Graduation plans
on in Jacksonville
Graduation ceremonies are planned for Aug. 1 at Titan Arena for the Jacksonville High School Class of 2020.
Plans are for three ceremonies that day of 80 graduates each. The 9 a.m. ceremony will be for all honor graduates and graduates with last names starting with the letter A and going through the name Dillard.
The noon event will be for graduates with last names Douglas through Otto, and the 3 p.m. ceremony will be for graduates starting with the last name of Pace through the letter Z.
Seven guests will be permitted per graduate, with each student being provided tickets for those guests.
All state health directives -- including facility capacity requirements, spacing requirements and face coverings -- must be followed. State officials may monitor ceremonies for compliance.
The ceremonies remain subject to cancellation if there are changes in the covid-19 health conditions in the state and in state guidance.
3 districts call off
graduation plans
Three of the four Pulaski County school districts have canceled plans for summer graduation ceremonies for the Class of 2020.
The Little Rock School District had planned outdoor events for the graduates.
"Regrettably, we cannot find a safe way to conduct such ceremonies while following CDC [Centers for Disease Control and Prevention] guidelines," Superintendent Mike Poore recently wrote to district families.
Charles McNulty, superintendent of the Pulaski County Special School District, announced last week the cancellations of graduations planned for the Stephens Center at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock.
"Due to the rising number of positive cases of COVID-19 and concerns over large-crowd gatherings, PCSSD has decided to cancel graduations for all four high schools on July 19, 2020. The decision comes after much deliberation with the high school principals, as well as guidance from state health officials," he said last week.
The North Little Rock High School ceremony set for July 25 at Barton Coliseum also was canceled as of last week.
District board sets
in-person meeting
The Jacksonville/North Pulaski School Board will hold its regularly scheduled monthly business meeting, in-person with no online broadcast, at 6 p.m. Monday.
The meeting will take place in the auditorium of Jacksonville High School, which is a change from the board's regular meeting place in Jacksonville City Hall.
Those who want to attend the School Board meeting can park at the back of the school in the parking lot off Titan Drive across from the football field.
All state guidelines for face coverings and social distancing will be observed.
Bid to join unitary
hearing rejected
U.S. District Chief Judge D. Price Marshall Jr., has denied a request by Janice Warren to become an independent, intervening party in the July 14 hearing on whether the Pulaski County Special School District has met its desegregation obligations and can be released from further court supervision.
Warren is an assistant superintendent and a former interim superintendent in the district. She is suing school district representatives saying they discriminated against her when they failed to interview her for the full-time superintendent job in 2018. She asked to be a party in the desegregation case out of a concern that she might be blamed for school construction issues that will be raised in the desegregation case, as well as a concern that decisions made in the desegregation case would adversely affect her discrimination lawsuit.
Marshall said in part that the district and the attorneys for Black students have indicated in written arguments that they do not intend to blame Warren for alleged construction shortcomings. He also said the introduction of a new party so close to the hearing would be problematic.
"[A]dding a third side right before trial to an already complicated two-sided dispute would prejudice PCSSD and the McClendon Intervenors. They've been working hard to meet each other's evidence and arguments," he said in an order Thursday.
"Having considered the situation as a whole, the Court concludes that Dr. Warren's request to participate in the trial is not timely. Her motion to intervene ... is denied," Marshall wrote.
Team: Let lawyer
work remotely
The team of attorneys for Black students in the Pulaski County School School District has asked a federal judge to allow attorney team member Robert Pressman of Lexington, Mass., to participate in a court hearing this month by teleconference or other remote communication.
To be present in person at the hearing on unitary status, Pressman, 79, would have to travel to Arkansas via plane and through three airports at a time when the state and nation are experiencing the covid-19 pandemic, a motion to U.S. District Chief Judge D. Price Marshall Jr., states.
Pressman has been an attorney for the Black students in Pulaski County -- first known as the Joshua intervenors and more recently the McClendon intervenors -- for more than 20 years. Since the October 2019 death of Rep. John Walker, who was the lead attorney for the intervenors -- the roles of Austin Porter Jr. and Pressman have increased, the motion says.
"Mr. Pressman brings an added element to the Intervenors' case with the extensive knowledge that he has warehoused that cannot be matched by any other lawyer, and will greatly enhance Mr. Porter, as lead counsel, in representing the interests of the Intervenors," the motion states.