Newspaper Page Text
SOUTHERN SCHOOL NEWS—April 7, 1955—PAGE 7
Maryland
Continued from Page 6
schools, which, according to this re
port, would be operating far below
capacity.”
COMPLIANCE FAVORED
Shortly thereafter, at its annual
meeting, the League adopted for its
“current agenda” a program of work
ing for “a firm compliance with the
Supreme Court decision outlawing
segregation within public schools
and to promote a like policy with
respect to public recreation.”
From what the Maryland reporter
of Southern School News could
learn to date, the Maryland Petition
Committee (an affiliate of Bryant
Bowles’ National Association for
the Advancement of White People)
was not taking an openly active role
in the county integration debate,
although one of its leaders lives and
works in Montgomery County and
participated in a local PTA unit dis
cussion. On the other extreme, the
county-seat branch of the National
Association for the Advancement
of Colored People “has not been too
active in the present struggle for
integration,” according to the Bal
timore Afro-American.
On March 15, the executive com
mittee of the County PTA Council
backed up its call for a one-year
integration program next fall by
authorizing the release and distri
bution to all PTA units of a legal
opinion by Mr. Horsky, who earlier
had said that Maryland’s school seg
regation law was “now certainly
unconstitutional.” The down-county
attorney took sharp issue with the
ruling by the attorney general’s
office that the May 17th Supreme
Court action was only an “opinion”
and therefore not legally binding
until implemented by decrees.
On March 17, Dr. Norris, the
county school superintendent, sub
mitted an $8,037,940 capital-improve
ment budget to the board of
education. As reported by the As
sociated Press, the budget “antici
pates integration of elementary
schools by September, 1956, and
secondary schools a year later.”
Queried on this point, Dr. Norris
told the Southern School News re
porter that his budget provided no
timetable for integration. Some pro
ponents of “fast” integration, how
ever, continued to maintain that
there was no other way to interpret
the Norris budget. The Montgomery
County Sentinel reported that an
unnamed member of the Board of
education believed the same thing.
the county weekly put it:
If the board accepts this budget
and its guiding premise, it logically
accepts the timetable for integr-tion
on which it is based.”
POLICY STATEMENT
On the evening of March 21 the
seven-member board of education
joet in a two-hour closed session at
o Rockville school administration
c anc * f° un( l that agreement
°u d not be reached on some points
u could be on others. The result
a Policy statement which, while
t esta bh s hing an integration time-
Was the most definite and de
co i- Statement on Supreme Court
lariri ance ever issued by a Mary-
br count y school board. The
ar s statement in full follows:
In recognition of the Supren
se “ rt rulin 8 of May 17, 1954, th
ti 0 _ e ? a ti° n in public school educj
Born 1S ’“constitutional, the Mon
affirm^• ^oyoty Board of Educatic
Pubfi ’ nten ti° n to integrate tl
Count S . °°i system of Montgomei
n er , y m an orderly and just mai
cation i° ^°’ n §’ the board of edi
and ri 3 S ° acknowledges the mor
ruijn ern °cratic implications of tl
an J?’ ^d re gards compliance
c 'du(at P ° rt T ity t0 extend a11 of 1
to all 'tk* 3 Programs and faciliti
basis. 36 children on an imparti
a studv edu cation is making
involved 311 . ana iy s is of the problems
report f m desegregation, of the
Cot nmitt° ^ le Citizens’ Advisory
re Ports 66 3S wed as the minority
of that lece ' VG< l from the members
teriaig a ° mm ittee, and of the ma
ty the v* communications received
’“'embers ° ar< ' education and its
operation^ 6 / t0 develop a plan of
tor the desegregation of
District of Columbia
the public schools of Montgomery
County to be put in operation when
the legal obstacles are removed, the
board adopts the following basic
principles:
PLAN OF ACTION
“1. Upon receipt of a ruling or
advice from the attorney general of
the State of Maryland that there is
no legal barrier existing in Mary
land to the integration of all students
in public schools, the board of edu
cation will instruct its superintend
ent to place in operation its program
of integration.
