By Rob Moritz
Arkansas News Bureau

LITTLE ROCK — Hearings scheduled for January in federal court are the next step toward ending the long-running desegregation case involving three Pulaski County school districts, a state panel heard today.

“We’re in litigation mode, getting ready for trial,” Deputy Attorney General Scott Richardson told the Arkansas Public School Desegregation Lawsuit Resolution Task Force.

Richardson said U.S. District Court Judge Brian Miller has set a Jan. 11 date to consider the status of the North Little Rock School District and a Jan. 25 date to consider the Pulaski County School District.

In April, a federal appeals court declared the Little Rock School District desegregated.

Meanwhile, Chris Heller, lawyer for the Little Rock district, told the panel that the district’s school board tonight will consider a proposal by Attorney General Dustin McDaniel that possibly could phase out the state’s $60 million annual payments to the three districts in the case.

McDaniel’s offer would wean the districts off state funding for desegregation programs over a seven-year period.

Heller told the committee he did not expect the board to make a decision Thursday, but expected a decision by the board next month.

Richardson said he expected Miller to consider any requests to reduce or end the state payments after the January hearings.

“As soon as he rules, he’ll take up funding,” Richardson said.

Lawmakers during a meeting in July expressed frustration over what they perceived as a lack of progress in ending the state’s financial involvement in the case.

At the time, McDaniel told the panel progress was being made and he assured the panel his goal was to ultimately end the state payments to the three districts.