week somebody said
that Dallas now exempts first and second grades, maybe
third. I can't remember. But -
Q. I'm asking for your opinion.
A. Well, I don't know. As a matter of fact, I worked
as a witness in the Dallas case, but that's happened since
I was there, and I haven't seen the latest revision.
Q. You were -
A. I mentioned in my deposition that there were
two that I understood, but I didn't know for a fact. One of
them, I think was Tuscaloosa, Alabama, and the other one
was probably Richmond County, Georgia.
[p. 1377] Q. Well, let's look at Quail Creek.
A. All right.
Q. That's the first pair in the northwest area. You
show six percent black, and it was actually 13.1 percent
black; is that what you find there on Exhibit 64?
A. That's right. And both figures would be racially-
identifiable white. Or non-black, I'm sorry.
Q. Okay. Let's talk about the cluster involving Gate-
wood, Hawthorne, and Wilson. It's cluster four on page
12.
A. All right.
514
Q. Now, there you have - you're not clustering
these schools with a 90 percent or more blacks school, are
you?
A. No.
Q. And two of these schools, Gatewood, which is 29
percent black, and Wilson, which is 51 percent black, fall
within your own definition of non-racially-identifiable
schools; is that correct?
A. That's correct.
* * *
RECORD, VOLUME IX
515
GORDON FOSTER
[p. 1387] Q. So if the faculty at any school then is
between 26 percent and 46 percent black, the Board's in
compliance with its affirmative action policy.
A. That's right.
Q. You indicated, I believe, that you thought the
goal set by the Board was rather high, in that the goal
was 36.9 or -8, or whatever you said, and actually, at the
elementary level, there were only -
What percent black teachers?
A. Well, I think it's around 30 percent, but I didn't -
I don't believe I said it was rather high. I just said it was a
little more difficult to get into compliance if your goal is
six or seven percentage points higher than the actual
number of teachers.
Q. Well, do you feel that's an admirable goal, I
mean, to set it higher than the number of teachers you
have -
tp. 1388] A. I have no problem with that.
Q. - for the purpose of recruiting minority teachers
into the district?
A. Right.
* * *
Q. Now, in your preparations for this case and your
review of all of the evidence and considering all of the
testimony you heard while you were sitting in court over
the last seven days, you have seen or heard nothing
516
which would indicate to you that the faculty assignments
for 85/86 and 86/87 resulted from an intent to discrimi
nate on the part of the Board of Education.
A. I wouldn't say so. No.
[p. 1389] Q. You wouldn't say so what?
A. That it had a tendency to discriminate. They
simply slid a little during that period, and, as I see it, the
Board is now getting them back into shape.
Q. But do I understand you correctly that in your
opinion the Board took no action that discriminated
against the faculty to bring this about?
A. I would say so, yes, that they didn't.
* * *
CLARA LUPER
[p. 1403] Q. Did you observe any harmful effects of
busing on your child?
A. Of course not. My child was excited about riding
the bus, because it's something about riding a bus that's
exciting. Now, those of you that have never walked to
school cannot understand what I'm talking about. It's a
matter of learning even while you're riding a bus. Shelley
read signs, and what have you. Yes.
Q. Did she suffer any negative academic effects
from riding the bus?
A. She has just received a letter from her Superin
tendent of Schools, Doctor Steller, in which he congratu
lated her for her academic achievement on her test.
She is now participating in a program known as JIM
at Northwest Classen, and most of all, she participated
517
recently in a pageant with teenagers from 13 to 17, and on
July the 19th, she will be going to the Virgin Islands,
where she will represent the State of Oklahoma.
Not only that, in the sixth grade, under her teacher
that she loved so dearly, she won the History Fair and
became the only student in the Oklahoma City School
System to represent Oklahoma in Washington DC at the
History Fair.
* * *
[p. 1412] One ol [sic] them is that there were burdens
on black students under the Finger Plan, that is, dispro
portionate burdens of busing.
Are you aware of those disproportions in busing?
A. Yes, I am aware that there were more blacks
bussed than whites.
* * *
Q. (BY MR. SHAW) And what was your view of
the equity of those burdens, or the distribution of those
burdens?
A. Well, I felt that if it was okay for black children
to be bussed, it was certainly okay for whites, because, to
me, that's - what's good for the goose is good for the
gander.
Q. Well, in light of that, do you think that the school
board's proffered reason for the - for going to the Neigh
borhood School Assignment Plan, that is, leaving the
burden of busing on black children, justifies -
A. No, I - no, I don't.
518
Q. Why not?
A. In the first place, if we are talking about reliev
ing the [p. 1413] burden of children, then I feel that the
Board of Education should have looked at the reasons
and tried to find -
Just like you do when you go to the hospital, some
thing is wrong with your hand, you don't work with
anything but the hand.
And if the problem was busing, then I - and this is
certainly my thinking - I thought that the Board of Edu
cation should have done some studies and should have
done some extra work on how - what kind of plan they
could work out where both races of children would have
the opportunity to bus.
Q. Now, Mrs. Luper, one of the other reasons that
they proffered in support of the plan is that there were
benefits of neighborhood schools, and, in particular, that
the neighborhood school assignment plan would help
academic achievement, - you've spoken to that already, I
believe - and it would increase PTA/PTO involvement.
Do those reasons, in your view, justify the implemen
tation of their plan?
A. I was invited as a guest at the Longfellow PTA
meeting last year. There were eight parents there.
I went to Jefferson Middle School, and some tech
niques had changed. For example -
Q. When did you go to Jefferson?
A. I went to Jefferson early last year. Probably Octo
ber. I don't know. During the last school year.
519
[p. 1414] I noticed - I mean, at Jefferson Middle
School, they sent out invitations to the parents about
open house and PTA, or PT - PTA.
I went to Jefferson on open house, like hundreds of
other people, to see about their kids. That's the number
one. While we were there, the PTA representatives were
in the halls, and we paid our membership dues.
But since that day, I have not received one letter or
one note stating that there would be another PTA meet
ing. I have been -
Q. I take it then that you are listed somewhere as a
PTA member though.
A. Oh, I'm a PTA member, not only there, but some
other schools.
I have a granddaughter in Harrison School, and I
think they have a very effective PTA. But it's mixed in
with school activities.
The same way mine is at John Marshall. We took out
PTA memberships at open house, which was an advan
tage.
Q. Was that done prior to the implementation of -
A. Yes, we have always done that, so we've always
had large memberships.
At Edwards Addition, I've been told by Mrs. Hunter,
who had some children there, that -
MS. JONES: Objection, Your Honor. That's
hearsay.
520
[p. 1415] THE WITNESS: Oh, okay. You're right.
THE COURT: She's through now. Go ahead.
Q. (BY MR. SHAW) Now, during the presentation
of the school board's case, the school board put on a
number of black school board employees, and counsel for
the school board would ask them, "As a black person, do
you think the school districts plan is discriminatory?"
And they said "No," And - or whether the school district
was unitary, and they said "No."
Are you aware of the various positions taken in the
black community on the Neighborhood School Assign
ment Plan?
A. Yes, I am.
Q. What is your understanding of those positions?
A. Once again, those positions are based on who
you're talking to. Throughout history, we have had peo
ple that have always been able to correct - to protect their
interests.
I noticed with a great deal of interest the employees
of the Board of Education that were - that have testified
here, but I have also noticed that those employees have
never been involved in anything in this city to change
conditions of black people. Now, I've noticed that, and
that's really important.
The attitude of people in this community, first, was
neighborhood schools. There were a lot of people that did
not understand that their children were going back to
predominantly an all-black school.
>4- * *
521
MELVIN PORTER
[p. 1431] Q. Senator Porter, the school district has
proffered a number of reasons that they have imple
mented the Neighborhood School Assign Plan grades K
through four. I want to just take you through those rea
sons and ask you a few questions about them.
One is that they will relieve the burdens on black
school children. In your view, does that justify the imple
mentation of the Neighborhood School Plan?
A. No.
Q. Why not?
A. Well, black children have basically always had a
burden. When they talk about the burden of busing, I
think that it's unfair to put the entire burden of busing on
the shoulders of the black youngster.
I cannot believe that this school board cannot come
up with a plan that would call for the integration of a
total system. They're dealing with less students than
they've ever dealt with before. They certainly have the
same tax base that they have had from the inception to
generate funds and support their school system. There
does not appear to be any reason that they could not - to
say that busing, itself, is a burden appears to be a rather
ridiculous argument.
I don't know of black parents that are up in arms and
alarmed about the busing. Of course, many people would
like to [p. 1432] take the line of least resistance and say,
"I've got my boy walking across the street to school." But
my children were bussed, and it was not that much of a
burden.
522
We have never had, in this community, any hue and
cry in any organizational meeting or structure from black
parents who were screaming out the busing issue. I think
that has been blown completely out of proportion.
Q. Well, there were people in the black community
who are concerned about a one-way plan, -
A. Yes.
Q. - Weren't there?
A. Of course.
Q. And there were people concerned about the
threat of school closings than the black community?
A. Of course. And let me address that issue.
In almost every single community in this state where
integration has taken place, the black schools, partic
ularly in the smaller cities, McAlister, Lawton, Muskogee,
Okmulgee, many of these are areas of the state, have
closed.
Now, what does that do? That hurts that community.
I'm talking about the black community. You don't have an
educational facility there. The buildings are dilapidated.
They're either sold off, they're - they're used for commu
nity centers, and then shortly they're completely aban
doned altogether.
[p. 1433] That's the feeling in the black community
here in Oklahoma City. We don't want to see schools
closed. We want to see schools kept open, and the - the
threat of the present plan to the black community was
that these schools, in fact, would close unless we
523
accepted that plan, and that was - that was of great
concern.
Q. Senator Porter, the school board has said that
there are benefits to neighborhood schools, one of the
benefits they proffer is that there will be increased aca
demic performance on the part of students who are not
bussed.
Do you think that that rationale justifies the imple
mentation of the K through four neighborhood school
assignment plan?
A. I do not. I think it - rather, I think it indicates
that, you know, a good teacher ought to be able to teach
students whether they are bussed or whether they are not
bussed.
Are they saying that because a child gets up 30
minutes earlier or an hour earlier that their learning
process has slowed down?
Children are bussed in the Mid-Del School System,
they are bussed in the Edmond City School System,
they're bussed in Putnum City. I see big yellow buses
running all over this county. Are they saying because
those students are bussed they can't learn? I can't believe
that that has any validity to it at all.
[p. 1434] Q. What about the rationale that PTA/PTO
involvement will increase? Does that justify implementa
tion of the Neighborhood School Assignment Plan in
grades one through four?
524
A. Well, I don't think it does. As a matter of fact,
from what I have been told by people within the Okla
homa City School System, I'm talking about their person
nel, PTA's functioned when this plan - when Judge
Bohanon's decision initially was put into play, it func
tioned very well.
For example, at - I believe it's the Edwards School
where - where I lived, and I lived in the Edwards Addi
tion. In talking with Mr. Cudjoe, who was the principal of
that school, he indicated to me that they had very wide-
range participation. White families were coming into the
black area, for several reasons, from what we were told.
They were coming, number one, to see whether or
not there were the proper tools and equipment and
teachers there to teach their children.
Number two, they were coming because they wanted
to make sure that their children were safe in, quote, an
all-black community environment, and indicated that
their participation was somewhat greater than that of the
participation of the black parent, because the black parent
did not have some of those fears.
* * *
WILLIAM ALFRED SAMPSON
[p. 1454] Q. And, for the record only, Doctor Samp
son, you are a black sociologist; is that correct?
A. I am black and I am a sociologist.
Q. All right. Thank you.
Specifically, have you studied the factors which
impact on academic achievement for children, partic
ularly minority children?
525
A. I've - yes.
Q. In your professional opinion, and given your
training, experience, and research studies, what do you
think are the best predictors of academic achievement in
children?
A. Well, there's a simple answer and a complicated
answer.
The simple answer is that the single best predictor of
academic achievement is some measure of socioeconomic
status.
The complicated answer is that - has to do with the
reality that we don't always measure socioeconomic sta
tus correctly.
There are two major bodies of thought on academic
achievement and effective schooling. One is labled [sic],
sort of loosely, the effective schools research, which
essentially says that things that go on in schools deter
mine academic achievement, and that the things that
occur outside of school, particularly with respect to fam
ily background, and for sociologists that would include
socioeconomic status, don't have much impact on the
quality of education. That research also rejects the [p.
1455] notion that race has much of an impact at all on the
quality of education.
The second body of research is more family based
and talks about those variables or qualities of the family
that have an impact on education and, to some degree,
rejects the notion that what goes on the [sic] school is
completely responsible.
526
So, at first glance, these two major bodies of thought
on the question conflict, and both suggest that socio
economic status is - is not all that important.
The reason that they end up suggesting that is that
the sociologists and economists have measured socio
economic status in the most convenient way; that is we've
used education, occupation, and income because they're
quantifiable.
But the reality is that a better measure has to do with
many of the same kinds of variables about which Mr.
Porter just spoke, and it turns out that research tends to
indicate that kids who do best in schools are middle class
students, though they may be poor; that is, that class is
not as closely tied to income as we might have imagined,
and a middle class family is a family in which there is
strong authority, there's strong discipline, there's strict
monitoring of the child's use of time and space, there's
consistent praise for jobs well done, there's consistent
parent-child interaction. And it turns out that those quali
ties can exist and have historically existed across the
economic spectrum.
[p. 1456] So when you define class that way, though
it's more difficult to measure when you do it that way,
when you define class that way it turns out that a class is
an absolutely crucial variable in predicting achievement,
and certainly much more important than - than race.
Q. In fact, Doctor Sampson, I think those types of
values you're discussing were things that both Mrs.
Luper and Senator Porter pointed out in their own back
ground.
527
A. Yes. Precisely.
Q. And you stated that these values are not really
linked to income; is that right?
A. It's certainly easier to maintain them if you have
more money, but it's obviously not impossible. If that
were the case, then no generation of Americans would
have ever gotten out of poverty, and generation after
generation of Americans have gotten out of poverty. One
of the basic reasons for that is, to a considerable degree,
those that got out maintained those values.
