The Epic Battle to Fund St. Louis School Desegregation

Authors

  • Hope Rias Urban Education Collaborative University of North Carolina at Charlotte

Abstract

The St. Louis Voluntary Transfer Program came as a result of the 1983 ruling in Craton Liddell et. al, vs. The Board of Education of The City of St. Louis, Missouri, et. al,. The Voluntary Interdistrict Transfer Program was estimated to cost $1.7 billion (Freivogel, 2002). Half was to be paid by the state and the other half by the federal government. After the initial court cases, in which it was decided that schools in St. Louis must desegregate, lawyers and politicians turned their attention away from fighting against desegregation itself and fought to stop the state from being forced to pay for the program. St. Louis residents, historically, have not supported measures to fund education for black students. This paper argues that conflicts over St. Louis desegregation were extended by the numerous financial concerns held by politicians and local community members regarding funding of the Voluntary Transfer Program. The final legal settlement was paid in November of 2011.

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Published

2014-04-02

Issue

Section

Journal Articles