Newspaper Page Text
PAGE 2—MARCH, 1961—SOUTHERN SCHOOL NEWS
Georgia Governor Pays
Tribute To Legislators
(Continued From Page 1)
after several parents applied for such
funds for their children.
The governor said his administration
is planning executive action to preven'
a run on funds of the local schoc'
systems under the grant-in-aid law.
He said he later would announce pro
cedures by which parents who object
to sending their children to public
biracial schools may apply for state
financial assistance in paying private
school tuition.
Gov. Vandiver said he did not an
ticipate 30 days prior to the signing
of the legislation that such measures
would be introduced in the legislature.
This, however, was before the federal
courts ordered two Negroes, Char-
layne Hunter and Hamilton Holmes,
admitted to the University of Georgia
at Athens (See SSN, February).
Lauds Legislators
“Georgia can well be proud of the
men who passed this program,” Gov.
Vandiver said as he signed the bills in
the presence of Lt. Gov. Garland Byrd,
House Speaker George L. Smith H,
House Floor Leader Frank Twitty,
Senate President Pro Tem Carl San
ders and a few others.
The Governor said the “plaudits and
the tributes of the people of Georgia
are due” the legistators.
The bills are:
• Senate Bill No. 48—It purports to
“further secure the constitutional rights
of school children to attend private
schools of their choice in lieu of public
schools.” It entitles school children be
tween the ages of 6 to 19 who have
not graduated from high school to re
ceive from the local board of edu
cation or other governing authority
wherein the child lives a grant of
state and local funds for attending a
nonsectarian private school. The amount
would be determined by dividing the
total annual funds in the local system
available each year for teachers’ and
other school personnel’s salaries, pupil
transportation and other items of cur
rent expense, by the number of pupils
in the local system.
The local board may prescribe dif
ferentials between grants for elemen
tary and high school students. Capital
outlay or other funds not obligated
may also be included in the compu
tation, and the Governor and State
Board of Education are authorized to
supplement the funds of local boards
with state funds.
Grants would be paid by check to
the parent, legal guardian or custodian
of the child entitled to receive tne
grant.
An amendment to the original bill—
raising the age limit from 18 to 19—
was accepted, but efforts otherwise to
amend it by placing grand jury checks
on paying of the grants and the con
ditions at private schools were unsuc
cessful.
• Senate Bill 49—Revises procedures
on appeals from local boards on pupil
placement plans. It authorizes county,
city or other independent boards of
education to hear and determine mat
ters of local controversy in construction
and administration of the school law.
It makes the local decision binding but
provides for appeal through the local
superintendent of schools to the State
Board of Education.
The bill was passed because a federal
court had raised a question as to
whether under the previous law the
right of appeal to the state board was
provided.
• House Bill 174—Sets up local
option procedures for closing and re
opening public schools in desegregation
crises. It provides for a majority vote
of board of education members or a
petition by at least 15 per cent of the
registered voters in the local system to
be sufficient for holding an election on
suspension of the public schools.
Ballots used in the election would
read “For suspension of public schools
in (name of system)” and “Against
suspension of public schools in (name
of system).”
Schools would be closed if a majority
voted to do so. The local board and
superintendent would continue to func
tion. Principals, teachers and other
school personnel would continue to be
compensated until other “suitable and
adequate employment is obtained,” but
not beyond the contract term.
State funds would continue to be
distributed to a closed school system
under present allotment procedures
(based largely on average daily attend
ance), in such a manner as to reflect
the same amount the system would
receive if the schools were open.
Reopening of the question of closed
public schools could be accomplished
at any time by vote of a majority of
Georgia Highlights
Four bills which have the effect of
wiping out segregation laws on the
Georgia books but set up other safe
guards against desegregation in the
public schools were signed by Gov.
Ernest Vandiver. (See Page One, Col
umn One.)
A legislator, a school official and a
board of education attorney said fur
ther safeguards were needed to keep
from imposing a financial burden on
local boards of education as requests
for tuition grants came in from the
parents of children in private schools
(See “Legislative Action.”)
The University of Georgia at Athens
was quiet as white students adjusted
to campus life with two Negro stu
dents. (See “In the Colleges.”)
school board members or a petition by
not less than 15 per cent of the regis
tered voters.