And if you look, for example, - I'm beginning some
research that looks at why a group of six all-black paro
chial schools in Chicago are so successful. The high
school dropout rate in Chicago public schools is 65 per
cent. These six schools send 80 to 90 percent of their kids
to college, and they're serving the same population.
Q. And did I understand you to say that those are
all black?
[p. 1457] A. All black.
Q. Parochial schools?
A. Hundred percent black. And only about half of
the students who go to those schools are Catholic. Many
of them aren't.
And so we're beginning to look at what those schools
are doing that - that produces that kind of achievement
that the public schools in Chicago aren't doing, and there
are several things.
528
One is it turns out that those schools have those
characteristics that are most often associated with effec
tive schools, the so-called effective schools; that is, they
have less tracking rather than more, they have a strong
principal, that their teachers have a great deal of access to
outside-of-classroom materials, there's more emphasis
upon the teaching of social studies rather than on math.
All of those are characteristics.
If you look at the Ron Edmonds, Larry LaZant work
on effective schools over the years, the characteristics of
effective schools, and it turns out - by the way, strong
discipline - and it turns out that those parochial schools
have all of those things.
In addition to that, there's some self-selection that
goes on. They tend to bring in these middle class families
that are, in fact, poor, because those families want their
kids to [p. 1458] get that kind of education, but those are
precisely the kinds of families who would work well in
any school system.
Q. Now, are those six parochial schools affluent
schools?
A. No, they're all very poor. They're all in - in very
poor black communities.
Q. So do I understand you to say that this set of
values which is a good predictor of academic success
does not depend on economic lines; is that correct?
A. No, it does not.
Q. Does it depend on racial lines?
529
A. Not at all. And to argue - I would suggest that to
argue that it does is a racist argument.
Q. I guess my question, Doctor Sampson, is: In your
opinion, do black students need to be in a classroom with
white students to learn effectively?
A. Not if learning is what you're talking about. It
has nothing to do with learning. If you were to go to
Chicago and talk to these - or Milwaukee or a variety of
other cities where these parochial schools are doing quite
well and ask those little black kids, who are going off to
Harvard and Yale and wherever they are going off to next
fall, how concerned they are with integration, they would
tell you "not at all." The school has worked very well for
them.
* * *
[p. 1461] Q. How does education fit into diminish
ing or totally ridding the society of that disparity?
A. Well, if you look, the average black female col
lege graduate earns 105 percent of what her white coun
terpart earns. That means that black female college
graduates are earning more than white female college
graduates.
The average black male college graduate earns about
84, 85 percent of what his white counterpart earns. That
suggests that there is some discrimination in - in the
marketplace.
But we're talking about college graduates; that is,
both black and white have the same credentials, and there
is somehow a discrepancy in payment and/or promotion.
530
Q. Would you be concerned about students being
harmed in a classroom that was 90 percent or more black
if there was an effective schools program?
A. If - if the purpose of the schools is education,
then the answer is "no."
Q. And, in your opinion, what is the purpose of
public schools?
A. I always thought it was education.
* * *
[p. 1468] Q. Now, I'm talking about - my question
is, is intentional segregation of public schools harmful?
A. My answer is, I [sic] doesn't have to be.
Q. Is it ever, though?
A. Anywhere at any point in time throughout his
tory?
Q. Can you answer my question?
A. Not the way it's stated.
Q. Okay. Fine.
You indicated that you believe that the argument that
- and correct me if I misunderstood this. I may have. That
the argument of success depends on racial lines, or some
thing to that effect there, is a racist argument.
Did you understand the position of the plaintiffs in
this case to be that black people cannot be successful at
anything if they are in an all-black environments [sic],
that there's no way they can be successful?
531
A. I don't have a real understanding of what the
plaintiffs are up to. I'm asked to come and testify about
what I know, and that's what I did. That is, I haven't
discussed with the plaintiffs what their positions are.
Q. You also indicated that black students have -
don't have to be in classes to learn -
A. No, they don't have to be -
Q. - with white children -
A. That's right.
* * *
ARTHUR STELLER
[p. 1482] Q. Doctor Steller, do you have an opinion
with respect to what impact the implementation of Doc
tor Foster's proposal would have on the degree of paren
tal involvement that we have in the district at this point
in time?
A. Yes, in a variety of ways.
Q. Would you state those opinions, please.
A. One would be in - there was no - seemingly no
consideration taken in the Foster plans, A or B, to - and I
think that was a question that you asked Doctor Foster
yesterday - relative to bilingual students.
There are advisory committees for bilingual pro
grams. It would be possible for many families, they
would have youngsters in two different schools, and by
having youngsters, not just many parents would have
youngsters in two different schools, but in the bilingual
situation it would be an additional hardship because they
would have two sets of meetings to go for - to go to
532
attend for bilingual parent meetings, which is a very
strong component of our bilingual program. Not only is
that somewhat of a scheduling difficulty, it's an addi
tional burden upon bilingual parents to have attend two
separate meetings [p. 1483] for the purposes of the bilin
gual.
The same thing is true with chapter I students. We
have a chapter I program where one part of the program
is a parent program, and parents attend meetings, advi
sory meetings, and meetings on how to be a parent and
how to reinforce what the school is doing. And a chapter
I family could have a youngster in two different schools
and, therefore, have to attend double the number of
meetings. Obviously, many parents would not choose to
do that.
The same thing is true for parents in special educa
tion, where they have - would have, perhaps, a youngster
in more than one special education program in two differ
ent schools.
There's the requirements, due to federal regulations,
of IEP's, for instance, that require going to the school,
meeting with school staff.
It's the opinion of our special education department
and staff that the involvement of parents in chapter I and
bilingual programs and special education would drop off
heavily because of all those requirements, simply the
number of meetings, the transportation, the mileage back
and forth between the two skills, some parents in those
programs do not have transportation to get them there.
So that would create an additional burden. The same
533
burden is felt by any parent, whether they have a young
ster in any of those programs.
But they would have membership in - or hopeful
they would [p. 1484] have membership, we try to encour
age membership - in more than one PTA if they had more
than one youngster. That would be double the dues,
double the PTA meetings, double the fund raisers, double
all the activities involved in PTA organizations. And by
putting that additional burden on parents, as a practical
matter, they simply would not choose to participate in
double the number of activities.
So that I think there would be a - well, I'm sure that
there would be a great drop off in PTA membership and
involvement in those organizations, and general parental
involvement, however you define it, in schools.
* * *
[p. 1496] A. * * * Basically, the bottom line is that
under the Foster proposal there would be 632 fewer stu
dents eligible for chapter I under plan A, that's 21 percent
fewer students eligible for remedial math and reading
help under plan A, and 710 fewer students, or 24 percent
fewer under Foster plan B, which is somewhat ironic. You
know, when - what we would have then would be fewer
students participating in bilingual programs, a hardship
on special education programs, and fewer students that
would be eligible to participate in chapter I programs.
* * *
[p. 1500] Q. Doctor Steller, do you have an opinion,
based upon conferring with your Cabinet Members and
Key Administrative staff, with respect to the total cost to
534
implement plan A in the first year? And by "total cost/' I
mean total transportation and all the other financial
aspects that you have just been discussing.
A. Yes, I do.
Q. And what is that opinion?
A. The total cost - which would include virtually
everything that I've discussed, and perhaps a couple of
other minor points - but the first-year cost of plan A
would be $7,402,913.50.
Q. What would be the cost of operation under plan
A for each year after the first year?
A. All right. After the first year the cost goes down.
It's $1,678,958.50.
* * *
[p. 1502] A. * * * One of the first things, if we were
talking about implementing plan A or plan B, Foster's
plan A or plan B , at this point in the year, or at any year
after April 10th, and -
MR. DAY: Do you need some more water?
THE WITNESS: Excuse me. I need some more
something.
A. - Any point after April 10th when we were con
sidering school closings, here's what we would be look
ing at.
In terms of school closings, one high school, one
middle school, one middle school alternative school, 20
elementary [p. 1503] schools, for a total of 2.5 million
dollars.
535
Now, of course, closing schools would make us go
back and redo everything else in the fdster plans. But that
is something that - I mean, if you have to pay for it, you
have to pay for it some way. So that would be 2.5 million
dollars from closing schools.
Renegotiate union contracts, a million dollars. That
would not be a very easy task, but that's on the list.
Eliminate supplemental salaries for teachers in mid
dle school and high school, which means coaches, band,
vocal music, things like that. That would be $600,000.
Q. Excuse me, when you said "renegotiate the
union contract," cost of a million dollars, were you saying
that you would attempt to undertake negotiations with
the teachers union to try to get them to take less money?
A. That's true. You said "Try to get them to take less
money." That would be very much the case.
Q. Sorry to interrupt you. I'm sorry.
A. That would not be easy, obviously, to accom
plish, but, given the constraints, that might be something
that we would decide to do.
Reduce purchase of instructional supplies and equip
ment by the tune of $350,000.
Reduce Maintenance positions $350,000.
Further reduction of campus police positions,
$ 200, 000.
[p. 1504] Reduce clerical, instructional aides and sec
retarial positions, 1.5 million dollars.
536
Reduce more custodial positions and supplies, like
custodial supplies, $600,000.
Drop more administrative positions, $200,000.
Reduce substitute teacher allocations, $500,000.
Reduce vehicle and garage expenses, a hundred
thousand dollars. Now, that one we would probably drop
off the list, because if we're going to add between 85 and
125 more buses, we would not be able to reduce that
figure.
Reduce school d istrict textbook expenditures
$ 200, 000.
Eliminate district's contribution to teacher retire
ment, which means we'd have to renegotiate that with
teachers, and that would be 2.7 million dollars.
Reduce ten more central office, principal and assis
tant principal administrative positions and reassign those
individuals to teaching positions. That would be
$150,000.
Then we also said at the bottom that we would file
for bankruptcy, apply for governmental loans, and adopt
an early release program for students.
Now, this figure, the figures that I gave, add up to
more than the cost of either plan A or plan B, but they're
the kinds of things that would have to be done to pay for
either plan A or Plan B.
Q. Do you believe it would have an effect on the
effective [p. 1505] schools program presently being imple
mented in the district?
537
A. It would have an effect on virtually every part of
the program. I think simply making those kind of cuts, in
and of themselves, discounting the negative impact that
Foster's plan would have on parents in the community,
but simply implementing those kinds of cuts, people
would leave the district, period. I mean, forget what kind
of organizational grade-level plan we'd have, people
would simply leave the district if we had to implement
that kind of additional cuts.
Q. Doctor Steller, during the defendant's case, sev
eral witnesses referred to action taken by other govern
mental agencies. For example, the City Planning
Commission, the City Housing Authority and the Inter
state Highway Authorities.
My question to you, sir, is whether or not the Okla
homa City Board of Education consults or is consulted by
any of these organizations before they take any action
with respect to the location of public housing, zoning
ordinances, or location of interstate highways.
A. In the two years that I have been here, I have
never seen any correspondence or any - any reference
from any of those Governmental agencies. We have no
liaison function, except in the most informal sense, with
any of those agencies.
* * *
[p. 1518] Q. Does the district receive Chapter II
funds?
A. Yes.
Q. And you have discretion, a wide area of discre
tion in which to use those funds; isn't that correct?
538
A. Yes, and we're currently using those funds, for
the last two years, in effective schools measures.
Q. But those funds are available for any program
that was in existence prior to the Education Consolida
tion Act of 1981; isn't that true?
A. They are used - there are some restrictions, but
they're funds that basically the school district can deter
mine.
However, if we took those funds away from the
effective schools program, obviously that would effect all
students in all elementary schools, and that would seem
ingly be counterproductive to what the district's all
about.
Q. Those funds would be available to provide com
pensatory services to children reassigned as a result of a
desegregation plan?
A. They would be, however, as I stated, they would
be have - you would have to take those funds away from
what they're currently being expended for, and that is an
effective schools program.
* * *
RECORD, SUPPLEMENTAL VOLUME I
539
PLAINTIFF'S EXHIBIT 48
Racial Composition of Elementary School Faculties/
1972-73, 1984-85, 1985-86, 1986-87
1972-73 1984-85 1985-86 1986-87
% Black % Black % Black % Black
Adams 21 16 18 14
Arcadia 17 32 18 20
Arthur 20 23 20 15
Bodine 20 26 23 23
Britton 17 38 22 24
Buchanan 17 24 17 10
Burbank 18 63
Cleveland 19
Columbus 16 16 21 27
Coolidge 19 17 17 18
Creston Hills 28 48 57 43
Culbertson 20
Davis 18 36 22 17
Dewey 21 15 48 42
Dunbar 25 29 36
Edgemere 19 35 26 39
Edison 37
Edwards 15 48 65 70
Eugene Field 18 32 16 17
Fillmore 23 19 23 25
Garden Oaks 39 48 40 50
Garfield 22
Gatewood 24 29 34 27
540
Green Pastures
Harrison
Hawthorne
Hayes
Henry
Heronville
Hillcrest
Horace Mann
Johnson
Kaiser
King
Lafayette
Lee
Lincoln
Linwood
Lone Star
Longfellow
Madison
Mark Twain
Mayfair
McKinley
Monroe
Nichols Hills
North Highland
Oakridge
Page
Page-Woodson
Parker
Parmelee
Pierce
Polk
1972-73 1984-85
% Black % Black
18 36
18 43
23 40
16 29
22
21 22
16 23
20 36
15 13
23 32
30
25 29
25 14
21 55
17 8
22
20 16
19 25
18 16
23
25
21 24
27
19 34
20 40
31
32
22 29
21 23
17 19
19 32
1985-86
% Black
1986-87
% Black
39 38
37 41
36 29
27 29
17 18
38 33
15 15
35 31
26 43
22 22
14 18
49 64
9 10
31 38
13 17
24 35
20 27
39 38
33 26
44 46
22 21
17 10
43 46
541
Prairie Queen
Putnam Heights
Quail Creek
Rancho Village
Ridgeview
Riverside
Rockwood
Ross
Sequoyah
Shidler
Shields Heights
Southern Hills
Spencer
Stand Watie
Star
Stonegate
Sunset
Telstar
Truman
Tyler
Valley Brook
Van Buren
West N ich ols
Hills
Western Village
Westwood
Wheeler
Willard
1972-73
% Black
1984-85
% Black
26 15
14 20
20 24
23 18
20 22
24 49
18 21
19
21 29
20 32
18 27
22 27
18 43
17 17
29 31
21 20
27
17 45
32 42
31
18
22 24
21 22
13 19
15 40
17 22
27 35
1985-86
% Black
1986-87
% Black
11 17
31 31
30 30
0 0
24 29
26 36
27 24
39 35
26 30
27 22
36 30
16 19
27 31
20 24
56 65
33 44
11 22
38 17
14 23
38 38
35 27
25 21
542
1972-73 1984-85 1985-86 1986-87
% Black % Black % Black % Black
Willow Brook 24 34 44 42
Wilson 21 23 17 21
Woodson 44
[NO.
