N.C. Student Busing Debate

A recent federal ruling met with opposition in Charlotte Wednesday when a local school board voted to appeal the order ending race-based student busing, reports CBS Affiliate WBT Radio in Charlotte.

The Charlotte-Mecklenburg school district — one of the first to implement the pupil assignments when they were enforced decades ago — voted 5-4 to appeal the recent ruling by U.S. District Judge Robert Potter to the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.

The appeal included a request by the school board for a stay of the order issued last month that said no changes were to be made in student assignments while the matter is being decided.

Last month's ruling made obsolete a 30-year-old court order that made the school district the first that bused children to reach racial balance.

Responding to fears that fewer resources would be allocated to predominantly black schools in the case that the appeal failed, area officials asked for $260 million to improve inner city schools.

A local county board is set to vote next week to determine whether to approve the money for renovations and improvements.