Olivia Krauth, Insider Louisville, July 11, 2018

The Metropolitan Housing Coalition has joined a long list of local community members and organizations opposing a state takeover of Jefferson County Public Schools, at least for the time being.

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In the post, the coalition asked the Kentucky Board of Education and interim state Education Commissioner Wayne Lewis to share a desegregation plan for the district “that will continue and strengthen JCPS’ efforts to combat the effects of housing segregation in Louisville and achieve diversity in every school.”

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Additionally, KBE would need to recognize the government’s role in “creating and intensifying segregation in housing by race,” Hinko said. The KBE would need to reaffirm the Supreme Court rulings saying it is necessary to avoid a segregated school system, along with acknowledging neighborhood schools would be segregated schools, Hinko said.

Some JCPS critics have supported cutting or ending busing in JCPS, reverting to neighborhood schools for the district.

“Neighborhood schools will be segregated schools, and that is no way to bridge the racial educational achievement gap,” the post said. “We have had neighborhood schools in the past and have seen the discriminatory impact, particularly for students of color and students from low-income families. As a city, we cannot afford to take a step backward.”

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By one account, Louisville is the fourth-most segregated city in the United States, the post said, negatively impacting minorities and low-income families. The JCPS Student Assignment Plan, which determines where students attend school, “has become a critically important tool to ensure that even as our residential neighborhoods remain highly segregated, our young people will not face compulsory segregation at school,” the post said.

Takeover supporters frequently point to JCPS’ racial achievement gaps as a key reason state management is necessary. A strong commitment to further desegregating the district would “certainly be expected” in any effort to close the gaps and further address racial equity, the post said.