SCHOOLS] 82 69 65 64
[AVERAGE %
BLACK] 21% 29% 27% 28%
[RANGE] 13%-44% 8%-63% 0%-65% Q%-70%
^Source: PX 29 (Exhibit 2(a) to Defendants' Answers to Plain
tiffs' First Interrogatories on Remand).
Fifth-grade centers omitted for 1985-86 and 1986-87 school
years because of non-comparable grade structure of Hoover.
543
PLAINTIFFS EXHIBIT 50
1984-85 Elementary Enrollment
and Faculty - Percent Black*
School
Faculty
1984-85
% Black
Enrl.
1984-85
% Black
Burbank 63 35.4
Lincoln 55 36.9
Riverside 49 13.6
Edwards ■ 48 29.7
Creston Hills 48 41.4
Garden Oaks 48 36.9
Telstar 45 68.3
Harrison 43 45.8
Spencer 43 65.5
Truman 42 27.6
Oakridge 40 49.7
Hawthorne 40 28.4
Westwood 40 21.0
Britton 38 40.6
Davis 36 45.9
Horace Mann 36 28.8
Willard 35 21.2
Edgemere 35 51.8
Willow Brook 34 62.7
North Highland 34 46.5
Arcadia 32 34.6
544
School
Faculty
1984-85
% Black
Enrl.
1984-85
% Black
Eugene Field 32 34.9
Polk 32 31.6
Kaiser 32 37.8
Shidler 32 30.7
Star 31 54.0
King 30 43.2
Gatewood 29 44.9
Lafayette 29 40.3
Sequoyah 29 36.3
Parker 29 72.3
Hayes 29 25.7
Shields Heights 27 25.5
Southern Hills 27 35.4
Bodine 26 36.0
Madison 25 23.6
Quail Creek 24 31.0
Monroe 24 33.5
Van Buren 24 23.3
Buchanan 24 27.0
Arthur 23 20.2
Hillcrest 23 37.5
Parmelee 23 38.6
Wilson 23 29.0
Heronville 22 25.7
Ridgeview 22 30.6
West Nichols Hills 22 35.1
Wheeler 22 23.2
Rockwood 21 35.4
Putnam Heights 20 45.8
545
School
Faculty
1984-85
% Black
Enrl.
1984-85
% Black
Stonegate 20 42.2
Fillmore 19 29.6
Western Village 19 52.0
Pierce 19 28.2
Rancho Village 18 20.7
Stand Watie 17 22.5
Coolidge 17 27.6
Longfellow 16 32.2
Mark Twain 16 33.5
Adams 16 26.7
Columbus 16 16.9
Prairie Queen 15 25.9
Dewey 15 33.5
Lee 14 21.5
Johnson 13 57.4
Linwood 8 17.5
Ŝource: PX 25 (Exhibit 1(b) to Defendants' Answers to Plain
tiffs' First Interrogatories on Remand), PX 29 (Exhibit 2(a) to
Defendants' Answers to Plaintiffs' First Interrogatories on
Remand)
546
PLAINTIFF'S EXHIBIT 52
1985-86 Elementary Enrollment
and Faculty - Percent Black*
School
Faculty
1985-86
% Black
Enrl.
1985-86
% Black
Edwards 65 99.3
Creston Hills 57 98.8
Telstar 56 58.2
Lincoln 49 97.5
Dewey 48 97.1
Parker 44 97.3
Willow Brook 44 46.4
Polk 43 97.7
Garden Oaks 40 98.8
North Highland 39 96.3
Shidler 39 37.1
Harrison 39 43.9
Westwood 38 24.2
West Nichols Hills 38 21.3
Horace Mann 38 33.1
Hawthorne 37 15.6
Hayes 36 10.9
Spencer 36 71.1
Kaiser 35 12.8
Wheeler 35 9.7
547
School
Faculty
1985-86
% Black
Enrl.
1985-86
% Black
Gatewood 34 32.3
Oakridge 33 45.6
Truman 33 99.3
Putnam Heights 31 30.3
Longfellow 31 99.3
Quail Creek 30 15.8
Southern Hills 27 7.6
Star 17 54.6
Heronville 27 12.2
Sequoyah 27 16.9
Rockwood 26 35.0
Shields Heights 26 3.7
King 26 99.5
Edgemere 26 53.5
Willard 25 4.9
Mark Twain 24 9.8
Ridgeview 24 18.6
Bodine 23 34.5
Fillmore 23 9.3
Britton 22 37.3
Davis 22 8.4
Parmelee 22 6.3
Lafayette 22 1.8
Columbus 21 15.5
Stonegate 20 33.2
Monroe 20 21.4
Arthur 20 6.3
Adams 18 8.3
Arcadia 18 30.3
Coolidge 17 7.5
548
School
Faculty
1985-86
% Black
Enrl.
1985-86
% Black
Pierce 17 17.8
Wilson 17 31.6
Buchanan 17 8.2
Hillcrest 17 5.1
Eugene Field 16 32.2
Stand Watie 16 28.8
Johnson 15 31.4
Western Village 14 65.0
Lee 14 7.9
Madison 13 10.7
Prairie Queen 11 6.1
Van Buren 11 8.8
Linwood 9 9.3
Rancho Village 0 6.1
’‘'Source: PX 25 (Exhibit 1(b) to Defendants' Answers to Plain
tiffs' First Interrogatories on Remand), PX 29 (Exhibit 2(a) to
Defendants' Answers to Plaintiffs' First Interrogatories on
Remand)
549
PLAINTIFF'S EXHIBIT 54
1986-87 Elementary Enrollment
and Faculty - Percent Black*
School
Faculty
1986-87
% Black
Enrl.
1986-87
% Black
Edwards 70 99.5
Telstar 65 59.7
Lincoln 64 99.3
Garden Oaks 50 98.3
Polk 46 98.8
Parker 46 96.9
Truman 44 99.7
King 43 98.9
Creston Hills 43 99.0
Dewey 42 98.4
Willow Brook 42 51.5
Hawthorne 41 19.2
Edgemere 39 51.3
Longfellow 38 99.1
Westwood 38 20.0
Harrison 38 49.4
North Highland 38 97.5
Rockwood 36 41.5
Shidler 35 37.1
Mark Twain 35 9.7
Horace Mann 33 35.2
Putnam Heights 31 34.8
Kaiser 31 18.1
550
School
Faculty
1986-87
% Black
Enrl.
1986-87
% Black
Star 31 61.4
Shields Heights 30 3.9
Quail Creek 30 13.1
Spencer 30 76.3
Heronville 29 8.9
Ridgeview 29 17.1
Hayes 29 11.2
Monroe 27 15.9
Gatewood 27 25.7
Columbus 27 15.2
Wheeler 27 8.1
Oakridge 26 42.3
Fillmore 25 6.4
Stonegate 24 33.1
Sequoyah 24 19.5
Britton 24 37.9
Bodine 23 34.2
Western Village 23 65.6
Southern Hills 22 7.0
Lafayette 22 2.7
Van Buren 22 7.7
Willard 21 9.1
Parmelee 21 11.8
Wilson 21 26.4
Arcadia 20 28.5
Stand Watie 19 25.9
Lee 18 6.6
Hillcrest 18 11.6
Coolidge 18 5.1
551
School
Faculty
1986-87
% Black
Enrl.
1986-87
% Black
West Nichols Hills 17 20.0
Eugene Field 17 31.8
Prairie Queen 17 6.2
Madison 17 15.0
Davis 17 9.9
Johnson 15 27.4
Arthur 15 7.3
Adams 14 6.1
Buchanan 10 8.8
Pierce 10 16.3
Linwood 10 13.6
Rancho Village 0 10.6
Ŝource: PX 25 (Exhibit 1(b) to Defendants' Answers to Plain
tiffs' First Interrogatories on Remand), PX 29 (Exhibit 2(a) to
Defendants' Answers to Plaintiffs' First Interrogatories on
Remand)
552
PLAINTIFF'S EXHIBIT 56
Minutes, December 10, 1984,
School Board Meeting
The Board of Education of Independent School District
Number 89 of Oklahoma County, Oklahoma, met in a
special, meeting in the Board Room, Administration
Building, 900 North Klein, Monday, December 10, 1984 at
6:30 P.M.
Present: Susan Homes President
LaRue Donworth Vice President
Jean Brody Member
Paul Heath Member
Betty Hill Member
Hugh Long Member
Clyde Muse Member
* * *
SPECIAL BUSINESS
The purpose of the special meeting was for public hear
ings on the 1985-86 Student Assignment Plan. Mrs.
Homes announced the method for conducting the hear
ings and called on the speakers.
Seventy-five persons were heard, and their remarks are
summarized as follows:
1. Chuck Keeler, Teacher, Classen High School, spoke
in favor of the HALO (A.F.T. proposed) Plan.
2. Bob Stalnaker, Teacher, Eisenhower Middle School,
felt Eisenhower would be underutilized as a fifth
year center as proposed in the plan. He also asked
about the Board's intentions for the Arcadia area.
3. Diane Harvey-Oden, Monroe School Patron, sug
gested that integration should begin before fifth
553
grade; felt if the plan was implemented, desegrega
tion would not be as good as it is now.
4. Wayne Dempsey, Patron, expressed concern with the
plan, specifically to the elementary school issue.
Closing Classen High School was also discussed. Mr.
Dempsey disapproved the previous allowance of
transfers, and felt Classen should be left open.
5. Joyce Henderson, Principal of Classen High School,
asked that Classen be continued, but as a special
(magnet) high school.
6. Alfred N. Blakeley, Patron, commended the Board
for taking a stand spoke against the concept of 'sepa
rate but equal'; proposed the Board consider this a
preliminary plan and not take action at this time.
7. Carolyn Wallace, Northwest Classen Patron, com
mended the board on the plan; felt those responsible
for the plan would be alert to any inequities and the
measures to correct them should they occur.
8. Charles Moore, Patron, Classen area, suggested the
Board was moving much too fast and needed to
study the plan further.
9. Julie Perkins, Student, Capitol Hill Middle School,
asked that the students not be asked to move; that
the school not be changed to a fifth year center.
10. Sheldon Dadson, student, Capitol Hill Middle
School, spoke on retaining the school as a middle
school and told of the special programs there.
11. Effie Grimes, Patron, Northeast area, spoke against
the plan; felt the current assignments were working;
felt the proposed plan would create segregation
again.
12. Joyce Collins, Patron, Capitol Hill Middle School,
asked that the school be left a middle school.
13. Ed Kirkpatrick, Classen High School parent stated
that philosophically he had a problem with the plan
because of the possible re-segregation.
554
14. Katrina Adams, Student, Capitol Hill Middle School,
stated majority of students did not want the school
changed to a fifth year center. She presented the
Board with a petition signed by the students.
15. Michael Stephenson, Student, Capitol Hill Middle
School, spoke against making the school a fifth year
center.
16. Mike Wetmore, Student, Classen High School, asked
about transportation for the students if they were
transferred to Northwest; felt the Board had not
given the HALO Plan serious consideration; and felt
Classen should not be overlooked because they did
not "make waves".
17. Kay Floyd, Eisenhower Middle School Patron, stated
a concern that if the plan was approved, Hoover
would need portables, have large classes, and
require teachers to travel from room to room.
Requested opening Nichols Hills as a fifth year cen
ter and leaving Eisenhower and Hoover as middle
schools.
18. Chester Boevers, Patron, support the proposed plan;
like the neighborhood school concept.
19. Charlene H. Moore, Student, Classen High School,
suggested the Board consider moving the Cleveland
students to Classen, using Classen as a magnet, or
changing the boundaries. If Classen is to be closed,
asked that the students and teachers be moved to
N.W. Classen with allowance for special transfer to
Douglas or N.E. on request.
20. Dianne Kruegar, Patron, Arcadia, felt the fifth grade
was too late for integration; asked if the fifth grade
could be left at the Arcadia Elementary School.
21. Charles Alexander, Teacher, Capitol Hill Middle
School, spoke against the plan. He felt the plan was
a step backward, caused unnecessary movement of
555
staff, loss of pay for some, and retained the "unnec
essary" fifth year centers. He proposed the HALO
Plan.
22. Kylle Kerstan, Teacher, Rogers Middle School, con
tinued to explain the A.F.T.'s plan. She felt the Union
and community input should have been sought -
suggested a modification of the Board Committee's
plan.
23. Ann Turner, Teacher, Grant High School, continued
discusion [sic] of the HALO Plan, which was devel
oped after input from teachers and patrons was
sought.
24. Ruth Nichols, Teacher, also outlined a part of the
HALO Plan.
25. Tony DeGlusti, AFT Staff, continued the presenta
tion about the AFT proposed HALO plan; stated
affirmative action was a "given" in the plan; stated
the plan offered was not perfect, but is an alterna
tive.
26. Georgia Iannello, President, A.F.T., asked that the
Board take a serious look at the plan, look at the
cost. She said the teachers were concerned about
resegregation, and asked the Board to take some
more time.
27. Mary Hamilton, Lafayette Kindergarten Teacher,
said that Lafayette should be the starting point as a
neighborhood school.
28. Cherie Scott, Bodine Patron, asked that the fifth
grade be left at Bodine; wanted justification for the
fifth graders to be moved.
29. Sam Barnett, Capitol Hill Middle School Parent, sup
ported leaving CHMS a middle school; asked that
the Board reconsider making the school a fifth year
center.
