the JCPS bureaucracy's response to the courts (cont'd)

From yesterday's C-J-- on the JCPS continuing response to the recent U.S. Supreme Court decision:

Race, ethnicity, income and disability -- all four should be part of the equation for deciding which Jefferson County public schools students should attend, the school board decided last night.

On a unanimous vote, the Jefferson County Board of Education approved a set of guiding principles for establishing its next student-assignment plan -- principles that greatly expand the district's definition of diversity...

Previously, the district had limited its definition of diversity in student assignments to black and non-black -- attempting to maintain black enrollment between 15 percent and 50 percent at most schools...

Berman said he is aware that some of the guidelines could conflict with each other. "One guiding principle may have to be compromised to achieve another," he said. "But we will consider all of these factors and balance them as best we can."

Unfortunately, the JCPS has no credibility on this topic-- since they've been dragged, kicking and screaming (twice now), into some sort of response. Given that they're being forced, it stretches credulity to believe that the bureaucracy will do the right thing-- as defined by the courts. What we can reasonably expect is continued delays and a "solution" that is as close as they can get to what they want-- without registering another lawsuit. (Actually, they may not care all that much about lawsuits either!)

More broadly, this illustrates the unsung power wielded by bureaucracy. Legislators can pass laws. The judiciary can interpret laws. The executive branch can choose agency heads over the bureaucracies. But at the end of the day, bureaucrats can evade the intent of a law or a judge's ruling. And the gap between higher-level and lower-level bureaucrats renders faith in bureaucracy a hopeless endeavor.

Finally, all this is one more reason why we should have the government do as little as possible!