Nine African American families were less interested in busing their children four miles away because their predominant white community valued diversity at their expense than sending them to their community high school that is within walking distance.
In 2008, the Lower Merion School District welcomed the newly hired Dr. Christopher McGinley with the task of redistricting for the sake of equalizing two new “world class” high schools. The balancing act meant more than filling each school with 1,200 students, it devolved into denying the families decades-old rights to choose which of the two township high schools to send their children to and a class action lawsuit against the school district.
The District said race was not a factor in their decision to redistrict students residing in one of the township’s densely African American sections. The evidence showed otherwise and the lower Court agreed but said it was not illegal to use race to redistrict. The Does lost an appeal to the Third Circuit Court. After a three-year battle, the Supreme Court refused to hear the case.