30. Leslie Brown, Acting President, Oklahoma City
Branch of NAACP, stated that his organization
556
opposed the plan as presented; that the district
should not return to a segregated society, and felt
the plan did this.
31. Pamela Woody, Oakridge Patron, asked for consider
ation of Oakridge as a K-5 school.
At 8:00 p.m. President Hermes declared a recess. The
Board reconvened at 8:14 p.m. Mr. Long left the meeting
during the recess.
32. Barbara Erickson, Teacher, Classen High School,
stated she believed in the integrated school system;
could not support resegregation; felt Classen was a
fine school.
33. Jan Collins, Patron, supported the revised student
assignment plan as a step forward to neighborhood
schools. She asked that the board consider eliminat
ing fifth year centers; and asked that K-5 schools be
instituted. Ms. Collins presented a petition suppor
ting those views to the Board.
34. Rita Chappie Clytus, Patron, spoke against cross
town busing for purposes of desegregation; sup
ported the plan; asked for racial integration using
field trips, etc., rather than busing.
35. Freddie Williams, Patron, commended the Board for
their actions; supported the plans; opposed busing;
asked the Board to fortify the plan with equity, care,
and concern.
36. Mildred E. Rayner, Patron, Teacher, expressed con
cern for the students and staff of CHMS as well as
the fifth grade students to be assigned there under
the new plan because of the size of the playground,
facilities, location, number of restrooms, etc.; asked
about the cost of adapting the school for fifth year
use; asked the CHMS be left as is.
37. Linda Sellers, Patron, CHMS Teacher, stated CHMS
has a good program, and is self-supporting as far as
557
special activities are concerned; gave examples of
their efforts. She supported leaving the school a
middle school.
38. Brenda Fink, Patron, supported the new proposed
plan over the Finger Plan.
39. Heather Howerton, Student CHMS, wished to "save
the school".
40. Eunice O. Farbes, Teacher, Classen High School,
stated that students of all races need to go to school
together as little children if integration is to be suc
cessful. Asked that the Board find a way to keep
Classen open as a kind of school that would "pull
in" students.
41. Mrs. Andrew J. Brooks, Teacher, Classen High
School, spoke against the plan; felt it was a step
backward and would not support integration.
42. Mary Edwards, Patron, spoke for the proposed plan.
43. Jamie Atherton, Patron, supported the proposal;
supported the concept of neighborhood schools.
44. Sheila Thornton, Patron, supported the plan.
45. Jay Mercer, Patron, supported the plan, either K-4 or
K-5; felt that main concern should be safety of the
kids.
46. Leora Cole, Patron, was against the busing of chil
dren, kindergarten through fourth grade; stated that
busing prevented participation by students in extra
curricular activities; supported the plan.
47. Ann Wilson Witte, Teacher, President of OEA, OKC,
expressed concern about transfer of teachers; asked
the teachers be treated fairly and with dignity.
48. Beth Antonelli, Patron, wanted equal opportunity in
education, regardless of where the students attended
school; supported the proposed plan.
558
49. Mary Ann Gates, patron, supported the proposal.
50. Billie Oldham, Patron, was for the plan.
51. Kathy Shinn, Patron, supported the plan.
52. Clara Luper, Patron, Teacher, John Marshall High
School, spoke against the plan, and said litigation
would follow if the plan was adopted.
53. Gwen Sneed spoke against the plan; asked the Board
to review the proposal and come up with something
different.
54. Debbie Robinson supported the proposal so that her
children would not be bused across town.
55. Cecil Williams spoke to the issue, opposing the plan.
56. Chelle Luper, Student, NAACP Youth Council, was
against the plan.
57. Charles Wilson spoke against the plan; liked things
the way they are now.
58. Sheronda Mitchell, NAACP Youth Council, spoke for
integrated schools and against the plan.
59. Darlene Smith, Dewey Fifth Year Center Patron,
spoke in support of the plan.
60. Clyde Madden, Patron, spoke in opposition to the
plan; asked the Board to vote the plan down.
61. Wayne Vincent, Patron, Classen High School, said he
was concerned that the discussion seemed to be that
of a black/white issue. He proposed that the plan for
Classen be termed "reorganization"; that Northwest
Classen should be renamed Classen.
62. Ira Hall, Patron, said whatever plan was decided on,
we should all work for the welfare of the children.
63. Phoebe Revelle, Teacher, Northeast High School,
voiced her pride in the OKC Public Schools; spoke
against the plan, stating that it offered a return to
segregation.
559
64. James O. Morrissey supported the plan; thanked the
Board for "taking up the torch" for the students.
65. Marilyn A. Hildreth, Patron, West Nichols Hills,
spoke against the plan; said that she would rather
have her child ride a bus than go to segregated
schools.
66. Earnestine M. Bell spoke against the plan.
67. Zack Phillips, Patron, spoke against the plan; said
the plan would not work. He asked that the Board
come out with a "decent" plan for all students.
68. Lael Erickson, Patron, spoke against the plan; stated
that it [is] regressive rather than progressive.
69. Barbara True supported the plan. She said it was not
going backward; rather, it will give the children in
grades K-4 a feeling of security being nearer to
home.
70. Kay Ahaus, Patron, asked the Board to reconsider
the plan, to not act in haste. Regarding Hoover and
Eisenhower, she felt they would be overcrowded
under the proposed plan.
71. Robert Schumacher, Student, Southeast High School,
thanked the Board for listening.
72. Leonard Senton, President, OKC Urban League, said
that when the original plan was developed it was
unfair in the black children had to be bused grades
1-4 and white did not. He said if we are not going to
have two-way busing, then students should be
allowed to stay in their own neighborhoods.
73. Joanel Provo, Teacher, CHMS, spoke against the
plan.
74. Wallace Johnson supported delaying any action until
further study takes place.
75. Blanton Bennett opposed the plans; asked for a post
ponement until a plan beneficial to all concerned
could be developed.
* * *
560
RECORD, SUPPLEMENTAL VOLUME II
561
DEFENDANT'S EXHIBIT 5D
Oklahoma City Population Change in
East Inner-City Tracts, 1950-1980
BLACK POPULATION
TRACT NO.* 1950 1960 1970** 1980**
13 660 4818 5463 4198
27 686 2696 1691 22
28 2233 6784 4554 3504
29 5244 3684 1183 447
30 3976 5066 2746 853
38 4828 3324 1625 912
79 not 2905 2747 2623
tracted
TOTAL POPULATION
TRACT NO.* 1950 1960 1970** 1980**
13 4618 5531 5655 4278
27 3496 3684 1821 45
28 6699 7097 4631 3617
29 5368 3747 1190 456
30 7673 6488 3026 1082
38 6446 4115 1768 1064
79 not 3030 2791 2663
tracted
^Proportion of total Oklahoma City black population living in
these tracts: 1950, 82%; 1960, 84%; 1980, 16.8%.
**The tract numbers for 1970 and 1980 had the number 10
preceding each original tract number, i.e., tract 13 became tract
1013.
Source: U.S. Census
562
DEFENDANT'S EXHIBIT 5E
Oklahoma City Black Population Turnover*
in East Inner-City Tracts
TRACT NO.**
1965-70
(percent)
1975-80
(percent)
13 40.5 23.8
27 49.9 no data
28 31.0 35.5
29 38.9 39.5
30 60.7 49.4
38 59.4 48.5
79 31.2 no data
Average %
Turnover 42.0 33.2
^Percent who did not live in the same house 5 years previously.
**The tract numbers for 1975-80 had the number 10 preceding
each original tract number, i.e., tract 13 became tract 1013.
Source: U.S. Census
POPULATION GROWTH/CHANGE IN THE OKLAHOMA CITY
METROPOLITAN AREA
% Growth Absolute
1960-1970 White Change
Absolute
Black Change
£3OTS£
£ ST«—t-
O o' £ £
Oklahoma School District (1) 1.6% -6784 8126
g* o
o 3
3 1» 3-tj*(2) 25.7% 1986 1247
(3) -8.8% -64 -85 o
Eastern Oklahoma County 38.3% 20571 3666
Northern Oklahoma County 77.2% 7763 65 3OQ
Western Oklahoma County
Part of Canadian County
112.9%
* **
54352
***
75
* **
D
EFEN
D
A
N
T'S EX
H
IBIT 6
% Growth
1970-1980
Oklahoma School District (1) -7.8%
(2) 10.5%
(3) 40.3%
Eastern Oklahoma County 28.2%
Northern Oklahoma County 94.4%
Western Oklahoma County 17.0%
Part of Canadian County 165.8%
Absolute Absolute
White Change Black Change
-36185 5093
-1254 2650
535 -55
17633 8854
15423 781
11257 2907
23692 118
564
% Growth Absolute Absolute
1960-1980 White Change Black Change
Oklahoma School District (1) -6.3% -42969 13219
(2) 38.7% 732 3897
(3) 28.0% 471 -140
Eastern Oklahoma County 77.4% 38204 12550
Northern Oklahoma County 244.5% 23186 846
Western Oklahoma County 149.2% 65609 2982
Part of Canadian County *** *** ***
*** Canadian County was untracted in 1960
See Map for Geographic Units
Source: U.S. Census of Population, 1960, 1970, and 1980.
565
566
DEFENDANT'S EXHIBIT 10
Abstract, Clark, Residential Segregation
in American Cities
Population Research and Policy Review 5: 95-127 (1986)
© Martinus Nijhoff Publishers, Dordrecht - Printed in the
Netherlands
Residential segregation in American cities: a review and
interpretation
W.A.V. CLARK
Department of Geography, University of California Los
Angeles, CA 90024, USA
Abstract. Significant levels of separation between blacks
and whites still exist in large American cities, and debate
about the causes of that residential separation has been
considerable. A balanced analysis of the factors that
might explain residential segregation - economic status
(affordability), social preferences, urban structure, and
discrimination - suggests that no one factor can account
for the patterns that have arisen in U.S. metropolitan
areas. Empirical estimation of the impact of economic
status suggests that 30-70 percent of racial separation is
attributable to economic factors. However, economic fac
tors do not act alone, but in association with preferences.
Together with elements of the urban structure, these fac
tors bear much of the explanatory weight for present
residential patterns. Survey evidence from both national
and local studies shows that black households prefer
neighborhoods that are half black and half white, while
whites prefer neighborhoods ranging from 0 to 30 percent
black.
567
The debate about causes seems most polarized over
the role of discrimination. Although comments in the
literature often focus on the past use of racially restrictive
covenants by state-regulated agencies and discriminatory
acts by realtors and financial institutions, the docu
mented individual cases of discrimination do not appear
to be part of a massive collusion to deny housing oppor
tunities to minorities. A review of the evidence from
social science investigations demonstrates that there are
multiple causes of racial residential separation in U.S.
metropolitan areas.
* * *
An earlier version of this paper was presented to the U.S.
Commission on Civil Rights, Washington, D.C., Novem
ber 12, 1985.
* * Hr
568
Oklahoma City Public Schools
Percent Black in Residential Zones
DEFENDANT'S EXHIBIT 11
Residential
Zone
(School Name)
Percent
Black
1972
Percent
Black
1986
Projected
Percent
Black
1995
Eugene Field 0.6 31.9 39.5
Sequoyah 0.0 26.2 34.9
Britton 0.4 25.9 37.0
Stonegate 0.5 21.9 32.5
Ridgeview 0.1 17.5 29.8
Hawthorne 0.9 17.3 28.1
Johnson 0.0 13.9 26.7
Davis 0.3 13.8 25.1
Kaiser 0.0 13.2 24.5
Parmelee 0.0 12.2 23.3
Linwood 0.4 11.6 23.6
W. Nichols Hills 0.3 10.4 23.2
Madison 0.3 10.0 22.5
Hillcrest 0.3 9.8 21.5
Cleveland 0.5 8.8 22.1
Mayfair 0.2 8.4 21.0
Hayes 0.7 7.9 20.3
Arthur 0.2 7.9 20.6
Burbank 0.0 7.5 20.8
Adams 0.0 7.4 20.4
Monroe 0.2 7.0 20.6
Quail Creek 0.0 6.3 19.5
Lee 0.2 6.1 19.3
Heronville 0.7 6.1 18.8
Fillmore 0.5 5.4 18.3
Southern Hills 0.1 5.1 18.1
Mckinley 0.0 5.1 18.1
Pierce 0.2 5.0 18.9
Buchanan 0.3 4.8 18.4
Coolidge 0.0 4.3 17.5
569
Residential
Zone
(School Name)
Shields Heights
Henry
Prairie Queen
Rancho
Sunset
Stand Watie
Garfield
Lafayette
Valley Brook
Telstar
Western Village
Harrison
Star
Bodine
Oakridge
Wilson
Lone Star
Gatewood
Putnam Heights
Wheeler
Columbus
Van Buren
Belle Isle
Ross
Westwood
Willow Brook
Willard
Tyler
Edgemere
Emerson
Mark Twain
Spencer
Riverside
Percent Percent
Black Black
1972 1986
0.0 3.9
0.8 3.6
0.1 3.1
0.0 3.1
0.5 2.8
0.2 2.5
0.0 2.4
0.0 2.4
0.9 2.1
4.8 64.9
2.2 64.8
2.5 56.3
4.2 46.8
3.2 40.7
1.9 39.3
2.5 33.7
3.0 31.7
5.0 28.4
3.1 26.4
1.3 15.9
2.1 7.4
1.3 7.3
1.6 7.3
1.2 3.0
1.8 2.0
5.1 61.9
5.3 9.3
5.5 29.6
8.9 48.9
10.2 37.9
12.3 16.5
17.9 71.5
20.2 14.6
Projected
Percent
Black
1995
17.6
17.0
16.7
16.6
17.3
16.6
16.6
16.2
16.8
66.0
64.0
60.2
53.5
46.3
45.8
42.7
39.7
37.3
35.9
26.7
20.4
20.1
20.4
17.3
17.1
63.9
22.6
36.8
54.1
44.5
27.4
71.2
26.1
570
Residential
Zone
(School Name)
Projected
Percent Percent Percent
Black Black Black
1972 1986 1995
Nichols Hills 23.5 51.2 54.5
Horace Mann 25.6 42.0 48.8
Rockwood 36.9 48.9 50.5
Shidler 53.1 43.1 47.9
North Highland 55.0 95.0 87.5
Arcadia 62.7 35.1 42.5
Near Spencer (2) 84.8 100.0 94.8
Near Spencer (1) 86.4 92.3 89.6
Green Pastures 95.4 95.2 91.6
Dewey 95.6 96.8 91.0
Polk 96.5 95.4 91.0
Lincoln 96.7 90.9 87.1
Dunbar 97.3 100.0 94.6
Edison 97.7 98.2 93.8
Edwards 97.8 99.4 94.8
Longfellow 97.8 97.5 92.9
Page 98.0 100.0 93.2
Near Parker 98.4 96.9 92.8
Parker 98.5 97.1 93.0
Harmony 98.6 98.9 93.5
Truman 98.9 99.3 94.4
Woodson 98.9 96.2 91.8
Garden Oaks 99.1 98.2 94.0
Creston Hills 99.3 98.8 94.3
Culbertson 99.3 98.1 93.5
571
White Population in Oklahoma City SMSA
1970-1980
DEFENDANT'S EXHIBIT 21
Percent
1970 1980 Change
All Ages:
SMSA 571,229 644,868 12.89
Inside District Boundary
Outside District
254,758 217,989 -14.43
Boundary 316,470 426,878 34.89
Ages 6-9:
" SMSA 44,076 37,759 -14.33
Inside District Boundary
Outside District
17,558 10,383 -40.86
Boundary 26,517 27,375 3.24
Age 10:
"SM SA 11,578 9,913 -14.38
Inside District Boundary
Outside District
4,637 2,451 -47.14
Boundary 6,940 7,461 7.51
Ages 11-13:
SMSA 33,279 26,487 -20.41
Inside District Boundary
Outside District
13,222 6,614 -49.98
Boundary 20,056 19,872 -0.91
Ages 14-17:
“ SMSA----- 42,678 40,175 -5.86
Inside District Boundary
Outside District
17,863 10,427 -41.63
Boundary 24,814 29,747 19.88
Source: 1970 and 1980 U.S. Census.
