JACKSON, Miss. – The U.S. Justice Department wants a small Mississippi school district to end its practice of allowing hundreds of white students to transfer from majority black schools, calling it a violation of a desegregation order and federal law.
In Walthall County, the Tylertown school system is about 75 percent black with 730 students. The Salem Attendance Center is 65 percent white with about 650 students in grades K-12.
For years, the local school board has approved the transfers of hundreds of white students from Tylertown to Salem.
School District Superintendent Danny McCallum said the Justice Department wants the policy change implemented by the time classes begin for 2010-2011 school year.
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