Parents and students in rural Halifax County brought a case to the Supreme Court of North Carolina earlier this month regarding school districts and funding.

Halifax County, which contains about 6,000 students, is split up into three districts: Halifax County Public Schools, Weldon City Schools and Roanoke Rapids Graded School District.

Mark Dorosin, co-director of the Julius Chambers Center for Civil Rights which represented the Halifax County parents and students, says that the way these districts are split up is where the root of the problem lies.

“Two of the districts are overwhelmingly African-American, one of the districts is predominantly white, and students in all three districts are really suffering,” said Dorosin.

The argument being put before the court is that the county, not just the state and the district, should be held responsible if their students don’t have the opportunity for an education as directed by the state Constitution.

“Our clients allege they are not getting a sound, basic education as required under the state Constitution, and they have cited the cause for that is the way the county commissioners in Halifax County allocate the local resources for things like school buildings, facilities, textbooks, supplies,” said Dorosin – who also serves as an Orange County Commissioner.

The case is particularly salient as a special committee appointed last summer to look into deconsolidating the state’s largest school districts, Wake County and Charlotte-Mecklenburg, delivered inconclusive findings earlier this month.

“It’s a fascinating juxtaposition of this situation in Halifax County where they have three small school districts, heavily segregated, incredibly inefficient use of resources, and then you have the legislature considering breaking up big school districts, which we and many believe will lead to resegregation,” said Dorosin.

The court is expected to rule on the Halifax case in the coming months.

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