572
Black Population in Oklahoma City SMSA
1970-1980
DEFENDANT'S EXHIBIT 24
Percent
1970 1980 Change
All Ages:
Sm sa 54,267 73,374 35.21
Inside District Boundary
Outside District
46,010 53,637 16.58
Boundary 8,256 19,736 139.03
Ages 6-9:
SMSA 5,908 6,036 2.17
Inside District Boundary
Outside District
5,034 4,450 -11.61
Boundary 873 1,585 81.54
Age 10:
' S MS A 1,600 1,501 -6.19
Inside District Boundary
Outside District
1,353 1,133 -16.26
Boundary 246 367 49.06
Ages 11-13:
SMSA 4,254 4,089 -3.88
Inside District Boundary
Outside District
3,601 3,078 -14.53
Boundary 652 1,010 54.92
Ages 14-17:
SMSA 4,829 6,270 29.84
Inside District Boundary
Outside District
4,086 4,811 17.74
Boundary 742 1,458 96.47
Source: 1970 and 1980 U.S. Census.
School Districts in Comparably Sized SMSAs
Black versus Non-Black
District Location
Number
of
Schools
Total
Number of
Students
Percent
Black
Dissimilarity
Index Year
Columbus, OH 126 67,202 • 44.0 0.136 1984
Providence, RI 29 18,280 26.0 0.185 1984
Louisville, KY1 144 91,912 30.0 0.193 1984
Dayton, OH 43 29,649 60.0 0.194 1984
Indianapolis, IN 86 53,087 46.0 0.194 1984
Syracuse, NY 34 20,720 33.0 0.196 1982
Buffalo, NY 75 46,818 47.0 0.224 1982
Greensboro, NC 37 21,908 49.0 0.245 1984
Worcester, MA 48 19,805 6.0 0.263 1984
Gastonia, NC2 55 31,843 17.0 0.284 1984
Norfolk, VA3 50 35,694 58.2 0.288 1986
Milwaukee, WI 137 87,308 51.0 0.303 1984
Nashville, TN4 119 63,030 36.0 0.308 1984
Rochester, NY 49 32,100 52.0 0.314 1984
Sacramento, CA 71 42,284 23.0 0.319 1984
Albany, NY 17 8,050 43.0 0.332 1984
Salt Lake City, UT 53 24,454 2.0 0.344 1984
D
EFEN
D
A
N
T'S EX
H
IBIT 38
School D
istricts in C
om
parably Sized SM
SA
's
District Location
Number
of
Schools
Total
Number of
Students
Percent
Black
Dissimilarity
Index Year
Oklahoma City, OK 86 39,837 39.3 0.389 1986
Richmond, VA 55 29,626 86.0 0.406 1984
Jacksonville, FL5 144 99,582 36.0 0.422 1984
Orlando, FL6 97 80,044 24.0 0.423 1984
New Haven, CT 39 17,071 60.0 0.440 1984
Scranton, PA 25 11,976 2.0 0.471 1978
Palm Beach, FL7 95 76,185 28.0 0.519 1984
Portland, OR 111 50,628 15.0 0.533 1984
Kansas City, MO 73 36,228 68.0 0.540 1984
Tulsa, OK 91 44,833 26.0 0.557 1984
Hartford, CT 39 23,581 45.0 0.589 1984
San Antonio, TX 94 59,106 13.0 0.676 1984
Memphis, TN 105 73,291 78.0 0.677 1984
New Orleans, LA8 128 82,968 86.0 0.705 1984
Birmingham, AL 95 44,207 81.0 0.743 1984
* Based on 1984 SMSA populations reported in 1986 S ta te an d M etro p o lita n D ata B ook . Includes 24th
through 55th largest SMSAs (excluding Honolulu); Oklahoma City is ranked 39th.
574
N o te : The dissimilarity index equals the number of students who must be reassigned to achieve
racial balance relative to the number who would be reassigned if the district were completely
segregated. An index of 1.0 corresponds to complete segregation. An index of 0.0 means every
school has the districtwide proportion of blacks.
S ou rce: Office of Civil Rights of the U.S. Department of Education; Norfolk Public School District
membership records; Oklahoma City Public Schools membership records.
1 Jefferson County.
2 Gaston County.
3 Norfolk County.
4 Davidson County.
5 Duval County.
6 Orange County.
7 West Palm Beach County.
8 New Orleans Parish.
575
576
DEFENDANT'S EXHIBIT 40
Indices for Residential Zones
Segregation Indices for Residential Zones
Actual Values: 1972-1986
Forecasts: 1987-1995
Oklahoma City Public Schools
Black versus Non-Black
Year Enrollment
Percent
Black
Dis
similarity
Index
Exposure
Index
1972 53,486 25.1 0.869 0.149
1973 48,874 27.5 0.856 0.160
1974 43,843 28.3 0.839 0.172
1975 45,324 30.0 0.809 0.188
1976 41,725 30.9 0.785 0.201
1977 41,428 32.3 0.763 0.212
1978 38,958 34.1 0.739 0.222
1979 38,420 35.1 0.727 0.229
1980 37,882 34.3 0.709 0.250
1981 36,386 36.1 0.709 0.248
1982 36,470 36.4 0.693 0.257
1983 35,994 37.4 0.672 0.266
1984 35,481 38.8 0.661 0.274
1985 35,514 39.1 0.651 0.283
1986 35,466 40.0 0.640 0.290
1987 35,189 40.6 0.619 0.304
1988 34,936 41.3 0.599 0.316
1989 34,708 41.9 0.580 0.328
1990 34,508 42.6 0.562 0.338
1991 34,315 43.1 0.544 0.348
1992 34,135 43.7 0.527 0.357
1993 33,974 44.2 0.510 0.365
1994 33,813 44.7 0.494 0.373
1995 33,667 45.2 0.478 0.381
577
* * *
Notes: The dissimilarity index for residential zones
equals the number of students who would
have to move to achieve racial balance relative
to the number who would have to move if
residential zones were completely segregated.
An index of 1.0 corresponds to complete resi
dential segregation. An index of 0.0 means
every residential zone has the districtwide pro
portion of blacks.
The exposure index equals the average fraction
of non-black students in black students' resi
dential zones. An index of 0.0 corresponds to
complete residential segregation.
Residential zones are defined by the 1972
Desegregation Plan.
Sources: Oklahoma City Public Schools assignment
records. Enrollment totals exclude kinder
garten, special education students and trans
fers into the district.
578
DEFENDANT'S EXHIBIT 45
Indices for All Schools
Segregation Indices for Oklahoma City Public Schools
Black versus Non-Black
All Schools
Year Enrollment
Percent
Black
Dis
similarity
Index
Exposure
Index
1970 71,089 22.9 0.817 0.182
1971 68,840 23.4 0.780 0.222
1972 60,674 26.4 0.277 0.669
1973 54,196 26.7 0.255 0.677
1974 52,143 28.3 0.236 0.670
1975 50,162 29.7 0.246 0.651
1976 47,941 31.1 0.254 0.636
1977 46,274 32.3 0.270 0.619
1978 42,933 33.1 0.245 0.619
1979 42,471 34.8 0.267 0.594
1980 40,961 35.3 0.230 0.603
1981 40,777 35.5 0.233 0.596
1982 41,427 35.5 0.244 0.592
1983 40,513 36.7 0.234 0.584
1984 40,373 38.3 0.244 0.563
1985 40,174 38.6 0.377 0.464
1986 39,837 39.3 0.389 0.453
* *
Notes: The dissimilarity index equals the number of
students who must be reassigned to achieve
racial balance relative to the number who would
be reassigned if the district were completely
segregated. An index of 1.0 corresponds to com
plete segregation. An index of 0.0 means every
school has the district wide proportion of
blacks.
579
The exposure index equals the average fraction
of non-black students in schools attended by
blacks. An index of 0.0 corresponds to complete
segregation.
Source: Oklahoma City Public Schools membership
records.
Elementary Schools by Race
(Ranked by Percent of Black Students),
Oklahoma City Public Schools, 1985-86
Rank School % Black % Oriental % Indian % Spanish % White
% Non-
White
1 Lafayette 2.0 1.0 5.4 5.4 86.2 13.8
2 Shields Heights 4.0 0.3 7.4 21.4 66.9 33.1
3 Hillcrest 5.1 0.8 5.6 4.0 84.5 15.5
4 Arthur 5.7 1.8 8.6 4.1 79.8 20.2
5 Rancho Village 5.8 1.2 4.0 5.2 83.8 16.2
6 Prairie Queen 6.2 2.2 4.3 2.6 84.7 15.3
7 Parmelee 6.3 1.8 8.3 4.6 79.0 21.0
8.5 Davis 6.6 6.0 6.6 15.7 65.1 34.9
8.5 Willard 6.6 3.9 19.7 28.3 41.5 58.5
10 Coolidge 7.3 3.6 5.7 2.3 81.1 18.9
11 Buchanan 7.5 3.7 3.0 5.8 80.0 20.0
12 Lee 7.7 1.3 11.0 24.5 55.5 44.5
13 Southern Hills 8.0 5.1 1.1 6.8 79.0 21.0
14 Van Buren 8.4 0.9 11.9 3.1 75.7 24.3
D
EFEN
D
A
N
T'S EX
H
IBIT 63
R
acial C
om
position of Elem
entary
Schools (K
-4), 1985-86
Rank School % Black % Oriental % Indian % Spanish % White
% Non-
White
15 Adams 8.5 0.0 4.5 7.0 80.0 20.0
16 Fillmore 8.7 1.5 3.3 5.7 80.8 19.2
17 Linwood 9.2 1.4 3.3 1.0 85.1 14.9
18 Wheeler 10.0 1.1 8.3 18.9 61.7 38.3
19 Madison 10.5 3.3 2.9 5.3 78.0 22.0
20.5 Hayes 10.7 0.0 4.9 3.4 81.0 19.0
20.5 Mark Twain 10.7 0.0 10.7 10.7 67.9 32.1
22 Heronville 11.0 0.7 8.2 15.4 64.7 35.3
23 Kaiser 11.9 2.3 0.5 4.0 81.3 18.7
24 Quail Creek 13.2 0.5 0.5 0.5 85.3 14.7
25 Columbus 14.9 1.3 9.5 23.5 50.8 49.2
26.4 Pierce 16.7 0.0 5.0 10.4 67.9 32.1
26.5 Sequoyah 16.7 1.2 4.4 4.4 73.3 26.7
28 Ridgeview 16.9 0.7 0.7 0.7 81.0 19.0
29 Hawthorne 17.2 8.1 9.7 12.9 52.1 47.9
30 Monroe 19.1 3.2 1.2 3.2 73.3 26.7
31 West Nichols
Hills 21.7 1,5 2.2 1.1 73.5 26.5
Rank School % Black % Oriental %
32 Westwood 22.3 0.5
33 Stand Watie 24.8 1.8
34 Johnson 27.0 0.7
35.5 Gatewood 30.7 12.1
35.5 Horace Mann 30.7 4.3
37 Stonegate 31.0 2.3
38 Putnam Heights 31.1 9.8
39.5 Eugene Field 31.3 4.7
39.5 Wilson 31.3 11.2
41 Bodine 32.7 1.9
42 Arcadia 35.6 0.0
43 Shidler 35.9 0.0
44 Britton 36.5 1.7
45 Rockwood 39.0 0.7
46 Harrison 41.6 0.7
47 Oakridge 43.5 1.5
48 Willow Brook 46.3 1.2
49 Star 54.5 0.0
Indian % Spanish % White
% Non-
White
6.8 20.9 49.5 50.5
7.7 15.0 50.7 49.3
1.3 6.5 64.5 35.5
3.7 10.5 43.0 57.0
2.7 3.2 59.1 40.9
0.6 1.6 64.5 35.5
4.0 5.1 50.0 50.0
9.8 26.5 27.7 72.3
4.6 6.6 46.3 53.7
3.2 1.4 60.8 39.2
6.9 2.8 54.7 45.3
5.9 28.9 29.3 70.7
1.7 1.7 58.4 41.6
6.6 11.1 42.6 57.4
1.3 3.9 52.5 47.5
3.0 1.5 50.5 49.5
1.2 2.7 48.6 51.4
1.2 0.3 44.0 56.0
582
Rank School % Black % Oriental %
50 Telstar 55.8 1.7
51 Edgemere 56.3 19.3
52 Western Village 60.0 3.8
53 Spencer 71.6 0.6
54 North Highland 96.3 0.9
55 Dewey 96.6 0.4
56 Lincoln 97.2 1.0
57 Parker 97.3 0.0
58 Polk 98.4 0.4
59 Truman 98.7 0.0
60.5 Creston Hills 99.0 0.0
60.5 Garden Oaks 99.0 0.5
62 Edwards 99.5 0.0
63 Longfellow 99.6 0.0
64 King 99.7 0.0
District Elementary
Students 36.0 2.3
Indian % Spanish % White
% Non-
White
3.3 2.1 37.1 62.9
2.7 6.0 15.7 84.3
0.6 0.9 34.7 65.3
1.4 0.6 25.8 74.2
0.0 0.0 2.8 97.2
0.0 0.0 3.0 97.0
0.6 0.0 1.2 98.8
0.9 0.5 1.3 98.7
0.0 0.0 1.2 98.8
0.0 0.0 1.3 98.7
0.0 0.0 1.0 99.0
0.0 0.0 0.5 99.5
0.0 0.0 0.5 99.5
0.4 0.0 0.0 100.0
0.3 0.0 0.0 100.0
4.2 6.8 50.7 49.3
583
Total Enrollment for Oklahoma City
Public Schools All Schools
Percent
Year
Black
Students
Non-Black
Students
Total
Students
Percent
Black
Change in
Non-Blacks
1970 16,256 54,833 71,089 22.9
1971 16,122 52,718 68,840 23.4 -3.9
1972 16,028 44,646 60,674 26.4 -15.3
1973 14,490 39,706 54,196 26.7 -11.1
1974 14,740 37,403 52,143 28.3 -5.8
1975 14,879 35,283 50,162 29.7 -5.7
1976 14,888 33,053 47,941 31.1 -6.3
1977 14,959 31,315 46,274 32.3 -5.3
1978 14,971 29,291 44,262 33.8 -6.5
1979 14,779 27,692 42,471 34.8 -3.6
1980 14,456 26,505 40,961 35.3 -4.3
1981 14,473 26,304 40,777 35.5 -0.8
D
EFEN
D
A
N
T'S EX
H
IBIT 67
Student Population by R
ace, 1970-1986
Year
Black
Students
Non-Black
Students
Total
Students
Percent
Black
Percent
Change in
Non-Blacks
1982 14,710 26,717 41,427 35.5 1.6
1983 14,858 25,655 40,513 36.7 -4.0
1984 15,466 24,907 40,373 38.3 -2.9
1985 15,504 24,670 40,174 38.6 - 1.0
1986 15,648 24,189 39,837 39.3 -1.9
Source: Oklahoma City Public Schools membership records.
