Judge Drell dismisses Avoyelles desegregation suit

After 50 years, Avoyelles Parish public schools are no longer under a federal desegregation order.

U.S. District Judge Dee Drell signed the order Wednesday (Oct. 17) dismissing a desegregation case originally filed in 1968-69 and re-energized with a consolidation order in 1988.

“This is a great day for education in Avoyelles Parish,” Allen Holmes, the plaintiff in the case since 1987, said. “It is wonderful to have Judge Drell sign this order with no hitch. It is a success story.

“After being involved in this for 30-plus years, it is great to see it finally coming to an end,” Holmes continued. “It is wonderful. That’s all I can say. Just wonderful.”

Holmes feelings were shared by other key players in the effort to end the desegregation suit.

“I am elated,” District Attorney Charles Riddle said. “This is absolutely a huge event for Avoyelles Parish. There has been so much progress in the schools that people don’t know about.”

Riddle said people need to understand that the School Board agreed to a consent degree agreeing to continue doing certain things to keep the parish schools desegregated and providing equal education at all of its schools. “We can’t go back to 1988,” Riddle said. “We have to continue efforts to ensure children attend the schools in their attendance zones.”

An interesting point is that the initial desegregation suit was filed when Riddle’s father, Charles Riddle Jr., was district attorney and it comes to a close while he holds that office.

“It’s a relief,” Superintendent Blaine Dauzat said of the historic event. “A lot of manhours were spent in the making of this. The board members deserve a lot of credit and former superintendent Dwayne Lemoine was very instrumental in making this a reality.”

Dauzat said the main difference will be that the School Board will have the final say over what happens in the school district.

“There will be no more intervention by the government saying what can and cannot be done,” Dauzat said.

That said, he noted, “we agreed to a lot of things in the consent decree. We can’t say, ‘Let’s throw this out the window’ and not comply with the consent decree.

“We gave our pledge to keep things going in a certain direction,” Dauzat continued. “That is what got us to this point.”