“2. The primary consideration of
the public schools shall continue to
be the educational needs of the
pupils.
“3. The same policy of integration
shall prevail throughout the county,
provided, however, the superintend
ent, with the approval of the board,
shall have discretion to vary the
timing of integration as conditions
warrant.
“4. The integration of board of
education employees shall be ac
complished at the same time as the
integration of pupils.
“5. Employment and placement of
all personnel shall be based on rela
tive merit established by personal
and professional qualifications for
the requirements of any particular
vacancy.
“6. School district lines shall be
drawn without regard to race; pupils
shall attend the school of their dis
trict unless by special permission of
the school administration.
“7. Wherever necessary there shall
be a realignment of school districts
or a reassignment of pupils to ac
complish proper use of existing fa
cilities; new facilities shall be pro
vided as promptly as possible to re
lieve overcrowded conditions.
“8. Wherever a pupil in a second
ary school desires a particular course
or courses, not available at the school
which he would normally attend,
the pupil shall have the option to
go to the school that will provide
the course desired. These decisions
shall be made by the board of edu
cation in accordance with present ad
ministrative policies but without
regard to race.
“9. Changes would normally be
come effective at the beginning of
a school year.”
PRESIDENT EXPLAINS
The president of the board of edu
cation, Willard G. McGraw, ex
plained to the Baltimore Evening
Sun that the board’s statement left
the way open for a gradual approach
to integration.
The day following the board of
education’s integration statement, the
Montgomery County Council of
PTAs held an election of officers at
Sherwood high school in up-county
Sandy Spring. The meeting was the
biggest and longest in county PTA
history, with up-county members
turning out in force to get the rep
resentation they felt had been lack
ing in previous county PTA discus
sions of integration. The council by
laws were amended to increase the
number of vice presidents to eight,
three of which must be up-county
members.
SPLIT BALLOTING
The division of thinking between
down-county and up-county mem
bers on the integration question
found expression in the voting for
the eight vice-presidents. There were
nineteen candidates for the posts, a
number of whom gave their views
on integration before the balloting.
When the voting ended near mid
night (a record 152 ballots were
cast), the up-county members had
captured four of the eight places,
and a fifth post had been won by
a down-county advocate of a “go-
slow” policy.
The contest for the presidency was
between Jesse McKnight, special as
sistant in the Department of Public
Affairs of the State Department, and
Paul Howard, the member of the
citizens’ advisory committee who had
turned in a minority report urg
ing integration of all grades this fall
or the following fall. McKnight was
a member of the PTA executive com
mittee that urged integration this
coming fall, but he was not so closely
identified publicly with “fast” inte
gration as Howard. McKnight won—
by an undisclosed margin.
WASHINGTON, D.C.
HE second phase of school officer
integration eventually will save
the District $90,000 a year in salaries,
the board of education was told at
its March meeting.
The proposed savings would result
primarily from the abolition of 11
key school supervisory posts which
Hobart M. Corning, school superin
tendent, said are not needed in the
operation of an integrated school
system.
Coming gave the school board a
reorganization plan for the present
hierarchy of department heads, di
rectors and supervisors as his final
step in administrative staff integra
tion. The board postponed action on
this stage of the job realignment un
til April.
At present, the school system has
13 educational departments with 26
department heads. In nine of these,
Corning proposes to appoint one
permanent head after one of the
two incumbents retires or is trans
ferred to another post.
BOTH FORMERLY SEPARATE
Formerly, both the white and Ne
gro divisions of the schools had a
separate set of department heads,
directors and supervisors.
During an “interim period,” Corn
ing would appoint one of the in
cumbent department heads chairman
and the other, assistant. This decision
would be based on personal inter
view, merit, fitness, experience and
seniority. The officers would get
equal pay.
