Fort Bend Independent School District v. City of Stafford

449 F. Supp. 375, 1978 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 18403
CourtDistrict Court, S.D. Texas
DecidedApril 14, 1978
DocketCiv. A. No. H-77-1752
StatusPublished
Cited by3 cases

This text of 449 F. Supp. 375 (Fort Bend Independent School District v. City of Stafford) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, S.D. Texas primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Fort Bend Independent School District v. City of Stafford, 449 F. Supp. 375, 1978 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 18403 (S.D. Tex. 1978).

Opinion

MEMORANDUM OPINION

SINGLETON, District Judge.

The Fort Bend Independent School District (FBISD), the president of the Board of Trustees of FBISD, and other residents and parents of students in FBISD, have brought this action pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1983 and the fourteenth amendment seeking to permanently enjoin the City of Stafford from operating a municipal school district within the present boundaries of FBISD.

On December 16, 1976, one hundred and thirty Stafford citizens submitted a written petition to the mayor and city council pursuant to Tex.Education Code Ann. § 19.161 (1972) calling for an election on the proposition of whether Stafford should operate its own school system. An election was held on January 15, 1977, at which the proposition carried by a vote of 464 to 174.

Prior to the election, the Mayor of Stafford informed the Commissioner of Education of the State of Texas of the pending election and, immediately following the election, informed the commissioner of the results. Following an investigation of the effects of the new system on the desegregation status of the involved districts, the commissioner, issued a report on February 8, 1977, in accordance with the orders entered in Civil Action No. 5281, United States v. State of Texas, 447 F.2d 441 (5th Cir. 1971), finding that the new district would not violate the requirements of Civil Action No. 5281. These findings were reaffirmed in two subsequent reports dated May 16, 1977, and September 2, 1977. On October 6, 1977, FBISD attempted to file an appeal from the commissioner’s decision with the State Board of Education which concluded by advisory opinion on November 12, 1977 that the board had no jurisdiction to entertain such an appeal.

Pursuant to Tex.Education Code Ann. § 19.161 (1972), the City Council of Stafford on June 6, 1977, enacted an ordinance formally creating the Stafford Municipal School District (SMSD). Another ordinance passed by the council on June 27, 1977, appointed a Board of Trustees for SMSD. July 15, 1977, sixty Stafford citizens submitted a petition to the mayor and city council for an election on a school maintenance tax proposition and school bond proposition, pursuant to Tex.Education Code Ann. § 24.06 (1972). Both proposals carried at an election held August 13, 1977, by a vote of 436 to 221 and 437 to 218, respectively.

On October 12, 1977, the Board of Trustees of SMSD approved and adopted a budget for the district for the year beginning September 1, 1977, and ending August 31, 1978. On the same date the board also directed the city council to levy, assess, and collect school ad valorem taxes for the year 1977 and all subsequent years.

On October 18,1977, this court entered an order temporarily restraining the City of Stafford from taking any steps to collect taxes for school purposes until a final determination was made following a full hearing on the merits. The city council, on October [377]*37719, 1977, enacted an ordinance levying the school ad valorem tax. Following a full hearing before this court on January 23-26, 1978, an agreed order was entered whereby all 1977 ad valorem taxes on property situated in both districts would be paid to FBISD and in the event the court’s decision is favorable to SMSD that district would look to FBISD for reimbursement.

Included in FBISD’s complaint is their appeal to this court from the decision of the Commissioner of Education under the modified order in United States v. Texas, supra, Civil Action No. 5281. The validity of the new district is not challenged with regard to the procedures followed by the City of Stafford under state law. Rather FBISD alleges that the new district will have a negative effect on the continued implementation of its desegregation plan. A proposed school district found to have such an effect will not be permitted to operate regardless of whether such district was validly created under state law. See, United States v. Scotland Neck City Board of Education, 407 U.S. 484, 92 S.Ct. 2214, 33 L.Ed.2d 75 (1972); North Carolina Board of Education v. Swann, 402 U.S. 43, 91 S.Ct. 1284, 28 L.Ed.2d 586 (1971).

Having heard the testimony and having carefully examined the evidence and law applicable to the facts of this case, the court finds that the City of Stafford should be permanently enjoined from operating a school district coterminous with the city’s boundaries.

I. FBISD — Background

Fort Bend Independent School District is located southwest of the City of Houston in the northeast portion of Fort Bend County. There are three incorporated cities located within the Fort Bend Independent School District: Sugar Land, Stafford, and Missouri City. The City of Stafford is located in the north central portion of FBISD with its northernmost boundary coterminous with the Harris County line and the Houston Independent School District.

FBISD was formed in 1949 through the consolidation of the Sugar Land Independent School District and the Missouri City Independent School District. Prior to consolidation, both the Sugar Land Independent School District and the Missouri City Independent School District operated segregated school facilities. After 1959, FBISD operated dual school systems for black and white students and continued to do so until the last all black school was closed in the fall of 1968.

A. Desegregation Plan

On or about June 23, 1964, the Board of Trustees for FBISD adopted a desegregation plan in an attempt to comply with the requirements of the Department of Health, Education and Welfare. The original desegregation plan adopted by FBISD provided for freedom of choice for high school students for the 1964r-1965 school year. This desegregation plan was rejected by the Commissioner of Education for the Department of Health, Education and Welfare.

On or about May 10, 1965, the Board of Trustees for FBISD amended its desegregation plan. The amended plan was written in conformity with the statement of policy of Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and approved by the Commissioner of Education for the Department of Health, Education and Welfare. The HEW Plan provided that commencing with the 1965-1966 school year, all high school level students (grades 9-12) would attend John Foster Dulles High School; commencing with the 1966-1967 school year, all junior high school level students (grades 6-8) would attend the John Foster Dulles Junior High School. The HEW Plan further provided that commencing with the 1966-1967 school year, all elementary level students (grades 1-5) would be zoned into neighborhood elementary schools. Each zone was based on population factors with an effort to provide an equal ethnic distribution.

Since 1965 FBISD has operated under the amended desegregation plan adopted on or about May 10, 1964, without substantial modification. FBISD has operated one senior high school facility, John Foster Dulles [378]*378High School.

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449 F. Supp. 375, 1978 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 18403, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/fort-bend-independent-school-district-v-city-of-stafford-txsd-1978.