On Thursday, May 8, a federal judge in Montgomery granted the Troy City Board of Education unitary status in five areas: student assignment/grouping, graduation rates including types of diplomas, extracurricular activities, discipline and complaints of racial harassment and/or discrimination.

The hearing came after a joint motion filed by the Troy City Board and United States Justice Department.

The only areas not included in the petition were faculty assignment and hiring and special education including gifted and talented.

Superintendent Hank Jones said the ruling did not come as a surprise.

"We had anticipated that we would gain unitary status," he said.

"But you never know if someone will object."

Jones said the court received four letters of objection, but nobody appeared to testify at the trial.

"I was the only witness who testified," he said.

On Monday, Jones emailed Troy City teachers informing them of the court's decision.

He told them the ruling "doesn't mean we can forget about the strides we have made in the last three years."

It doesn't mean the work's done," Jones stressed.

"We just won't have to file reports on it."

Thursday's decision dates back to a 1999 consent decree which in turn stems from Lee v Macon County, which was a court decision ordering the elimination of the dual "separate but equal" systems that were prominent in the 1960s.