This afternoon, the Mississippi Supreme Court overturned an order by Hinds
County Circuit Court Judge Winston Kidd which had barred the state’s
emergency take-over of the Leflore County School system.
The State Board of Education had requested the Governor to declare an
emergency and issue an order to oust Superintendent Viola Williams McCaskill
and the entire elected school board, and to run the school system directly.
This was a consequence of the school system receiving an ‘F’ rating two
years in a row, demonstrating an educational crisis in the Leflore County
Schools.
Governor Bryant signed the take-over order on September 16, but by then the
school board had obtained a restraining order from Judge Kidd blocking the
attempt.
The School Board’s attorney Willie Perkins, who had requested the injunction
to block the state take-over, alleged that the state had not provided the
local school district with an adequate hearing.
But in an order made public today, the Supreme Court unanimously held that
the school board could not obtain an injunction against the Governor’s order
commanding the take-over. The Court ruled that Judge Kidd had “erred as a
matter of law” in granting the injunction.
The injunction, therefore, is dissolved and the take-over goes into effect.
The lawsuit filed by the school board has been finally dismissed by the
Supreme Court.
The Court’s order may be seen here:
tp://www.thetaxpayerschannel.org/pdfs/lefloreschooltakeoverallowed.pdf
This is the second time that the Supreme Court has slapped down Judge Kidd
in this manner. Judge Kidd had put a stop on the “open carry”
legislation several months ago, with the Supreme Court unanimously reversing
his decision and putting the law into immediate effect.
JPH–
John Pittman Hey
Greenwood, MS
