UNION COUNTY, NC — The battle to stop school redistricting in Union County is in a judge’s hands. Parents are fighting to keep thousands of kids from being shuffled to new schools. As WCCB’s Marvin Beach reports, lawyers for the school board say the last minute tactics won’t work.
A judge in Union County will rule next week whether to halt school redistricting. Lawyers argued at a hearing after parents upset about the plan filed an injunction.
“There’s always hope. But not a whole lot at the moment it doesn’t seem,” said parent Jennifer Averill. Parents like Averill left disappointed after the judge didn’t seem to buy the argument that school board members violated open-meeting laws. Lawyers who filed the injunction say the board secretly planned the March 4th Vote. “I’m a little disappointed that they didn’t argue a little more on the policy,” added Averill. “What’s the point of having policy for the Board of Education if you don’t have to stick to it?”
For many parents and students, this is an emotional issue. But Wednesday, the judge seemed to have a hard time finding a legal basis to halt redistricting.
“The Board of Education has done nothing wrong. This was an incredibly open process,” said Richard Schwartz, attorney for the Union County Board of Education. Schwartz argued the process was fair and that redistricting is necessary to relieve over-crowded schools. “It’s gotten to the point where you’ve either got to put up proof of something illegal or fold up,” he added.
But that’s a hard argument to make for students like Patrick Smith. While the Weddington High student will be grandfathered into the school. He’ll be split up from his younger brother Brian, who will go to Sun Valley. “The schools aren’t as good as others, so I feel like Weddington’s a pretty good school, and for him to not get a great experience at high school, a little bit difficult,” said Smith.
The judge is asking both sides to submit more written arguments. She expects to make a ruling early next week.