These nine departments are art,
business education, foreign lan
guages, guidance and placement,
home economics, industrial arts, mili
tary science and tactics, music and
science. Corning proposes to merge
the present department of vocational
education with industrial arts.
Three departments—English, math
ematics and history—are “sufficient
ly large to require two permanent
heads,” Corning said. Corning pro
posed that the department of health,
physical education, athletics and
safety have a director, one assistant
director and two assistants. This
drops one of the present two first
assistants.
Corning said he proposed to reas
sign one of the two business depart
ment heads to supervise a new de
partment of curriculum.
TO ABOLISH NINE POSTS
“Under the plan for the permanent
organization nine positions of de
partment heads (supervising direc
tors) will be abolished, two posi
tions of assistant directors will be
abolished, and there will be further
money savings when, under the per
manent plan, three positions of de
partment head will be changed to as
sistant director. It is estimated that
the permanent plan will reduce the
cost of these supervisory and admin
istrative positions by at least $90,000
based on present salary schedules,”
Coming stated.
Elsewhere on the segregation front
in Maryland, the bill to ban discrim
ination against Negroes in public ac
commodations was given a two-hour
hearing at Annapolis. Nearly a score
of white and colored representatives
of civic, religious and labor groups
were on hand to support the meas
ure, and the endorsement of about
40 other organizations was an
nounced. Only two persons, repre
senting hotels and a private beach,
spoke against it. The bill received
a favorable report in committee by
a one-vote margin and was then
recommitted by the Senate in a 19 to
9 vote, despite the eloquent efforts
in its behalf by Baltimore’s fresh
man Negro Republican senator, Harry
A. Cole.
The efforts of the Maryland Peti
tion Committee and a small South
Baltimore group known as the Balti
more Association for States Rights
to find someone in the General
Assembly willing to introduce their
school legislation finally met with
success. Near the close of the ses
sion two South Baltimore delegates
introduced the measures “by re
quest,” one of them making it plain
that he was not going to push for
their passage. One of the bills would
Corning disclosed that the teach
ers’ colleges will not be housed in
one building next September. Pre
viously, he said the two institutions
would be placed in Cardozo high
school, the students from the latter
being dispersed elsewhere in the
city.
As in the first report on staff
changes, Corning said, he has again
given consideration to these funda
mental principles:
1. Providing the best and most
efficient educational service to the
schools.
2. Assigning incumbents to the
best advantage to the schools and to
the individuals.
3. Long-range planning in addition
to assignments necessitated by the
immediate situation.
SHUFFLE AT TOP
At an earlier special March meet
ing, the board approved by a six
to two vote Coming’s job reorganiza
tion of top school administrative
officers. This plan primarily re
shuffles the duties of Coming’s chief
lieutenants who, under segregation,
performed parallel services in the
two divisions of the school system.
Under step No. 1 of reorganization,
there will be three deputy superin
tendents. Two of these officers are
white and one is Negro. Eight as
sistant superintendents, five white
and three Negro, will report to one
of the three deputies, depending on
the nature of their work.
This half of the new job system
will be put into effect as soon as
possible this semester, Coming said.
The revamping of administrative per
sonnel will result in no extra cost
or savings since incumbent officers
were neither demoted or promoted.
To take care of all present ad
ministrators, several new jobs—long
needed in the school system—were
created. They deal with curriculum,
special services to children and a
better library setup.
COUNSEL APPROVES PLAN
Two school board members op
posed this proposal. Mrs. Frank S.
Phillips, vice president, said she felt
the plan was “top-heavy” with offi
cers. Robert R. Faulkner said he
wanted the plan to be checked by
the corporation counsel for possible
violations of law.
Corporation Counsel Vernon E.
West, however, said he thought the
school board could move ahead with
reorganization without first seeking
legislation to write in new titles of
officers proposed in the overhaul of
jobs.
