ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Saturday, August 10, 1996 TAG: 9608120036
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL PAGE: A-3 EDITION: METRO
DATELINE: GREENBELT, MD.
SOURCE: Associated Press
More than 300 black students will be allowed to fill magnet school slots intended to draw whites into the predominantly black public schools of suburban Washington's Prince George's County.
U.S. District Judge Peter Messitte approved the admissions to the specialized programs Friday, ruling against the county chapter of the NAACP.
The civil rights group had asked the judge to deny the slots to any of the 4,000 black students waiting to get into the programs, arguing that admitting them would defeat the aim of attracting more nonblack students.
The magnet programs were created in 1985 to implement a 1972 court-ordered desegregation plan. Messitte has said he would appoint a panel to review the county's desegregation efforts and make recommendations for changes.
Patricia Brannan, attorney for the NAACP, said: ``There has been no targeted recruitment of white and other nonblack students for the magnet school programs. ... The recruitment effort has waned somewhat while the racial composition of schools has changed.''
But School Board President Marcy Canavan said: ``It's not our fault that the racial demographics have shifted and there are now more black students in the school system than white students.
``We didn't make our decision on June 17 to open the slots to make any kind of political statement. We wanted to give those students an opportunity to get a quality education they ordinarily wouldn't receive.''
LENGTH: Short : 36 linesby CNB