586
Minutes, July 2, 1984 School Board Meeting
THE BOARD OF EDUCATION OF INDEPENDENT
SCHOOL DISTRICT NUMBER 89 OF OKLAHOMA
COUNTY, OKLAHOMA, MET IN A REGULAR MEET
ING IN THE BOARD ROOM, ADMINISTRATION
BUILDING, 900 NORTH KLEIN, MONDAY, JULY 2, 1984
DEFENDANT'S EXHIBIT 76
AT 7:00 P.M.
Present: Susan Hermes President
LaRue Donwerth Vice President
Jean Brody Member
Paul Heath Member
Betty Hill Member
Hugh Long Member
Clyde Muse Member
Others present: Don Wright, Superintendent;
Darrel Shepard, Clerk; Ronald Day, Attorney;
Don Ladd, Treasurer; Central Office staff mem
bers, representatives from professional groups,
the news media and other interested persons.
UNFINISHED BUSINESS
1. The first item of Unfinished Business was consider
ation to designate Bodine Elementary School as a
"stand-alone school", to include grades K, 1, 2, 3, 4,
and 5, beginning with the 1984-85 school year.
Pat Watson, Director of Planning, Research and Eval
uation, gave a brief synopsis of the written report as
587
presented to the Board, dated June 26, 1984. She
stated the report dealt with K-4 stand alone and K-5
stand alone schools. There are currently three K-4
stand alone schools in the District, Harrison, Edge-
mere, and Western Village. By board action this fiscal
year, Rockwood will also become a K-4 because the
only feeder zone was moved to another school due to
low bus ridership. The report also dealt with the
proposed 1984-85 Bodine K-4 as one option.
The second part of the report addressed K-5 stand
alone schools, which do not send students to fifth
year centers, but where students remain in their
neighborhoods. Currently, Arcadia and Horace Mann
are K-5 stand alone, and Rockwood and Bodine K-5
stand alones are options for 1984-85.
Mrs. Hill asked if and when staff would be recom
mending Rockwood as a stand alone. Dr. Wright
responded that at this point in time staff hasn't fully
considered it; but the information on Rockwood is
contained in the report.
Dr. Muse asked if Horace Mann and Arcadia were
considered stand alone based on the same criteria.
Mrs. Watson said Arcadia's stand alone status was
based on different criteria because of its isolated loca
tion; however, the racial balance was in compliance.
Horace Mann has been a stand alone K-5 since the
inception of the Finger Plan.
Continuing with the report, John Fink, Research
Associate, discussed the K-4 portion of the report as
follows:
"For Bodine to become a K-4 stand alone would
involve reassigning the feeder students from the
Creston Hills area currently attending Bodine to
Hayes. Approximately 11 students would have
to be reassigned, all of whom are black. The
reassignment of these 11 students would really
have no impact on the capacity at either Bodine
or Hayes. The Creston Hills students would
588
travel an additional two miles, but it would be
shorter time for them because of access to the
freeway. Recall that the Creston Hills students
are currently assigned to three elementary
schools. The assignment would be to Hayes and
Oakridge. No elementary and fifth year clusters
would be broken with this plan. All schools
would remain in compliance with the policy on
racial balance. There would be no transportation
savings for the district with this plan.
"Let us now consider a K-4 stand alone at Rock-
wood. Currently, fifth grade students who res
ide in the Rockwood neighborhood are assigned
to Longfellow or Page Woodson. If Rockwood
were to be made a K-5 stand alone school,
approximately 81 students would have to be
reassigned; 23 black students, 58 non-black stu
dents. There, is adequate capacity at Rockwood
to allow for these additional 80 or so students.
Two portables would be freed up at Longfellow
from this reassignment that could be used else
where. Again with this reassignment, all schools
would remain in compliance with Policy JC
regarding racial balance; i.e., no need to adjust
Longfellow or Page Woodson. Both schools
would remain in compliance, even though the
fifth grade students from the Mark Twain neigh
borhood were brought back to their stand alone
area. Approximate annual savings in transporta
tion costs to the District, $18,000.
Belinda Biscoe, Research Associate, reported on the
K-5 options:
"This will be a summary of what we talked
about at the last Board Meeting, which was the
feasibility of making Bodine a K-5 stand alone
for the next school year. The number of reas
signments would total 146 students; 49 black
students, and 97 non-black students. In terms of
capacity, Bodine would need an additional four
589
portables. The students who are currently
assigned to Bodine from the Creston Hills
neighborhood were recommended to be reas
signed to Hayes. Hayes does have adequate
capacity to accommodate those students. The
travel distance would be two miles further for
the Creston Hills students, but there is less
travel time because there is access to the free
way. Once the Bodine students are taken from
Creston Hills, Creston Hills would then be out
of compliance in terms of Policies JC and FL on
racial balance and school closing criteria. In
order to balance Creston Hills, the recommenda
tion was made to take the fifth year students in
the Mark Twain neighborhood and reassign
those students to Creston Hills. If those students
were reassigned to Creston Hills, they would be
one mile closer to their homes compared to their
current reassignment of Longfellow. Once all
these reassignments are made, all of the schools
would then be in compliance with the policy on
racial balance. In terms of savings for transpor
tation, the District would save approximately
$18,000 a year, which is the equivalent of one
bus."
There was discussion of the cost of moving portables
and demountables versus the savings in transporta
tion. Dr. Muse stated spending $20,000 to move four
portables did not represent an $18,000 savings to him.
Mrs. Watson replied the transportation savings would
be annual as opposed to a one-time expense for mov
ing the portables.
Ms. Brody asked for clarification on the number of
portables needed at Bodine before and after the new
classroom addition. After the addition is completed,
nine portables will be needed. Before the addition, if
Bodine becomes a K-5 stand alone, four classrooms
would be needed in addition to the 14 portables
already there. Dr. Wright said the plan was to use one
590
demountable, which is the equivalent of three class
rooms, and one portable. Dr. Biscoe said once the
addition is completed, nine portables would be
moved out. Dr. Wright mentioned that whether Bod-
ine is left as it is or made a K-4 or K-5, the demount
able would be needed there for the future because of
the growing population of that area.
Mrs. Watson concluded the Research Department's
report. She spoke concerning why two schools, Bod-
ine and Rockwood, were being considered for K-4 or
K-5 stand alone status as follows:
"Our charge was to look at the entire district for
schools that could qualify as stand alone K-4 or
K-5. As we looked at all the schools in the
District, these two popped out for these reasons:
Low ridership in the Rockwood area was a rea
son for establishing a K-4. The Board took that
action, so we have eliminated having just a few
students on a bus being the only feeder zone
into Rockwood. At Bodine, the overcrowding
has been an issue and it is currently racially
balanced. Eleven students are not going to make
a large difference, but it would somewhat
relieve the overcrowding.
"As we look at K-5 schools, these two schools
also pop out again because they are in inte
grated neighborhoods and they are farther from
fifth year centers than other schools that we
looked at. The transportation, because of their
distance, is an issue of students' time on the bus
as well as cost. The reassignment of fifth graders
would not seriously impact the fifth year centers
that these students are assigned to."
Jesse Lindley, Assistant Superintendent for Educa
tional Services, then presented a report on compari
son of the instructional programs at Horace Mann
(stand alone K-5) and Polk Fifth Year Center as fol
lows:
591
"Basically, there are differences between the two
programs in that you have more students in a
grade at Polk than you do at Horace Mann.
There are some things you can do when you
have more students in a grade than you can
when you have just one class. We have one and
a fraction classes of fifth grades at Horace
Mann.
"In summarizing the differences, we do have a
Chapter I Lab at Polk, which we don't have at
Horace Mann, but that's because Horace Mann
doesn't qualify for Chapter I services. We do
have a visual arts program in all the fifth year
centers. We have not been providing that at the
stand alone school. This year, it was provided
because there was some free time available on
the schedule of the artist-in-residence. Both
schools have the vocal music programs. Polk has
a string program, which Horace Mann does not.
(The string program) is the special feature of the
5th year centers.
"Another feature of the fifth year centers pro
gram which is available at Polk and which is not
available at Horace Mann, is the special interest
sessions. In the special interest sessions, stu
dents are spread out over a number of interests
that they may have; typing, creative writing,
newspaper - whatever the students are inter
ested in. They spend approximately 50 minutes
per week pursuing that special interest."
"Both Horace Mann students and Polk students
have the career awareness program. Both have
Opening Doors programs. Both have the physi
cal education program. With regard to an intra
mural program, Polk does have an intramural
program that Horace Mann does not, and that's
primarily a function of the number of students
available, which makes it possible to have an
intramural program at Polk. There are such few
592
students at Horace Mann in the fifth grade that
you can't very well have an intramural pro
gram."
In response to questions from Dr. Heath and Mrs.
Donwerth, Mrs. Watson stated there were 55 fifth
year students at Horace Mann, 293 at Polk, nine at
Arcadia; and that there has been no study done com
paring the test scores of the Polk and Horace Mann
fifth graders.
Mrs. Hermes asked what, if any, of the fifth year
programs would be at Bodine if it became a K-5 stand
alone. Dr. Lindley said staff would not recommend
that the visual arts program or the strings program be
instituted at Bodine. He said having an intramural
program would depend on whether there were
enough students in the fifth grade and whether the
principal and staff there wanted to sponsor it. He said
the special interest sessions would be somewhat
dependent upon the school staff and whether they
were willing to assume the responsibility for it.
Mrs. Donwerth asked what the rationale was for not
including the visual arts or strings programs at Bod
ine. Dr. Lindley stated that when the fifth year centers
were established, they were made unique in order to
provide something that was not available in other
schools. He said over the years there has been a push
to provide some of those things at the other schools,
for example, physical education and vocal music. He
said it was the Board's prerogative to change that
direction if they saw fit.
Mrs. Donwerth said she had a problem with punish
ing a group of students because they are in a natu
rally integrated neighborhood by not providing some
of the programs contained in the fifth year centers;
however she did think some type of uniqueness
should be maintained in the fifth year centers.
Mr. Long made a statement concerning the special
fifth year centers programs. He felt all fifth grade
593
students should receive the services that those in fifth
year centers do, and that it was unfair to the students
at Horace Mann right now that they do not.
Ms. Brody asked what the original rational was for
keeping Horace Mann a K-5 school in the original
court order. Mrs. Watson responded with a brief his
tory as follows: "In 1972 there were 11 schools that
were allowed by the court to remain K-5 neighbor
hood schools based on the spring projections. How
ever, three of those, including Arcadia, started the
school year exceeding the black/other ratio that was
anticipated. In 1974, Nichols Hills was made a K-4; it
was an original K-5. North Highlands was changed
from a K-5 to a fifth year center. Overcrowding at
Edgemere caused it to drop off the list, becoming a
K-4 in 78-79. In 1980-81, looking at the racial balance
in all the schools, all the schools dropped off except
Arcadia by reason of location, and Horace Mann by
reason of natural integration. Horace Mann was one
neighborhood that was naturally integrated, and it
was a board member's recommendation to keep it as
a K-5. At that time, the long range planning commit
tee had spoken to discontinuing K-5's, but that was
not a unanimous decision, and the Board decided to
leave Horace Mann as a K-5."
