Tangipahoa Schools Update – 6/28/11

No agreement on plan; School board has money, plaintiffs’ attorney says

The school board has misled the court concerning funds already available for implementation of the current desegregation plan, according to plaintiffs’ attorney Nelson Taylor.

Taylor filed a motion Friday morning asking the court to order the Tangipahoa Parish School Board to implement the current desegregation plan. Taylor also requested a hearing to determine any court action necessary to remove obstacles that hinder the implementation of the plan.

“I think (Taylor) is asking the court to order taxes needed to fund the original plan, because we cannot implement the plan without that money,” said school system attorney Charles Patin.

According to his motion, Taylor disagrees with that assessment.

“Evidence will show that the additional funds actually needed to fully implement the current desegregation plan are considerably less than what was presented in the school taxes recently rejected by the public,” Taylor wrote in his motion.