PRESS RELEASE CONCORDIA PARISH SCHOOL BOARD
December 11, 2024
The Concordia Parish School Board has been in negotiations with the United States in an attempt to move the School Board’s pending desegregation case toward dismissal. The desegregation case was originally filed on November 30, 1965. As a result of those negotiations, counsel for the United States and counsel for the School Board have developed this proposal which, if accepted by the School Board and implemented over the next three years, would entitle the School Board to seek dismissal of this longstanding matter. The Court has ordered that the School Board vote on this proposal before December 31, 2024. Before the School Board votes on the proposed consent order, however, the School Board will be hosting a community forum on December 17, 2024 at Vidalia Convention Center at 6:00pm. The public is invited to come and learn about the plan. School Board members want to hear from the public because the proposed consent order would cause changes throughout the school system, including where students attend schools, the Board’s hiring procedures, what types of transfers are allowed, and other areas of operation. A summary of the steps and changes the Board would be required to make, together with the proposed consent decree itself, may be found at Desegregation1965 https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1Lb9N9tU7lAtxZ9atec51SCuxR5eTohTh?usp=drive_link.