Judge orders city to pay legal fees in school fight
A mostly white Alabama city that tried to form its own school system must pay nearly $850,000 to attorneys representing black people who successfully fought the move, a federal judge ruled. U.S. District Court Judge Madeline Haikala ruled Monday that the NAACP Legal Defense Fund and attorney U.W. Clemon were due legal fees and expenses from Gardendale, which she said “acted in bad faith” when it attempted the split, al.com reported. Located north of Birmingham, Gardendale had not filed a response to the decision by Thursday, and an attorney for the city’s school board did not immediately return an email seeking comment. With about 14,000 residents, Gardendale is more than 80 percent white. It is located in Jefferson County, which is about 50 percent white. The city formed its own school board and hired a superintendent in 2014 in an attempt to break away from Jefferson County’s school system. The Legal Defense Fund and Clemon, a former federal judge, claimed the move was an illegal attempt to preserve a white majority in the city’s schools. Gardendale denied that race was a factor, but Haikala and the 11th U.S. Court of Appeals disagreed. Haikala also ruled that Gardendale demonstrated bad faith when it tried to end federal court oversight of Jefferson County schools under a 1971 desegregation agreement. Haikala ordered the city to pay nearly $740,000 in legal fees to the NAACP Legal Defense Fund and Clemon and another $106,400 in expenses. Republished with the Permission of the Associated Press.
Gardendale’s Grayson Phillips named one of America’s top 10 youth volunteers of 2018
A senior at Essential Church School, 18 year old Grayson Phillips of Gardendale, Ala. started a nonprofit at only 15 to buy all-terrain power wheelchairs for disabled children and young adults that allow them to safely navigate the great outdoors with their peers. On Monday, Phillips efforts earned him national recognition. Selected from a field of more than 29,000 youth volunteers from across the country, Phillips has earned the title of National Honoree by The Prudential Spirit of Community Awards, along with a personal award of $5,000, an engraved gold medallion, a crystal trophy for his school, and a $5,000 grant from The Prudential Foundation for a nonprofit charitable organization of his choice. Phillips, who was born with spina bifida, knew all too well the frustration of not being able to easily follow his fellow Boy Scouts during campouts and other outdoor activities. “I was constantly getting stuck in the mud or in the sand in the woods and on the beach in my manual wheelchair,” Phillips said. But after raising money to buy his own Action Track chair and seeing how dramatically it changed his life, he wanted others with disabilities to experience the same freedom. Thus, he created the nonprofit. To publicize his organization and fundraising events, Phillips created a website, utilized social media, sent out press releases, and set up a booth at outdoor expos. He asked local businesses for donations, and spoke at schools to recruit volunteers. Thus far, Phillips has provided all-terrain power wheelchairs worth more than $84,000 to seven people who have a passion for the outdoors, but not the money to buy their own. They include a Mississippi girl with cerebral palsy who loves the beach, a girl in North Carolina who now can go hunting, and an Alabama boy who used his new chair to help clean up his community during a church service day. “It is important to me to help as many disabled kids as possible get outdoors because I know what it feels like to experience independence for the first time,” explained Phillips. State honorees Also honored this week in Washington, D.C., was Katherine Huggins, 14, of Florence, Ala. who was presented a state award. Grayson and Katherine were named Alabama’s top youth volunteers in February, and were officially recognized last night at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History along with the top two youth volunteers in each other state and the District of Columbia. At that event, each of the 102 State Honorees for 2018 received $1,000 awards as well as personal congratulations from Olympic gold medalist and World Cup champion Lindsey Vonn. The honorees each also received engraved silver medallions and all-expense-paid trips with a parent to Washington, D.C., for this week’s recognition events. Huggins, a member of Girl Scouts of North-Central Alabama and an eighth-grader at Wilson High School, delivered 25 clear storage containers filled with small stuffed animals to every volunteer fire department in her county so that firefighters could give them to children suffering the effects of fire, car accidents and domestic upheaval. In the past, Huggins had donated some of her own stuffed animals to local fire and police departments to send out with officers and firefighters on calls involving children. But last year, she and a friend who also loves stuffed animals decided to do more. They came up with the idea of collecting and donating new and gently-used stuffed animals for all of their county’s volunteer fire departments to deliver. “I knew the city had programs, but the