Hearings
The following persons addressed the Board concern
ing the recommendation to designate Bodine Elemen
tary School a K-5 stand alone for 1984-85:
1. Jerry Ellington, representing neighborhood watch
association and surrounding Bodine neighbor
hood
2. Don Johnson, Patron
3. Leonard Benton, Urban League of Greater Okla
homa City
4. Pat Musgrave, Patron
594
Mr. Ellington spoke in opposition to busing and in
support of the recommendation to designate Bodine a
stand alone K-5. He presented the Board with a peti
tion signed by approximately 337 patrons who sup
ported the recommendation.
Mr. Johnson stated he believed the Finger Plan was
working; and felt a comprehensive study should be
conducted and a plan developed to effect a smooth
transition before Bodine is to become a stand alone
school.
Mr. Benton expressed concern that if a trend toward
K-5 stand alone schools continued, the northeast
quadrant would see more and more fifth year centers
close. Fie said alternatives should be explored,
including re-establishment of elementary schools in
the northeast quadrant that would have the chance to
become stand alone.
Ms. Musgrave said she though it was time the District
started looking at solutions to Bodine's problems.
Mrs. Donwerth made the motion, seconded by Mr.
Long, to designate Bodine Elementary School as a
stand alone K-5 school beginning with the 1984-85
school year.
Dr. Heath then moved that the motion be amended to
reflect that Bodine Elementary School be designated a
stand alone K-4 school beginning the 1984-85 school
year. The motion was seconded by Dr. Muse.
Prior to voting on the amended motion, Board mem
bers made the following (edited) statements:
(Dr. Muse) "There are at least four things that I think
ought to be considered as we think about moving to
the posture of stand alone schools in our community.
As it relates to the Bodine situation, I would suggest
to you that the proposal as it presently stands is
educationally unsound. Don Johnson spoke to one of
the primary deficiencies in the program in that you're
moving from a 558 member student body to a 784
595
member student body. What Don Johnson did not
suggest or add is that this transition is taking place
while you are at the same time installing a new prin
cipal. We're moving from 14 portables to 18, and
when the new $1 million addition is completed, we
will still need 9 portables.
"While we are talking about only 11 students, these
11 students are human beings. They have formed
acquaintances and alliances at their present educa
tional site. Can we move them just as we would
pawns, chips, inanimate objections? Is it just a matter
of two and a half miles further, or does it involve the
warm blooded innocent black children who are
manipulated needlessly? As we think about the one-
room school as we talk about portables, we need to
keep in mind that there is a lot of folklore about the
one-room school; but it did not include the demount
able or the portable. When we lauded the one-room
school, we were talking about something that was in
the infancy of our nation.
"Fiscally, I think the recommendation is irresponsible.
We're talking about $18,000, which is not, in fact,
$18,000. Though day you may eliminate one bus,
you're going to have to extend the use of another bus,
and thoses buses don't run on air. You need to actu
ally evaluate the actual amount of fuel and all that's
involved before you can assess what the actual sav
ings would be, even though you take one bus off. But
then when you take into account that you must put in
one demountable at $25,000 or four portables at
$5,000 each, that, to me, does not sound like good
fiscal management.
(Dr. Muse, cont'd) "Another problem with this whole
proposal is it reeks with injustice. There is no equity
in treatment as far as the students themselves are
concerned. Mr. Benton has already spoken to the fact
that the Finger Plan in its inception required all black
kids, grades one through four, to be bused into the
majority community. That fact alone stifles the
596
growth of the Northeast Quadrant. What parent with
a pre-school child, who is aware that his child is
going to have to be bused, would buy a home in that
location?
"As you think about the overall program, it seems
like it was a deliberate, concerted effort to deal injus
tice upon our community - and that's not enough, it
seems. At every opportunity that comes along, one
more stroke to further impoverish the Northeast
Quadrant is taken, and I refer as a case in point to the
recent decision to move the Cowboy Hall of Fame. So
there seems to be a deliberate, concerted effort to see
to it that not only will the black community or the
Northeast Quadrant not integrate, there also seems to
be a concerted effort on somebody's part to see that it
always remains impoverished. Grade five kids were
to be bused into the Northeast Quadrant, and then
after that, into the middle schools and high schools
which are scattered throughout the district. If we take
out the 104 students out that are currently going to
Creston Hills, that brings that school, with the 55 or
whatever the number is that's going to be bused in,
down to 188 fifth grade students. If the kindergarten
program fluctuates or falters, Creston Hills gets on
the closing list. And what's true of Creston Hills is
true of Dewey, it's true of Garden Oaks, it's true of
about 6 of the 13 fifth year centers that exist right
now in the Northeast Quadrant. I suggest to you that
that is simply not justice.
"The final thing that I think we need to consider
relates to No. 7 of our Board Goals. We said that we
want to be careful to institute programs that have
human relations and public relations value. If by
"human" we mean all humans, and if by "public" we
mean all of the public, then we need to recognize that
this recommendation is a human relations and public
relations disaster because it does not promote good
feelings for the school district in the black commu
nity. I think that what we really ought to do is have a
study that tells us how far we've come. It ought to
597
take into account demographic information, all of the
kinds of projections that we are so capable of gather
ing; a concerted, planned, strategy-developed, step-
by-step (plan), followed to enhance educational offer
ings for all of the students in all of this district; I do
not believe that we ought to piecemeal it and place
this district in the posture of having to react rather
than act, and that's exactly what we're doing if we
pass this recommendation because it is just a matter
of time before the pressure begins to mount and you
will have to move some more schools into the stand
alone posture."
(Mrs. Donwerth) "I understand where Dr. Muse is
coming from; my concern is we hear a lot about the
black community and what their thoughts are on this.
I'm curious to know if that is a geographical area
when we refer to the black community or if are we
referring to the black population. I really feel like
we're talking about moving only 11 students versus
104 students including many black students. I think
the $18,000 is the yearly cost savings (of bus transpor
tation). I don't think these parents and these students
should be punished because of the overcrowding at
Bodine. They had nothing to do with the fact that we
don't have the money to build them a gigantic school
to house their children in - I'm sure they'd love that. I
was thrilled that we were able to get through a mil
lion dollar addition (at Bodine).
"I've been in the school system for several years. To
me, the court order was designated because there
were inadequacies and inequities in education
throughout Oklahoma City. Our children have had to
pay the price for that - for what the adults did. Our
kids have had to suffer the ills of society. I would
suggest that we can no longer be considered about
geographical areas; we have to be concerned about
kids in this district, and what is best for (all of the)
kids. I feel like that's what the court order (Mrs.
Donwerth, cont'd) was all about. I think we should
celebrate the fact that this community has integrated
598
naturally. I feel like its a slap in the face to those of us
who have stayed with the District and not moved out
to other areas and have tried to raise our kids in
Oklahoma City schools, and there are many of us that
have done that and worked to help build the school
system because we believed right was right and
wrong was wrong. I don't think two wrongs make a
right, and that is why I am excited about the Bodine
School.
"Dr. Muse alluded to Creston Hills and placing them
on the closing criteria. With the plan the staff has
provided for us, this would not come about. They
would receive students from another area that would
keep them above the closing criteria. That is why I am
encouraging the Board Members to support this
move."
(Dr. Heath) "I would like to discourage the passing of
the original motion for educational reasons. To me,
after looking at the criteria and the information that
the staff has prepared, I, frankly, have changed my
mind in terms of what is educationally best for the
district as a whole. I can't support the motion for K-5;
obviously, I can support the concept K-4 because it is,
I think , in the long run meeting the Board's goals and
educational needs of the community. I think it will
cost considerably more to go to K-5. I think it will
impact the total district in a way that the District is
not ready to address. I don't feel staff is really ready
to address it, and I don't think this Board is really
ready to address the ultimate impact of starting down
a road when we really don't know where the road
leads. I want to encourage those of you who don't
have your mind made up to consider my amended
motion K-4 instead of K-5 for educational reasons."
(Ms. Brody) "I've been in this school system 18 years,
and this is the first time I've sat in this auditorium,
either as a Board member or a patron, when we
discussed changing of transportation plans and
school assignments, and I would like to compliment
599
the people in the auditorium on their effect. I think
it's a sign of growth of this system. I'm kind of proud
of all of you. It's (like) we've grown up together.
"I'm at a real dilemma. Dr. Ellington talked about the
fifth year center and the lack of continuity. 1 rarely
will bring up experiences, but my children all went to
the fifth year centers and I think they are extraordi
narily fine. They went the first year, the third year,
and the sixth year of the Finger Plan, and we all
learned together. But I also represent a district that
has stand alone schools. I have Arcadia, which is
unique, and I have two elementary schools, K-4, that
are stand alone. Mr. Long and I both have students at
John Marshall, which is a stand alone high school.
Frankly, we are very proud of that and the neighbor
hoods and what that has represented and the growth
in the Northeast Quadrant.
"I have a problem with the diminution of the fifth
year centers because I am - a strong advocate of
them. I would not ever again want to sit here and
decide to create another fifth year center until we
have done a long, comprehensive plan. I would like
to see if it's possible to put a K-5 school in the
Northeast Quadrant. We've never really looked at
that very hard, but I think that certainly we should
look at that. I especially think a comprehensive look
needs to be taken at where we are as far as demo
graphics and things like that. I don't think we should
ever again create a K-5 stand alone school until we've
done that.
"I'm concerned that during the Rockwood discussion
I kept hearing about Mark Twain students. 'Stand
alone' is 'stand alone'. I have come a long way in the
consideration of Bodine Elementary, and it has not
been easy. I think that's why I appreciate (the parents)
affect up here today, and I will support the K through
5 concept at Bodine, but it's the last time until we go a
comprehensive study. I do want a comprehensive
study looking at the Northeast Quadrant."
600
(Mrs. Hill) "I find myself in a big dilemma, having
been on the Board as long as I have. I have probably
spent more hours than most Board members, espe
cially with Clyde and LaRue, as we've debated this
back and forth. I'll probably go back to my original
concept. If you'll all remember, the original purpose
of the Finger Plan called for the integration of neigh
borhoods and allowed for additional stand alone
schools. I've lost some in my area, and as we've
talked about Rockwood tonight, which is in my area,
I'm really disturbed to think that staff and the Super
intendent would recommend Bodine and not both
Bodine and Rockwell. I see this as a very peicemeal
[sic] way of doing things, and I don't think this board
does things in a piecemeal fashion.
"I then have to look at the other side of the coin and
ask if I should penalize the parents from Bodine
because they have reached the status of a K-5 inte
grated neighborhood. I do believe that if we are going
to have K-5 schools they must be for everyone - we
cannot just pick and choose. This, of course, would
give us basically two K-5 schools. I think I'm hearing
the Board say Rockwood is not gong to make it, and
this is sad. I guess I've always believed in stand alone
schools, so that's probably where I'm coming from,
but I really am disappointed that we're going to have
to piecemeal it. I, too, think this board needs to do a
study so that we can look at some other alternatives
to see what will best benefit the kids in Oklahoma
City. I'm hoping that maybe that is where we will end
up."
Voting on the amended motion, on roll call the votes
were as follows: Ms. Brody, no; Mr. Long, no; Mrs.
Hill, no; Mrs. Donwerth, no; Dr. Muse, aye; Dr.
Heath, aye; Mrs. Hermes, aye. Three aye, four no.
Mrs. Hermes declared the motion failed.
On roll call for the original motion, the votes were as
follows: Ms. Brody, aye; Mr. Long, aye; Mrs. Hill, aye;
Mrs. Donwerth, aye; Dr. Muse, no; Dr. Heath, no;
601
Mrs. Hermes, no. Four aye, three no. Mrs. Hermes
declared the motion carried.
Mrs. Hermes passed the gavel to Mrs. Donwerth, Vice
President, and made the following motion:
"I move that we begin a study right now on the
racial progress in the 1-89 school district, and
ask the committee to bring back to the Board its
recommendations next year. I think that this
Board needs to look at that at the same time we
look at potential school closings."
The motion was seconded by Ms. Brody, and is for
action at the next regular Board Meeting, July 16,
1984.
Dr. Muse made the following motion, for action July
16, 1984:
"I move that we also make Lincoln a stand alone
K-5 school."
The motion was seconded by Ms. Brody.
Mrs. Hill then made the following motion, for action
July 16, 1984:
"I move that we consider Rockwood as a stand
alone K-5 because it does not involve moving
any students."
The motion was seconded by Mrs. Donwerth.
602
DEFENDANT'S EXHIBIT 79
Minutes, November 19, 1984 School Board Meeting
THE BOARD OF EDUCATION OF INDEPENDENT
SCHOOL DISTRICT NUMBER 89 OF OKLAHOMA
COUNTY, OKLAHOMA, MET IN A REGULAR MEET
ING IN THE BOARD ROOM, ADMINISTRATION
BUILDING, 900 NORTH KLEIN, MONDAY, NOVEMBER
19, 1984 AT 7:00 P.M.
PRESENT: Susan Hermes President
LaRue Donwerth
Jean Brody
Paul Heath
Betty Hill
Hugh Long
Clyde Muse
Vice President
Member
Member
Member
Member
Member
Others present: Don Wright, Superintendent; Darrel
Shepard, Clerk; Ron Day, Attorney, Central Office staff
members, representative from professional groups, the
news media and other interested persons.
* * *
Special Report - Board Committee Report on Student
Assignment
With Mrs. Donwerth presiding, Dr. Muse, Mrs. Hermes,
and Mrs. Hill presented their report as follows:
(Dr. Muse) "In July of 1984, we as members of
the Oklahoma City School Board charged our
selves with the responsibility of studying the
1-89 elementary K-5 grade schools. We investi
gated elementary grade schools with regard to
603
neighborhood racial makeup, potential busing
reduction, possible boundary changes, and pos
sible grade realignments. Although many
options were explored, we will first present the
one that was most feasible. Other options will
be discussed briefly at the end of our report.
"Our purpose in undertaking this study was
multi-faceted. First, we wanted to know if we
could maintain a unitary school system. Second,
we wanted to establish K-4 schools in the north
east section of the district where there are none
currently. Third, we wanted to look at the effects
of creating more K-5 stand-alone schools.