The compulsory school attendance
law would become inoperative in dis
tricts in which the public schools were
closed.
• House Resolution 69-174—This is
a proposed constitutional amendment
declaring that “freedom from com
pulsory association at all levels of pub
lic education shall be preserved in
violate.”
The statutes do away with all school
segregation laws in Georgia except the
constitutional provision.
Legislative Action
Tuition Plan Gets
Criticism; Tighter
Rules Advocated
Otate Senator Erwin Mitchell
^ of Dalton was particularly
critical of the grant-in-aid law. He
said it needed to be tightened up
considerably to prevent possible
financial choas.
The legislature had recessed for three
weeks shortly after the governor signed
the bills because appropriations com-
Dr. John W. Letson
Wary About Money
mittees needed more time to work on
a proposed budget, but Mitchell said
he would introduce tightening-up leg
islation when the General Assembly
reconvened.
Parents in the Bibb County, Atlanta
and Fulton County school systems ap
plied for grants for their children who
are attending private schools. And a
Chamblee man said if the state does
not provide grants for his two children
who are in a Catholic school in Atlanta,
he will sue for the money in federal
court. The man, John E. O’Brien Sr.,
said in a letter to State School Supt.
Claude Purcell that his children were
being denied equal protection as
guaranteed under the 14th Amendment
Nonsectarian Clause
There is a nonsectarian clause in the
tuition grant law, but this issue has
not been decided by the courts of
Georgia or other Southern states with
similar laws.
Atlanta School Supt. John Letson
said the tuition grant law is written in
such general terms it may have to be
amended to prevent a possible “raid
on the public treasury.”
Dr. Letson said the law as passed
contains “no safeguards against any
body going out here in a vacant house
and starting a school.”
Attorney General Eugene Cook ruled
that the act could not become effective
until July 1, since funds provided by
the new appropriations act will not
become available until that date.
No Change Expected
Legislative leaders said they did not
expect any changes to be made in the
law, and Gov. Vandiver said executive
action would be taken to prevent a
nm on local funds.
Baxter Jones, Jr., attorney for the
Fulton County (Atlanta) Board of
Education, said the law was one of
“fiscal irresponsibility” and suggested
that a local option plan giving counties
the right to decide for themselves
whether grants would be made be
written into the act.
In the Colleges
Georgia University
Peaceful; Petition
Signers Identified
rTHE DESEGREGATED CAMPUS at the
University of Georgia was
quiet. The names of the 405 fac
ulty members who had signed a
petition deploring a violent stu
dent demonstration and demand
ing that Charlayne Hunter and
Hamilton Holmes be readmitted
to the university were made
public. But no retaliatory action
had been taken against the
signers by the legislature, as had
been urged by some.
Peaceful adjustment to desegregation
has been made in Athens, but the
social life of the two Negro students
has been controlled by self-imposed
restrictions and curfews.
Copies of a “proclamation” urging
students and professors to ostracize the
Negroes were circulated, but it was
signed simply “Students for Passive
Resistance,” and no one seemed to
know its source. The incident attracted
little notice.
The first extracurricular activity in
which Holmes took part was attend
ance at a supper meeting of the
Canterbury Club, an Episcopal religi
ous group at the school. The Negro
was invited by the Rev. Nathaniel E.
Parker Jr., club adviser. He said
Holmes came with some white mem
bers who picked him up at his off-
campus residence and that he was
warmly received by about 30 students,
including some coeds, at the meeting.
‘We Rarely Go Out’
“While we circulate freely around
campus during the day,” Holmes said,
referring to himself and Miss Hunter,
“we rarely go out in the evenings.”
Miss Hunter said, “Many students
have gone out of their way to be
cordial to us, but there is still con
siderable reserve from the majority.”
She said it was a relief to have the
crowds gone. Demonstrations culmi
nating in a riot the night of Jan. 11
had attracted thousands of students,
hundreds of reporters and many on
lookers.
Protection for the Negroes is no
longer in evidence as it was for sev
eral days after the students returned
to the campus under an order from
U.S. Judge William A. Bootle of Macon,
but school officials said they “are prob
ably still being watched.”
•Time To Study’
“All the time Fm left alone gives me
uninterrupted time to study,” Miss
Hunter said. The girls in her dormitory,
Myers Hall, are not extremely warm
toward her, she added.
