Plaintiffs' Request for Admissions

    MOLLER, HORTON & FINEBERG, P. C. 
ATTORNEYS AT LAW 

90 GILLETT STREET 

HARTFORD, CONNECTICUT 06105 

  

WILLIAM R. MOLLERA TELEPHONE 
WESLEY W. HORTON (203) 522-8338 

DAVID L. FINEBERG® TELECOPIER 

CHARLES M. RICE, JR. (203) 728-0401 

ALEXANDRA DAVIS 

ROBERT M. SHIELDS, JR. 
SUSAN M. CORMIER September 20, 1990 
KIMBERLY A. KNOX 

JEFFREY A. HOBERMAN 

*ALSO ADMITTED IN FLORIDA 

AALSO ADMITTED IN DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA 

Honorable Harry Hammer 
P.O. Box 325 
Rockville, CT 06066 

Re: Sheff v. O'Neill 

Dear Judge Hammer: 

Enclosed is a copy of document served on the defendants today. 

Very truly yours, 

Wesley W. Horton 

WWH:jt 
cc: John R. Whelan, Esq. 

Diane Woodfield-Whitney, Esq. 
Wilfred Rodriguez, Esq. 
Helen Hershkoff, Esq. 
Adam S. Cohen, Esq. 
Marianne Lado, Esq. 

Ronald Ellis, Esq. 
Philip Tegeler, Esq. 
Jenny Rivera, Esq. 
Martha Stone, Esq. 
Professor John R. Brittain 

 



  

Cv89-0360977S 

MILO SHEFF, ET AL 

VS. 

WILLIAM A. O/NEILL, ET AL 

PLAINTIFFS’ REQUEST FOR ADMISSIONS 

SUPERIOR COURT 

JUDICIAL DISTRICT OF HARTFORD/ 

NEW BRITAIN AT HARTFORD 

SEPTEMBER 20, 1990 

  

of service of this request. 

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32 Grand Street, Hartford, CT 

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You are requested pursuant to §§237 et seq. of the Connecticut 

Practice Book to admit the truth of the following matters within 30 days 

Service shall be made at the office of the 

Plaintiffs’ counsel, The Connecticut Civil Liberties Union Foundation, 

06106. 

l. Although blacks comprise only 12.1% of Connecticut’s 

school-age population, Hispanics only 8.5%, and children in families 

below the United States Department of Agriculture’s official "poverty 

line" only 9.7% in 1986, these groups comprised, as of 1987-88, 44.9%, 

44.9% and 51.4% respectively of the school-age population of the 

Hartford school district. The percentage of black and Hispanic 

(hereafter "minority") students enrolled in the Hartford City schools 

has been increasing since 1981 at an average annual rate of 1.5%. 

  
RL A TR SO I TA TR SN SAN TI TRY RG AA YT RE LS Sh PT Ba TT I 2 

 



  

2. Hartford schoolchildren, on average, perform at levels 

significantly below suburban schoolchildren on statewide Mastery Tests. 

For example, in 1988, 34% (or 1 in 3) of all suburban sixth graders 

score at or above the "mastery benchmark" for reading, yet only 4% (or 1 

in 25) of Hartford schoolchildren meet that standard. While 74% of all 

suburban sixth graders exceed the remedial benchmark on the test of 

reading skills, no more than 41% of Hartford schoolchildren meet this 

test of "essential grade-level skills." In other words, fifty-nine 

percent of Hartford sixth graders are reading below the State remedial 

level. 

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3. Improved integration of children by race, ethnicity and 

economic status is likely to have positive social benefits. 

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4. Improved integration of children by race, ethnicity and 

economic status is likely to have positive educational benefits.       
ta i ” ATI - LEE Ph I ok pr ia pre oh RT WT, oa EET es oy: TASTES TA LDR TYR SY TN TARTS, TRE MA oy NY LOPS RW Xe A ST Tp AR a CN, aN Pa SO mp XT A NT NE A Te Rhee pex x 

 



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5. In 1956, the Hartford Board of Education and the City Council 

hired educational consultants from the Harvard School of Education who 

concluded: (i) that low educational achievement in the Hartford schools 

was closely correlated with a high level of poverty among the student 

population; (ii) that racial and ethnic segregation caused educational 

damage to minority children; and (iii) that a plan should be adopted, 

with substantial redistricting and interdistrict transfers funded by the 

State, to place poor and minority children in suburban schools. The 

defendants or their predecessors were made aware of these conclusions in 

or about 1965. 

6. Neither the defendants nor their predecessors recommended that 

the Legislature adopt legislation to invest the State Board of Education 

with the authority to direct full integration of local schools. 

- a CEE 1 —_— ei ie " MY ARTERY LA AS A SpA TT We OTN SE ARE en CR PE ET SRE I SRT Re A RT A Ea Ra TT Sy Ta ET 4 0 BEE A Se a 3 Ry Ty ST a FR TIE pw SR FB ST SA Pani 
AE a 

  

 



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cho do       

7. In 1966, the Committee of Greater Hartford Superintendents 

proposed to seek a federal grant to fund a regional educational advisory 

board and various regional programs, one of whose chief aims would be 

the elimination of school segregation within the metropolitan region. 

