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CLEVELAND, Miss — The Cleveland, Mississippi school district has been ordered to desegregate its middle and high schools.

The order comes from the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Mississippi.

The court found the school district operated an inadequate dual system and failed to “achieve the greatest degree of desegregation possible given the circumstances.”

The district will consolidate the virtually all-black D.M. Smith Middle School with the historically white Margaret Green Junior High School.

Also consolidated will be the virtually all-black East Side High School with the historically white Cleveland High School.

The district must review its existing educational programs and identify new programs for the consolidated schools, address staffing considerations and perform necessary maintenance and upgrades to facilities.

Cleveland has 12,000 residents who the DOJ says are separated by race via train tracks that run through the town.

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