Holmes drives Miss Hunter to At
lanta, where both have their homes,
each Friday after classes.
Unofficial sources reported Holmes
and Miss Hunter, both honor students
in high school, had been doing ac
ceptable work and class attendance had
been good. The Negroes think their
classwork is progressing normally.
To Answer Messages
They still plan to answer a flood
of letters and telegrams received from
all parts of the world after the demon
strations at Athens.
Meanwhile, Roy V. Harris, an Au
gusta politician and member of the
Board of Regents of the University
System, urged organized social ostra
cism of the Negroes and refusal to take
any Negroes in white schools unless
they are ordered admitted by a federal
judge and accompanied to school by a
federal marshal.
SCHOOL BOARDS
AND SCHOOLMEN
Atlanta Desegregation
Crisis May Be Averted
With the University of Georgia de
segregated, and the state’s segregation
laws wiped out, speculation has been
WEST VIRGINIA U?
Watered-Down Version
Of Rights Bill Emerges y
CHARLESTON, W.Va.
A WATERED-DOWN VERSION of
Gov. W. W. Barron’s proposed
“human rights” bill was reported
from committee in both houses of
the West Virginia legislature.
(See “Legislative Action.”)
An additional $50,000 for formerly all-
Negro Bluefield State College, now
struggling to bolster its enrollment, was
asked by the State Board of Education
to provide additional technical science
equipment. (See “In the Colleges.”)
LEGISLATIVE ACTION
Efforts To Get Strong
Commission Hit Snag
Despite efforts by a citizens’ group on
behalf of Gov. W. W. Barron’s proposal
for West Virginia’s first Human Rights
Commission, committees in both the
House of Delegates and Senate came up
with rewritten proposals eliminating the
group’s subpoena power.
The Senate Judiciary Committee nar
rowed the proposed activities of the
commission, proposing that it strive only
to eliminate “all discrimination in
employment and places of public ac
commodation by virtue of race, creed
or religious belief.”
The House Judiciary Committee’s
similar action provided that the com
mission’s efforts toward lessening dis
crimination would be restricted to the
fields of employment and public accom
modation.
Supporters Meet
First steps to get passage of a strong
Human Rights Commission bill had
been taken Jan. 31 at a luncheon where
50 citizens representing a dozen orga
nizations gathered. Among those speak
ing were Miles Stanley, state AFL-
CIO president, William L. Lonesome,
Charleston lawyer who helped write the
legislation, and Delegate Charles G.
Peters Jr. of Charleston, House sponsor
of the bill.
“It’s up to people like you,” Peters
said, “to maintain interest in the bill
since there are no economic interests
behind it with a selfish axe to grind. If
you maintain interest, I’m sure the bill
will pass.”
The proposed commission would have
nine members and a full-time director.
Its primary weapon was to be the power
to subpoena witnesses to testify at both
public and private hearings.
Subpoena Power Was Keystone
Retaining this feature was the chief
concern of those attending the luncheon.
“We have too many ineffectual com
missions in this state already, such as
the Merit System Council,” said a
spokesman for the West Virginia Fed
eration of Woman’s Clubs.
Rabbi Samuel Cooper of Charleston
noted that the state once had a commis
sion similar in many respects but it was
ineffectual. “No results were ever ob
tained,” he said. “We just passed lofty
resolutions . . . and it passed out of
existence.”
“Without the power to subpoena, the
bill isn’t worth the money required to
that the common schools desegregation
crisis, originally expected next Sep
tember, will not take place.
A source close to the Atlanta Board
of Education said it was not believed
the board would voluntarily call a
referendum on the question of closing
city schools to avoid desegregation.
Under the local control bill of the
Vandiver “defense package,” the board
could put it up to voters to decide.
But if the board decides not to do so,
a petition of 15 per cent of the regis
tered voters in Atlanta could force a
referendum. Atlanta observers say,
however, that extreme segregation
forces in Georgia’s capital city are not
strong enough to do it. The feeling
further is that open schools would win
in such a referendum.
Judge Frank A. Hooper of the U.S.
District Court in Atlanta has ordered
city system desegregation by May 1.
Only 11th and 12th grades will be
affected; but because transfer appli
cations must be processed under a
pupil placement plan, Negroes are not
expected to be admitted to white
schools in Atlanta until September
1961.
