JACKSON – Tuesday saw attorneys argue whether Simpson County School District should be freed from a federal desegregation order that has been in place for 34 years. Suzanne G. Keys, counsel, questioned Elizabeth Christian, the district’s human resource director, about whether the court-mandated policies had been followed in filling many job vacancies that have arisen since the 2014 court hearing on similar issues. Habray Carter, a failed job applicant from Drew, was rated highly for a position as a coach-teacher. He also testified that he hadn’t met any of the three school district personnel who had interviewed him for the position. Keys was questioned by John Hooks, Jackson attorney. Hooks represented the district and raised many objections. Barbour once told Barbour, “You’re going at this thing backwards.” Simpson County Schools still has to clear one hurdle – that of recruiting and hiring practices. This is before it can be freed from a court order regarding racial discrimination. After years of legal oversight, the district claims it deserves “unitary status.” This means that federal court scrutiny of all school district activities is lifted._x000D