Fourth, we wanted to maintain K-4 neighbor
hood schools with stability. Fifth, we wanted to
increase pride and parental involvement in all
out schools. And last, but of utmost importance
to our board, we wanted to continue to be an
integrated school district in an urban setting.
(Mrs. Hermes) "Now let's look at the specifics of
this plan. At the elementary level, the plan calls
for K-4 neighborhood schools throughout the
district. Please note pages 5 and 6 of your book
lets, titled Proposed Student Assignment Plan.
On the overhead, all the schools shown would
become neighborhood K-4 schools. Please note
that under this plan, all of the fifth year centers,
which are in the Northeast Quadrant, would
become K-4 neighborhood schools. In addition,
all of the current K-5 schools, Arcadia, Bodine,
and Horace Mann, would become K-4 neighbor
hood schools.
"In arriving at a plan for fifth year centers, we
divided the district into four sections. We will
be referring to these sections as number 1, 2, 3,
and 4. Note that Arcadia is in section 2. Our
plan calls for one fifth year center in sections 1,
2, and 3, with two fifth year centers in section 4
where there are many more students.
604
"In section 1, Green Pastures is recommended as
the fifth year center for the Star Spencer area.
All the students currently at Parker would be
reassigned to Green Pastures, as Parker would
become a K-4 neighborhood school under this
plan. K-4 students in the Green Pastures atten
dance area would all be reassigned to Spencer
Elementary. Green Pastures was selected pri
marily for reasons of centrality.
"Eisenhower is the recommended fifth year cen
ter for section 2. Eisenhower was chosen in pref
erence to Hoover because we felt it would be
better to transport the majority of students at
the fifth year level for one year as opposed to
three years of busing for middle school.
"Classen is the recommended fifth year center
in section 3. The Classen High School age popu
lation is not currently nor in the future pre
dicted to be large enough to support as
comprehensive a program as can be offered to a
larger student body. Therefore, we felt that the
facility could better be utilized as a fifth year
center. In addition, the Classen building is desir
able as a fifth year center location with reduced
transportation and more space.
"Two fifth year centers are recommended in sec
tion 4 since there are many more fifth year stu
dents in this area. We propose converting both
Capital Hill Middle and Webster Middle into
fifth year centers. Capital Hill Middle is pro
posed because it has the space, a swimming
pool, large auditorium, and a location that can
allow us to reduce transportation for more stu
dents.
"Webster is proposed as the second fifth year
center site since its location is also excellent for
reducing travel and housing the types of pro
grams needed for fifth graders. There is also
space at this site to build a pool."
605
(Mrs. Hill) "Since this proposed plan relocates
students at a few middle schools and high
schools, the next part of our report addresses
the impact of these proposed recommendations
at the middle school and high school levels.
Let's first attend to the impact of the proposed
plan at the middle school level.
"If both Webster and Capital Hill Middle
become fifth year centers, students from these
schools would have to be reassigned among the
current middle schools in the southern part of
the district, Jackson, Jefferson, and Roosevelt.
Since the remaining middle schools could not
totally absorb all the students from Capitol Hill
Middle School and Webster, a new middle
school would have to be created, Southeast High
School was the logical choice since it was origi
nally designed to be a junior high school, but
has housed high school students. It is large
enough to accommodate a large number of mid
dle school students and is in a strategic location
to reduce transportation. As a result of not
wanting to adversely impact any one middle
school's enrollment or black/other ratio, dis
placed students from Capital Hill Middle School
and Webster Middle School would be reassigned
among all middle schools in the south. All mid
dle schools would remain racially balanced
under this plan.
"Now let's focus on the high school assign
ments. Under the proposed plan, Classen High
School would be converted into a fifth year cen
ter, and Southeast High School would be con
verted into a middle school. The attendance
areas and zones assigned to Classen and South
east High School can be absorbed at Grant, Cap
itol Hill High, Douglass, Northeast, and
Northwest Classen. All of the high schools
would continue to be racially balanced.
606
"We feel that there are many benefits to this
proposed plan, not only for our students and
parents, but also for the community at large.
The implementation of this plan will provide
neighborhood schools, K-4, establish fifth year
centers in all areas, reduce busing, improve pro
grams, increase parents' participation, and
increase community involvement and support.
"There were other options explored that seemed
less desirable. We will briefly discuss these. One
alternative would establish K-5 or K-6 neighbor
hood schools. One major drawback to either
plan is building capacity. More programs are
being offered to meet the special needs of stu
dents than in past years. We do not have the
facilities to house K-5 or K-6 at many of our
elementary schools, much less allow for any
growth in the student population, and many
would have to close due to low enrollment.
Further the Board feels that the fifth grade is the
latest point in a student's education where inte
gration needs to occur for us to have a positive
inter-racial climate in a unified, desegregated
district. The Board is also committed to the fifth
year concept where we could offer a unique and
comprehensive educational program for stu
dents.
"Another option would be for us to continue
with our present policy and as neighborhoods
become more integrated, convert K-4 schools to
K-5 neighborhood schools. This option would
continue to call for students at K-4 schools to
attend fifth year centers in the Northeast Quad
rant of the district and would not allow for
residents in the Northeast Quadrant to have
neighborhood schools."
(Dr. Muse) "In closing our report, let me reite
rate that the Board's plan for elementary stu
dents establishes K-4 neighborhood schools in
607
all areas of the district with five fifth year cen
ters also located in all sections of the district. We
feel that this plan maintains a unified and
desegregated schools district, yet allows for
reduced busing, improved educational pro
grams, increased opportunity for parental
involvement, and increased community involve
ment and support."
Dr. Muse then made a motion that the Board of Education
vote on the three options presented by the Board Com
mittee on December 17, 1984. In the meantime, meetings
would be held across the district to inform the public.
The motion was seconded by Dr. Heath. On roll call the
votes were as follows: Ms. Brody, aye; Mr. Long, aye; Mrs.
Hill, aye; Mrs. Donwerth, aye; Dr. Muse, aye; Dr. Heath,
aye; Mrs. Hermes, aye. All aye.
Mrs. Donwerth stated the plan was the committee's pro
posal, not necessarily that of the full board.
Ms. Brody commented that the Board and Administration
would have to be very sensitive to the feelings of stu
dents and patrons as they met with the community to
discuss the plan. She also said when the agreement (with
the teachers) was negotiated it was done so without the
knowledge that schools might be changed around. She
wanted to know how the contract would affect transfers
of teachers as well as classified personnel should the plan
be implemented. Ms. Brody addressed the group from
Southeast High School and stated she knew it had been
traumatic for them as they learned of the proposed plan.
Dr. Heath suggested one way of disseminating accurate
information to the community about the plan would be to
have a "phone bank" set up and staffed by qualified
608
persons. Mrs. Hermes responded that it was already
being arranged.
Mrs. Hermes remarked that the Board Committee had
spent many hours since the committee was formed in July
working with the Research Department, looking at all the
options. She said she knew change was painful; that this
was the best plan the committee could come up with that
would continue an integrated system while allowing
more neighborhood schools and reduced busing. She
encouraged the patrons and students to attend the "town
meetings" scheduled for November 26 and 27, 1984. She
announced that a Special Meeting was scheduled for
December 10, 1984 for public hearings prior to the
Board's voting on the three options on December 17,
1984.
Mrs. Donwerth said she believed the concept of the plan
was good; however, she was concerned about the stu
dents, patrons and teachers of Southeast High School. She
thought there were a lot of questions that had not been
answered yet, but that the Board was trying to look at the
overall good of the district. She said board members
would work with the community and spend as much
time with them as possible.
Dr. Heath also pointed out that the committee had stud
ied the plans very carefully, but invited anyone with an
alternate plan to present it to the Board.
* * *
DEFENDANT'S EXHIBIT 108
Majority-To-Minority Transfers
May 6, 1987
OKLAHOMA CITY PUBLIC SCHOOLS
TRANSFER DATA
Table 1
One-year Kindergarten Option
(Computer code "M01")
609
Year Grade # Black # Other Total
1984-85 K 38 60 98
1986-87 K 36 40 76
TOTALS 74 100 174
Table 2
Majority to Minority Transfer Option, 1985-86
(Computer Codes "NOl," "N 02," and "N 03")
Year Grade # Black # Other Total
1985-86 K 14 4 18
1 54 4 58
2 96 2 98
3 73 5 78
4 76 4 80
TOTALS 313 19 332
610
Table 3
Majority to Minority Transfer Option, 1986-87
(Computer Codes "NOl," "N 02," and "N 03")
Year Grade # Black # Other Total
1986-87 K 4 2 6
1 17 2 19
2 38 3 41
3 61 4 65
4 46 4 50
TOTALS 166 15 181
Source: Oklahoma City Public Schools computer files,
1984-85, 1985-86, 1986-87
611
i
DEFENDANT'S EXHIBIT 119
Extracurricular Activities Report - High Schools
OKLAHOMA CITY PUBLIC SCHOOLS
HIGH SCHOOLS
EXTRACURRICULAR ACTIVITIES REPORT
Non-Black
1976-77
Black % Black Non-Black
1986-87
Black & Black
1 . Cheerleaders 50 27 35.1 62 44 41.5
2. Student Council Members 285 146 33.9 143 123 46.2
3, Student Council Officers 36 19 34.5 33 28 45.9
4. Band Members 463 269 36.7 213 267 55.6
5. Pep Club 1010 221 17.9 58 58 50.0
6. Pep Club Officers 76 12 13.6 7 13 65.0
7. Freshman Class Officers 18 13 41.9 26 19 42.2
8. Sophomore Class Officers 22 12 35.3 25 9 26.5
9. Junior Class Officers 28 19 40.4 15 21 58.3
10, Senior Class Officers
Athletics
26 20 43.5 22 32 59.3
11. Football 510 336 39.7 110 191 63.5
12. Football 9th — — - - - -
13. Boys Basketball 96 258 72.9 26 233 89.9
14. Girls Basketball 98 105 51.7 22 175 88.8
15. Wrestling 158 36 18.6 90 105 53.9
16. Cross Country 88 25 22.1 70 64 47.8
17. Boys Track 75 100 57.1 21 112 84.2
18. Girls Track 47 96 67.1 26 135 83.9
19. Boys Tennis 152 10 6.2 73 9 10.9
20. Girls Tennis 109 13 10.7 109 4 3.5
21. Swimming 151 17 10.1 130 5 3.7
22. Golf 96 5 4.9 86 8 8.5
23. Gymnastics 170 331 66.1 - - -
24. Baseball 147 61 29.3 162 62 27.7
25. Softball 130 62 32.3 75 109 38.4
TOTAL DISTRICT 4041 2213 35.4 1604 1826 53.2
ENROLLMENT
IRS
5/4/87
9897 4880 33.0 5773 4501 43.8
612
DEFENDANT'S EXHIBIT 120
Extracurricular Activities Report - Middle Schools
OKLAHOMA CITY PUBLIC SCHOOLS
MIDDLE SCHOOLS
EXTRACURRICULAR ACTIVITIES REPORT
1976-77 1986-87
Non-Black Black % Black Non-Black Black & Black
1 . Cheerleaders 42 8 16.0 77 24 23.8
2. Student Council Members 157 103 39.6 150 116 43.6
3. Student Council Officers 2 2 50.0 16 22 57.9
4. Band Members 879 295 25.1 370 234 38.7
5. Pep Club 0 0 — 114 84 42.4
6. Pep Club Officers 0 0 - 7 1 12.5
Other Activities
7. Volley Ball 45 60 57.1 63 89 58.6
8. Wrestling 115 61 34.7 110 76 40.9
9. Advanced Orchestra 18 5 21.7 114 36 24.0
10. Intermediate Orchestra 21 12 36.4 104 22 17.5
11. Advanced Band 48 38 44.2 280 197 41.3
12. Beginning Band 442 36 46.2 239 162 40.4
13. Boys Basketball 6 24 80.0 39 121 75.6
14. Girls Basketball 23 29 55.8 38 102 72.9
TOTAL DISTRICT 1398 673 33.4 1721 1286 42.8
ENROLLMENT 7252 3586 33.1 4914 3299 40.2
IRS
5/4/87
613
DEFENDANT'S EXHIBIT 140
Parental Organization Statistics
PARENTAL ORGANIZATIONS AND ACTIVITIES* **
OKLAHOMA CITY PUBLIC SCHOOLS
1984-85 1985-86 1986-87
Numbers of
Schools with
Parent-Teacher
Associations 15 28 42:
PTA Membership 1,377 2,476 3,358
Open House
Attendance at
Elementary
Schools 11,478 15,231 16,645
Parent/Teacher
Conference Day
Attendance 11,250 14,025 14,995
*Source: State PTA Membership Records (attached); School
District Records.
**After state PTA membership data was submitted, PTA units
formed at 5 more schools bringing the total number of PTA
units to 47 as of May 5, 1987. The membership in these 5 PTA
units is 132. In addition to the 47 PTA units, 21 other schools in
1986-87 have Parent-Teacher Organizations (PTO's) with a
membership of 1,571.
614
DEFENDANT'S EXHIBIT 142
Adopt-A-School Statistics
Adopt-A-School Program*
Oklahoma City
1984-85
Numbers of
System-Wide
Adopting
Public Schools
1985-86 1986-87
Organizations
Number of
Adopting
1 16 21
Organizations
(Number of
53 369 349**
Adoptions) (111) (378) (522)
Elementary
Fifth Grade
16 137 239
Centers 4 26 17
Middle Schools 4 140 48
High Schools 26 33 27
Special Centers 3 33 18
615
Value of Donated Services and Materials
Adopt-A-School Data Not
as shown on Main-
p. 19, tained
Statistical
Profile
American
Institute
of Architects
reported this
amount after
publication of
Statistical Profile
Total
Current
Estimate
$1,213,064 $1,000,000* ** ***
467,916
$1,681,000
*Source: 1985-86 Statistical Profile; Current School District
Records
**American Institute of Architects (AIA) decreased actual
number of architects involved in Adopt-A-School from 1985-86
to 1986-87 but increased number of projects from 1 to 5
***Final figures for the 1986-87 school year are yet to be com
piled.
%
t