★ ★ ★
The State Board of Education voted
to oppose a proposed House bill which
would do away with the compulsory
school attendance law in Georgia.
# # #
finance it,” said Mrs. Charles Wilson-
president of the Kanawha Valley C a:
cil on Human Relations.
Hearing Crowded
t
Next day a committee represent, ^ "
JSIV'
the 50 interested citizens appeared t
fore the Senate Judiciary Committee
a public hearing on the human rij* f°
bill. There was a standing-room-oj foul
crowd on hand.
Only one witness testified against j
bill, and she called for stronger legj^
tion to end job and housing discri®^
tion.
Stoi
3®*
?s ‘
i.-ose
-egisl
Iff-
Oni
“Let’s get to the problem of fairs;
ployment practices and discriminate
in housing,” said Mrs. D. G. Santini,
South Charleston. She pointed to
same failure in the past discussed \
Rabbi Cooper at the luncheon.
“This is a moderate bill and ver
conservative in nature,” said the Ee
C. Anderson Davis of Bluefield, prej
dent of the state NAACP. “It will hi
realistic step toward correcting mar
ID
ss
ihen
m
of the discriminatory and un-Amerfe
practices.”
Bipartisan Endorsement
AFL-CIO President Stanley note
state
Eng
that both the Democratic and Repult
can parties had endorsed the creations
such a commission, and added:
“If we are going to help push back ft
frontiers of freedom in the world,
should begin at home . . . Senate E
28 is the first step in a long jourr.r
and the time is right now.
Many of the same people appear?
before the House Judiciary Committe
Feb. 9 to testify in favor of a simik
bill. All urged the committee to repc-
the bill tq the floor favorably. They sc
the bill should remain as written, k
give the right to the commission t
subpoena witnesses.
Lai
■t
tan
ago
3e v
Dti
SOSSI
vide
Re
Oniv
Kiss
said:
II
Church Officials
Ot
Seg
deni
iocis
ores
T]
irie
Among the speakers was the Rev. Cs
R. Kee, executive secretary of the We ^
Virginia Council of Churches, who sai
he represented 530,000 West Virginia:
in 15 church denominations. “If we ®
percentages,” he said, “I think all of t
together (those testifying) repress-
more than one-third of the peoples
West Virginia.” _
Another witness was the Rev. Roher] left
McNeill of Charleston, whose
church was in Columbus, Ga., ft*
which he was banished for his views ®
racism. He said:
“West Virginia is a standout examp
for its work toward human relations, ft
be able to stand here is rather new’
me ... to know that when I go ho®
won’t be ostracized.”
sppi
ibot
Li
Uni’
las Peai
adn-
Drastically Rewritten
On Feb. 13 the fears of the bill’s sW
porters became reality. The Senate
diciary Committee drastically rewr^
it. In addition to taking away the Ofi
mission’s subpoena powers, the “■'
mittee narrowed the activities of ■
commission to cover only “discriff.
nation in employment and pk ceS
public accommodation.” Other chaW^
included permitting only five instead 1
six of the commission’s members
belong to the same political P ar ^t.
reducing the director’s salary ^
$9,000 to $7,000 a year.
On Feb. 16 the House Judiciary ^
mittee sent its similarly revised v e
of the human rights bill to the fl°° r _ _
The original bill proposed by ^
Barron provided for investigat 101 *^,
discrimination. Throughout the am**J
bill the words “consider” and 1 co®^:
eration” replaced “investigate
“investigation.”
Additional Funds Asked
To Bolster Bluefield
The State Board of Education • ^
Jan. 27 to ask the legislature
$50,000 to the amount already
for Bluefield State College f°* ® &
fiscal year. The money
additional equipment in the tec
science division, which is i® . ^
year of a new two-year technical
ing program in four fields. ^
Bluefield has been a struggle 1 ® jA
tution since desegregation w ?* me rlf!
by the board in 1954. It was ioT f^
Negro college. Its officials were ^
to take steps to attract more s ^
because of its high per-pup® c
the technical training program
of the innovations. ...t/i
but’
Enrollment went up briefly> u
the beginning of the last term 1
a drop again. Bluefield is in the ^
about
\
border county of Mercer, a® 0 ? , s&'
from Concord College, anotn ^ f
owned institution.