Opponents of immediate school in
tegration in Washington since last
summer repeatedly have raised the
point that language in the Teachers
Salary Act specifically says that
certain officer jobs must be held by
white persons and other ones by
Negroes. This language actually was
the basis for school segregation in
the District. Last summer, West
provide state aid to children at
tending private schools: the other
would amend the compulsory school
attendance law to provide that white
children need not attend schools
with Negro students of Negro teach
ers.
MILITARY SCHOOLS
Two Maryland counties have run
into difficulties because they operate
schools at military bases for white
children only, in conflict with Fed
eral policy but in keeping with state
board of education policy. The case
in Cecil County involving the Bain-
bridge Naval Training Center is in
the Federal District Court, with the
NAACP representing the children
of colored base personnel denied ad
mittance to the base school. The case
in Anne Arundel County, involving
Fort Meade, has not yet been a sub
ject of court action, but the NAACP
has entered the picture there, also.
COMMUNITY STUDY
A final development of significance
during the month was the release of
the Baltimore “Community Self-
Survey.” A year and a half ago a
large number of Baltimoreans under
ruled this language was “moot” in
light of the Supreme Court decision.
Special legislation to take race
references out of the present salary
law has not been sought. However,
a proposed revision of the broad
salary act is now under considera
tion by the District commissioners.
AIM IS HIGHER PAY SCALES
Although the principal aim is to
increase the present wage scales for
educational employes, all jobs would
be retitled to conform to Coming’s
reorganization plan—and race would
not be mentioned. Corning feels the
old, so-called legal framework for
segregation would be replaced
through this normal revision of an
out-of-date wage and condition law.
Four community representatives
gave board members their opinions
of the proposal, dealing with admin
istrative jobs, at the special meeting.
They had been invited to speak.
Ralph E. Cushman, Federation of
Citizens Associations, the white com
munity group which opposes integra
tion before a final Supreme Court
decree, questioned whether reorgan
ization was valid under existing Dis
trict law. Cushman said he thought
the plan when completed should be
referred to a group of “impartial”
educational experts for study.
Mrs. Frank Strope, president, Dis
trict Congress of Parents and Teach
ers (now beginning to integrate),
said she could not comment on the
plan without polling the membership
of 25,000. She urged that the board
weigh the plan to continue school
administration on the highest pos
sible level.
SUPPORT EXPRESSED
Robert F. Brooks, president, Wash
ington Congress of Parents and
Teachers (predominantly Negro),
said, “We enthusiastically and un
equivocally express our support of
the plan . . .”
He stressed that all officers in
volved were reported to be happy
with the new job assignments.
Herbert O. Reid, Federation of
Civic Associations (Negro), objected
to the “incompleteness” of the plan
and the lack of job descriptions for
all officers. Coming, at that time, had
not submitted the second part of
reorganization.
ZONE REVIEW SLATED
Prior to Easter vacation, Washing
ton school officials began reviewing
the new school boundaries which
were drawn last summer to see if
changes will be necessary before the
1955-56 term.
Only factors under consideration
are new housing developments and
population shifts which may result
in school overcrowding in certain
communities.
When school opens next Septem
ber, the school zones go into com
plete operation, the last page in the
District’s calendar for school integra
tion.
the auspices of the Maryland Com
mission on Interracial Problems and
Relations and the Baltimore Com
mission on Human Relations began
the most thorough study of group
relations that the city had ever
known. Nearly 100 civic, religious
and fraternal organizations gave it
their support, and almost 500 per
sons of every race, creed and social
position did volunteer duty as in
terviewers, clerks or workers on
committees. About 100,000 Balti
moreans were interviewed directly
or by mail, and the final report is to
be published under the title, “An
American City In Transition.”
A summary of the report was car
ried in four lengthy installments by
The Sun and showed the advance
ments made by Negroes and, to a
lesser extent, by other minority
groups in Baltimore, as well as the
areas in which advancement is yet
to take place. The findings will be
reported in Southern School News
at such time as space permits. A
report will also be made in the near
future on what Maryland counties,
in addition to talk-filled Mont
gomery County, are doing or not
doing about the integration question.