Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...

VIDALIA, La. — Liz Murrill, the Attorney General for the State of Louisiana is expected to attend another “strategy session” on Monday regarding Concordia Parish School Board’s desegregation lawsuit with Delta Charter School.

The special meeting is at 6 p.m. Monday, Dec. 9, at the CPSB Media Center, 508 John Dale Drive, Suite B.  CPSB President Lissette Forman said Friday that she did not expect any action or discussion to take place in a public open session during the meeting.

No other items are on the agenda for discussion.

The AG made an appearance at a similar closed-door meeting the school board had on Oct. 30 to discuss litigation entitled Smith, et. al. v. Concordia Parish School Board, et. al., Civil Action No. 65-11577 on the docket of the United States District Court for the Western District of Louisiana.

News reports said this meeting lasted for one hour and 30 minutes but was not open to the public or to the media.

The Open Meetings Act allows the discussion of litigation matters in closed-door meetings, provided the meeting begins in public and the board votes to enter into an executive session.

The Concordia Parish School Board has had many closed-door meetings regarding its lawsuit with DCS.

Both the charter school and the school district are under court orders to comply with a 1970 desegregation suit.

Each year, the school district and Delta Charter Group must compile a report of the number of students enrolled in each grade level by race, and for each district school the number of full and part-time teachers, staff and administrators by race. Additionally, Concordia Parish schools must also report the number of students transferring out of the district by race and the number of students transferring out of Ferriday schools specifically by race. Delta Charter Group must report the name, grade, race and the transferring school of each new student and report the name, title and race of Delta Charter School teachers and administrators who are hired from the district, the federal suit states.

The school board filed a motion in federal court in June 2014 stating that Delta Charter operated in violation of a consent order that allowed the school to open in 2013.

This agreement reportedly stated Delta Charter would open with 230 students and would be able to increase enrollment by 30 students a year to a maximum of 300 students.

Instead, the school opened with more than 300 students and less than 50 Black students.

As of a ruling in June 2017, Delta Charter must recruit students under an ordinance that caps the number of Concordia Parish students enrolled at 350 students and the overall enrollment at 500 students while giving minority Black students first priority when granting students admittance.

Ferriday residents have been outspoken about their displeasure with the restrictions on DCS. Some have said the enrollment process prevented siblings from going to the same school while allowing other students of the same grade level to attend Delta Charter when they live outside of Concordia Parish.

Despite motions to dismiss the lawsuit, the school board voted in 2022 to keep it in place and not seek recovery of any legal fees incurred by doing so.