Anderson v. San Francisco Unified School District

357 F. Supp. 248, 5 Fair Empl. Prac. Cas. (BNA) 362, 1972 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 11374, 5 Empl. Prac. Dec. (CCH) 8458
CourtDistrict Court, N.D. California
DecidedOctober 30, 1972
DocketC-72-367 SC
StatusPublished
Cited by19 cases

This text of 357 F. Supp. 248 (Anderson v. San Francisco Unified School District) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, N.D. California primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Anderson v. San Francisco Unified School District, 357 F. Supp. 248, 5 Fair Empl. Prac. Cas. (BNA) 362, 1972 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 11374, 5 Empl. Prac. Dec. (CCH) 8458 (N.D. Cal. 1972).

Opinion

OPINION, FINDINGS OF FACT AND CONCLUSIONS OF LAW

CONTI, District Judge.

This cause came on regularly for trial before the court, sitting without a jury, on October 24, 1972, and the court having heard the testimony and having examined the proofs offered by the respective parties and the cause having been submitted, the court being fully advised in the premises, is of the following opinion and makes its Findings of Fact as follows:

The key issue in this case is whether or not a classification which is based on race is valid. Preferential treatment under the guise of “affirmative action” is the imposition of one form of racial •discrimination in place of another. The questions that must be asked in this regard are: must an individual sacrifice his right to be judged on his own merit by accepting discrimination based solely on the color of his skin? How can we achieve the goal of equal opportunity for all if, in the process, we deny equal opportunity to some?

The same procedure used in this case with its meritorious goal, can be used by another school district (if left to stand) against the very same groups it strives to help herein.

No one race or ethnic group should ever be accorded preferential *250 treatment over another. No race or ethnic group should ever be granted privileges or prerogatives not given to every other race. There is no place for race or ethnic groupings in America. Only in individual accomplishment can equality be achieved.

Thus, any classification based on race is suspect. Such classifications have been allowed by the courts, but only to correct past discriminatory practices. In the instant case there has been no showing that the classifications and discriminations on the basis of race to be put into effect by the defendant school district, are to be undertaken to correct past discrimination.

No authority presently exists to uphold a practice which discriminates on racial or ethnic lines which is not being implemented to correct a prior discriminatory situation.

In the present case, since there is only a limited number of positions available and a vast oversupply of eligible candidates, the racial and ethnic quota promotion system, based on is own arithmetic, necessarily deprives non-minority individuals of equal opportunity.

1. Jurisdiction of this court was invoked pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1343(3), § 1343(4) and 28 U.S.C. § 2201. The jurisdiction of this court was invoked to secure protection of civil rights and to redress deprivation of rights, privileges and immunities secured by (a) the Fourteenth Amendment to the Constitution of the United States; (b) 42 U.S.C. § 1981 and 42 U.S.C. § 1983; and (c) 42 U.S.C. § 2000d.

2. The plaintiffs named herein are citizens of the United States and residents of the Northern District of California.

3. The plaintiffs named herein are representatives of an appropriate class as defined in Rule 23(a) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure and have brought this action on behalf of themselves and the entire class, pursuant to said Rule. The class which plaintiffs represent is composed of certificated administrative employees and teachers employed by defendant San Francisco Unified School District who are Caucasian, who do not have a Spanish surname, and who are classified by defendant San Francisco Unified School District as “Other White”. The class consists of approximately 4,000 members and is thus so numerous that joinder of all members is impossible. There are questions of law and fact common to the class. The claims of the representative parties are typical of the claims of the class and the representatives will fairly and adequately protect the interests of the class. Adjudication of the claims of the representative parties will as a practical matter be dispositive of the interests of other members of the class who are not parties to the adjudication. The defendants herein have acted or refused to act on grounds generally applicable to the class, thereby making declaratory, injunctive or other affirmative relief appropriate to the class as a whole.

4. Defendant San Francisco Unified School District (“School District”) is a political subdivision of the State of California authorized to establish, maintain and operate the public school system for the primary and secondary levels in the City and County of San Francisco. Defendant School District is the recipient of funds for programs and activities receiving Federal financial assistance within the meaning of 42 U.S.C. § 2000d.

5. Defendant Board of Education of the San Francisco Unified School District (“Board of Education”) is the duly created and authorized governing body of the defendant School District; the present members of defendant Board of Education are defendants George Y. Chinn, Eugene S. Hopp, David Sanchez, Lee S. Dolson, Charlie Mae Haynes, Lucille Abrahamson and John A. Kidder; defendants George Y. Chinn, Eugene S. Hopp and David Sanchez were original defendants in this action, sued in their official capacity; defendants Lee S. Dolson, Charlie Mae Haynes, Lucille Abrahamson and John A. Kidder by stipula *251 tion have been substituted as defendants, sued in their official capacity, for John Crowley, Zuretti L. Goosby, Mrs. Ernest R. Lilienthal and Howard Nemerovski, who were members of the Board of Education at the time of the filing of the suit and were sued in their official capacity.

6. Defendant Steven P. Morena is the Superintendent of Schools of the defendant School District; by stipulation he was substituted as a defendant, sued in his official capacity, in the place of the original defendant Thomas A. Shaheen, who at the time of the filing of the complaint was the Superintendent of Schools for defendant School District; each of the two said defendants with respect to all of the matters herein alleged was acting as the agent and employee of the defendant School District and the defendant Board of Education.

7. In March 1968, defendant Board of Education adopted an Affirmative Action Policy (P4110), which provides in part:

“It is the policy of the Board of Education to implement a program of faculty racial and ethnic balance which more closely approximates the racial and ethnic distribution of the total school population so long as such efforts maintain or improve quality of education.”

Subsequently, in order to implement this policy, defendant Board of Education directed the Superintendent to develop Administrative Regulations and Procedures for a program of affirmative action in regard to promotional opportunities with the defendant School District as follows:

“A.

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Bluebook (online)
357 F. Supp. 248, 5 Fair Empl. Prac. Cas. (BNA) 362, 1972 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 11374, 5 Empl. Prac. Dec. (CCH) 8458, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/anderson-v-san-francisco-unified-school-district-cand-1972.