Simpson County Schools have been released from a decades-old federal decree that required changes to the way the district treats African American employees, students, and potential workers. U.S. District Judge William H. Barbour Jr. dismissed Tuesday’s case, stating that the district had “eliminated the vestiges of prior segregation” and “to the extent possible.” Superintendent Greg Paes expressed joy late Tuesday over his district’s release form federal supervision. “It’s like breathing fresh air for our schools system, but it will continue to do right thing.” The important change is that the district will now be able to hire immediately instead of waiting for federal approval. He said that he has lost many top applicants over the years due to inability to wait for a decision for two or three weeks. However, he noted that it is good to be on the same legal footing with many other districts within the state. The Simpson County School District was subject to federal court scrutiny in 1970 for racial discrimination allegations. They began to work on a solution. Three students who were enrolled in district schools filed an action complaint in 1982 on behalf of all “present” and future black children in the district, alleging that the district was continuing racial discrimination. Barbour’s today’s order notes that the U.S. Supreme Court intended federal oversight of local schools to be “temporary” and that the district had “complied in good faith” with it. At the end of May’s hearings, he asked rhetorically: “Is it now time to rule and allow these aggrieved candidates for employment positions at school, because they are of their race go to more familiar courts, and use actions to address those that have arose years after this was filed?” Tuesday’s hearing resulted in Barbour ruling that the district should be “released from further supervision by both the court and government, and the burdensome cost thereof.”