Newspaper Page Text
COMMENTARY
by Arthur Taylor
Clarke County Elected School Board
In response to the request of the
court’s clerk, the elected eight majestical
ly stood; and as quickly as they could
without debate, each raised a right hand
as the clerk repeated a solemn oath of
which each in unison repeated, proclaim
ing to preserve, protect, and defend the
Constitution and Laws of the United
States. Thus, an eight-member elected
Board of Education was legally install
ed in Clarke County, Georgia.
During the next several years as time
propels our mortal bodies into the 21st
Century, all citizens of Clarke County
will be focusing their 20-20 vision, like
laser beams, upon this first elected Board
of Education in the history of Clarke
County. And it will be our sincerest
desire and hope that the Board will suc
ceed in its effort to enhance the standing
of public education and assure adequate
educational opportunities for all of the
children of our community without re
gard to race or economical circumstances.
The task is not unattainable, providing
the members of the Board inoculate
themselves with strong doses of coopera
tion, moral courage, dedication to duty,
and strong ethical character that are
activated at the kick-off of their
administration.
The solemn oath of which all members
have sworn themselves demands that
they stand side-by-side in condemning,
rejecting, and playing no role in any acts
or any practices that are contrary or
hostile to the Constitution and Laws of
the United States. During the campaign,
all of the candidates were quite vocal
about a need to combat the proliferation
of violence in the schools and to restore
respect for and obedience to the rules and
regulations that govern the orderly
operation thereof. They were correct to
do so. But those who would serve in high
public leadership positions, must set ex
amples for the young by respecting and
obeying the laws themselves. Hence, on
their sleeves the Board’s members should
wear the below stated caveat:
1. “The Separate but Equal” (Segre
gation) doctrine (Plessy v. Ferguson
1896).
This famous and inhumane dogma
was dealt a legal death blow by the
Supreme Court’s Brown v. Board of
Education of Topeka, Kansas 347 U.S.
10
483 (1954) and 349 U.S. 294 (1955) which
meant that no students could be
separated or isolated from their fellow
students solely on the basis of race. Also,
during the campaign, several candidates
ran and were elected by endorsing and
espousing the racist concept of neighbor
hood schools and alternative ar
rangements, which are blatantly design
ed to resurrect the “Separate but Equal”
devil. Such schemes will not be tolerated
because they are in conflict with the
Brown Decision. In that decision, the
United States Supreme Court unani
mously ruled that “...in the field of
public education, the doctrine of
‘Separate but Equal’ has no place. To
day, the Brown Decision is the Law of
the Land, and the Board’s oath of of
fice demands that each member obey it.
2. Prayer and Public Education.
The U.S. Supreme Court has ruled
that State-composed prayer (this also in
cludes State entities, such as counties) im
plies the establishment of religion and is
therefore contrary to the guarantees af
forded by the First Amendment to the
Constitution as applied to the States
through the 14th Ammendment (Engel
v. Vitale 1962). Other decisions barring
prayer in public schools are Murray v.
Curlett (1963), and Schemp v. Abington
Township School District (1963). The lat
ter two decisions were combined by the
Court in one opinion (Engel v. Vitale),
issued June 17, 1963. A major conclu
sion of the Court in Engel v. Vitale was
that “Religious activity could best be
preserved by nurturing it outside of the
school”. The decision is the Law of the
Land.
The above stated caveat, Prohibitions,
not only apply to the Board and Super
intendent, but also to every subordinate
under their command.
Two final strong points need to be em
phasized. The first deals with politics.
Although it can’t be legally banned, the
creation of a climate of politics with
respect to the operation of school
business is anathema to the progress of
a healthy and robust educational en
vironment. In Georgia, there have been
cases in which systems were denied ac
creditation of their schools because top
school officials allowed themselves and
their systems to get involved in politics.
Those officials retarded, demoralized,
and disgraced the progress of education
in the systems of which they served. Are
critics of public education correct in
believing that politics is the main reason
why elected boards of education are in
herently mediocre? Politics can also con
taminate higher education. In the 1940’s,
the University of Georgia system almost
lost its accreditation because the late
Governor, Eugene Talmadge, tried to in
ject politics into the system. The Clarke
County School Board members should
become aware of how politics can
adversely affect the realization of a first-
rate school system.
With regard to the hierarchical
organization of the Board, the positions
of President and Vice-President should
be selected by the members using the
yearly rotational method. Such a method
would serve as a check against the Presi
dent and Vice-President by preventing
the massing of excessive power and in
fluence through the formation of coali
tions and other devious schemes design
ed to keep themselves in power and hence
to suppress the will of the other
members; it would also provide
minorities a chance to advance to the
position of President or Vice-President.
The same modus operandi should apply
to the various committees of the Board.
Under the leadership of the District
Superintendent, the curriculum and
pedagogy of education should and must
be in the hands of the professionals.
These individuals have received adequate
professional training in colleges and
universities in preparation for their in
tellectual callings - the teaching profes
sion. The Board of Education should
limit its task to that of a purely policy
making body.
To conclude, the people of the United
States have created public schools and
the schools must serve all of the children
of the people in an equal and impartial
manner. The major objective is to
prepare the young to be participants in
a life of citizenship in which all may
equally partake.
Professional Identification: Arthur
Taylor is a retired Teacher of Political
Science and Geography at the former
Burney-Harris High and Cedar Shoals
High School.
ZEBRA VOL. 2 ISSUE 7