Local News in Brief : Judge OKs Delay on Desegregation Pact

U.S. District Judge A. Wallace Tashima granted the Los Angeles Unified School District an additional 90 days--until Nov. 21--to finish drafting the terms for a settlement of a long-running desegregation lawsuit.

On June 20, Tashima approved a conditional dismissal of the suit, which was originally filed by the National Assn. for the Advancement of Colored People in 1963 and moved to federal court in 1981, and gave the two parties 60 days to resolve their differences.

Attorneys for both sides said Monday that they are confident that they can devise a settlement but that more time is needed to complete negotiations.

The settlement will focus on new approaches to improve educational programs for minority youngsters, who account for 83% of the district’s more than 590,000 pupils.

Neither side would provide details of the settlement proposals. But school district lawyer Michael Johnson said much of what remains undecided is how the programs would work and where the money to pay for them will come from.