The Center began working in Halifax County in 2008 on a
range of community inclusion issues. Lincoln Heights, an excluded community on the
outskirts of the City of Roanoke Rapids, worked with the Center to stop the
City from locating a solid waste transfer station in their neighborhood, which
has been the site of several previous municipal waste facilities. The community’s
engagement and advocacy also helped bring public attention to other exclusion
based impacts issues affecting Lincoln Heights, including denial of access to
municipal services and electoral power in local government.
As we continued to work with communities across the county
on a range of issues, one theme consistently emerged among residents throughout
Halifax County: "Something is very wrong with the schools in this county." Halifax remains one the few counties in the
state that has three separate schools districts; two almost 100%
African-American, the other over 70% White. The Center spent much of last year
researching the history of districts in the county, collecting data on the districts’
current student achievement and educational resources, and analyzing school
desegregation and education finance lawsuits that have focused on Halifax over
the last forty years.
The resulting report,
"Unless Our Children Begin to Learn
Together . . . The State of Education in Halifax County,"released in May 2011, is a
compelling case study that highlights the most significant impediment to
genuine education reform and progress in Halifax County: the enduring
manifestation of de jure segregation
inherent in the continued maintenance of three separate and unequal public
school systems. The report also
discusses educational reforms tailored to the needs of a rural, low-wealth
county that can help ensure a constitutionally compliant education for all
children in Halifax County. The report
and executive summary is here: http://www.law.unc.edu/centers/civilrights/agenda/educational/halifaxstate.aspx.
Following the release of the report, community groups
invited the Center to eight "Community
Conversations" throughout the county, where parents, teachers,
and community leaders could discuss the report and the future of education in
Halifax County. Participants expressed
appreciation for the report’s penetrating look at the history of the three
districts through the school desegregation era, the racialized nature of the
Roanoke Rapids’ district boundaries, and the comprehensive comparison of
student achievement factors and common challenges among the three districts.
Many expressed surprise at the 2009-10 data showing that the predominantly
White Roanoke Rapids Graded School District (RRGSD) had comparable graduation
rates and a higher drop-out rate than the two almost all-Black districts,
Halifax County Public Schools (HCPS) and Weldon City Schools (WCS). Community
members, including teachers from HCPS, also commented on the lack of
educational resources in the county district, pointing out that RRGSD does not
share these deficits. See NC school quality data from the NC
Dept. of Education (NC
School Report Cards; NC School Statistical Profile)
The RRGSD boundaries are both over and under inclusive, undercutting city lines to exclude several majority-Black neighborhoods, while simultaneously reaching beyond municipal boundaries to include majority-White neighborhoods. Weldon City School district boundaries also stretch beyond city lines to counteract the effects of a declining school age population. Both districts charge a supplemental tax to residents of the school districts.
Many residents emphasized that the stigma of subordination
and otherness inherent in the continuing legacy of the segregated districts could
be eliminated by dissolving the racialized school district boundaries. There is also great hope that collaboration among
the districts can ensure that every child in Halifax County achieves a
constitutionally-compliant education.
In September, Center attorneys presented the report to the
Halifax County Commissioners and the Halifax County School Board. One of the White commissioners told Center
representatives that he believed the report was based on "preconceived
opinion," rather than facts, and that he opposed unifying the districts because
he refused to "send two C/C+ school districts down the tubes to a failing
district (referring to HCPS)." This position
is particularly troubling given that the county commissioners are the only
elected officials that represent the all of the county’s citizens, and the only
body with the unilateral power to address educational inequities across all
three districts. The Center urged the
Board of Commissioners to embrace its responsibility to ensure a sound basic education
for all children attending public school in the county.
Moving forward
Political power systems and long-maintained divisions appear
to pose the greatest obstacles to meaningful educational reform in Halifax
County. The increasing numbers of community members that are using the Center’s
report as a catalyst for change make very real the possibility that these
obstacles may be overcome. Statutory procedures give the county the opportunity
to tailor a district consolidation plan to the unique needs of the county and, to
facilitate cooperation and collaboration between the three districts that can
improve education quality throughout Halifax County.
Posted by Taiyyaba A. Qureshi on Sat. October 22, 2011 8:10 PM
Categories: Education, Halifax County, Leandro, Segregation