8. In 1969, the Superintendent of the Hartford School District 

called for a massive expansion of "Project Concern," a pilot program 

begun in 1967 which bused several hundred black and Hispanic children 

from Hartford to adjacent suburban schools. The Superintendent argued 

that without a program involving some 5000 students -- one quarter of 

Hartford’s minority student population -- the City of Hartford could 

neither stop white citizens from fleeing Hartford to suburban schools 

nor provide quality education for those students who remained. 

9. The school finance system in effect prior to the institution 

of the Horton v. Meskill litigation in 1973 supported local control over 
  

school districts. 

  

    
-, . er rls a a eh I mat Ce Ta TR RS EE Te » I ar a Teen Cid id A NNT LIT IY he A “lev. ~~ OEE Boat pt ue SEDANS JRA REA cl i Ay fk Fe ttn EN eS RE ion Sn a ip Bod A i pr J IN AGRE. le oi Tein ha be OR BL LA SH PER ae 8 Se ier AOE Ree sb Sneak ub MR eR Tl lio et Paci Jl Ci don ARS RR



  

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10. One of the legislative goals in the revised guaranteed tax 

base formulas for distributing state educational aid to towns in 

compliance with Horton v. Meskill was to continue supporting local   

control over school districts. 

11. Local control over school districts is not significantly 

diminished today from what it was before 1973 except in those few 

instances where a district is out of compliance with the statutory 

racial balance or minimum expenditure requirements. 

12. Throughout the 20th century, the defendants or their 

predecessors have authorized local school districts within the Hartford 

area to transport schoolchildren across school district and town lines 

for educational reasons. 

      
TE A a I DE A a TT TRA AR I PE AT SN TTI es TE ROT os Rg or SN PEN ARIA CR A ER Na Te ST ENLIST Ph Sie A & EE IR Ey of Sh ep t Yee TRAN IN! Pia Lia] RR aE i i aN % a 

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13. Throughout the 20th century, there have been several regional 

school districts comprised of two or more towns. 

14. Throughout the 20th century, there have been several public, 

vocational secondary schools that enroll students from many towns. 

MARTHA STONE 

CONNECTICUT CIVIL LIBERTIES UNION 

FOUNDATION 

32 Grand Street 

Hartford, CT 06106 

(203)247-9823 

Juris No. 61506 

PHILIP D. TEGELER 

CONNECTICUT CIVIL LIBERTIES UNION 

FOUNDATION 

32 Grand Street 

Hartford, CT 06106 

(203)247-9823 

Juris No. 102537 

PLAINTIFFS, 

By 

MILO SHEFF, ET AL 

  

BT A TF np EE GS A ee I Re TT RA pty! Lee CE A a SC i SNA Pa cari 

WESLEY W. HORTON 

MOLLER, HORTON & 

FINEBERG, P.C. 

90 Gillett Street 
Hartford, CT 06105 

(203)522-8338 

Juris No. 38478 

WILFRED RODRIGUEZ 

HISPANIC ADVOCACY PROJECT 

Neighborhood Legal Services 
1229 Albany Avenue 
Hartford, CT 06102 

(203)278-6850 

Juris No. 302827 

  

  
EA SIT TAT per wpe



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MARIANNE LADO 

RONALD ELLIS 

NAACP Legal Defense & 
Educational Fund, Inc. 

99 Hudson Street 

New York, NY 10013 

(212)219-1900 

Pro Hac Vice 

HELEN HERSHKOFF 

ADAM S. COHEN 

JOHN A. POWELL 

AMERICAN CIVIL LIBERTIES UNION 

FOUNDATION 

132 West 43rd Street 

New York, NY 10036 

(212)944-9800 

Pro Hac Vice 

Attorneys for the Plaintiffs 

JOHN BRITTAIN 

UNIVERSITY OF CONNECTICUT 

SCHOOL OF LAW 

65 Elizabeth Street 
Hartford, CT 06105 

(203) 241-4664 

Juris No. 101153 

JENNY RIVERA 

PUERTO RICAN LEGAL DEFENSE 

AND EDUCATION FUND 

99 Hudson Street 

New York, NY 10013 

  
NE AMT To OE LR TR RE fn ST ET TN eR A I TT HN i TI TTR NE 

 



  

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Cv89-0360977S 

MILO SHEFF, ET AL : SUPERIOR COURT 

VS. 3 JUDICIAL DISTRICT OF HARTFORD/ 

NEW BRITAIN AT HARTFORD 

WILLIAM A. O"NEILL, ET AL : SEPTEMBER 20, 1990 | 

NOTICE OF FILING 
REQUESTS FOR ADMISSIONS 
  

The Plaintiff file notice that they have served a request for 

admissions on all defendants in accordance with P.B. §120 on September 

20, 1990. 

PLAINTIFFS, MILO SHEFF, ET AL 

om ht— 
Weslgfd W. Horton 
MOLLER, HORTON & FINEBERG, P.C. 

90 Gillett Street 
Hartford, CT 06105 

  

CERTIFICATION 

I hereby certify that a copy of the foregoing was mailed to all 

counsel of record on September 20, 1990. 

| beng M5 
Wes Y&y . "HOrton |