county did not,” explained Huggins. “I felt it was important that the kids in the county have a comfort item.” To get local fire departments on board, Huggings met with fire officials and spoke at two meetings of the county firefighters association. Then she made flyers and posted them around town to solicit stuffed animal donations. She enlisted the help of friends and family to collect the animals, which she washed, sorted, and packed into 25 clear storage containers labeled “Tender Hearts.” The containers were then delivered to fire stations throughout the county so that officials responding to emergencies would have a furry friend to leave behind with a frightened child. The project has since led Huggings to other volunteer opportunities, including making a fire safety poster, donating stuffed animals to a library, and supervising activities for young children. Prudential Spirit of Community Awards The Prudential Spirit of Community Awards is a national youth recognition program sponsored by Prudential Financial in partnership with the National Association of Secondary School Principals (NASSP). “These honorees exemplify something we’ve known for a long time – that young volunteers have the power to bring meaningful change to their communities,” said John Strangfeld, chairman and CEO of Prudential Financial, Inc. “These students have shown leadership and determination well beyond their years, and it’s a privilege to celebrate their service.” “Through their acts of service, these honorees drive home a powerful lesson for their peers: that one student really can make a difference,” added Daniel P. Kelley, president of NASSP. “We are honored to shine a spotlight on the compassion, drive and ingenuity of each of these young volunteers.” Phillips was among 10 national honorees.
New high school to be built in central Alabama
A new high school will be built in central Alabama. The new school in Fultondale is part of Jefferson County Board of Education’s $200 million capital outlay plan, Al.com reported. The school system announced in September plans to build new schools and conduct major renovations on nine others in the next three years. The new Fultondale High School will cost around $38.5 million. The site of the school has not been confirmed. Fultondale Mayor Jim Lowery says the high school is the oldest in the county. The school was built in 1967. “I feel very positive that all of the children that attend our school in Fultondale will be in a new facility,” he said. “That is very important to me. We are behind when it comes to technology and the type facilities that education is in now in other communities.” Jefferson County Board of Education President Oscar Mann says there is no intent to merge schools from Fultondale and Gardendale. The county is also considering renovating the current Fultondale High School for the International Baccalaureate Middle Years Programme, which is currently housed at Pleasant Grove. The county’s plans were contingent on a U.S. 11th Circuit Court of Appeals ruling on whether Gardendale could form its own school system. The court denied Gardendale’s request on Feb. 13. Gardendale announced two weeks later that it would cease its efforts to start a school system. Jefferson County Schools Superintendent Craig Pouncey said if the plans for Fultondale are approved by the court, he didn’t know when construction could start. He said the first project to be built will be the expansion and renovation of the Grantswood Elementary School in the Irondale area. Republished with the permission of the Associated Press.
U.S. Court of Appeals denies Gardendale school split, cites racial reasons
A federal appeals court on Tuesday denied the city of Gardendale, Ala.’s request to secede from Jefferson County Schools to form its own system. The 11th Circuit Court cited racial and discriminatory reasons for denying the predominantly white city of Gardendale request to secede from the majority black Jefferson County. “Instead of denying the motion to secede, the district court – unprompted by either party – devised its own secession plan,”Judge William Pryor wrote in the decision. “In doing so, it weighed a number of impermissible considerations and thereby abused its discretion.” The city of Gardendale has been working toward forming their own school system since 2012. Following the court’s decision, President of Gardendale City Schools Board of Education Dr. Michael Hogue said the fight is not over. “We know the heart and intent of this board and of the residents of Gardendale as a welcoming community, and we believe our actions reflect just that,” said Hogue in a statement. “This is not the result we deserve, and the fight is not over.” Since the Jefferson County school system is under court-ordered desegregation, any changes in school demographics, such as the proposed secession, must be approved by the federal government. Dr. Craig Pouncey, superintendent of Jefferson County schools, said he’s pleased with the ruling. “There were a number of programs that Jefferson County invested in and placed in Gardendale that Gardendale would have actually closed because they don’t have the local tax base with which to keep those going,” said Dr. Pouncey.
