Newspaper Page Text
I
PAGE 6—OCTOBER, 1962—SOUTHERN SCHOOL NEWS
LOUISIANA
Orleans Public, Catholic Schools Gain In Enrollment
Enrollments in New Orleans
School
Sept.
White
28, 1962
Negro
Sept. 6, 1962
White Negro
Oct. 19,
White
1961
Negro
Allen
.. 330
2
305
4
377
0
Audubon
.. 105
8
103
7
143
0
Braelley
.. 519
2
395
2
609
0
Davis
.. 667
3
477
3
726
0
Frantz
.. 315
3
144
3
59
1
Jackson
.. 615
9
433
9
689
0
Lafayette
Laurel-
.. 540
9
361
8
570
0
Lee
.. 293
3
235
3
377
0
Lusher
.. 303
9
256
7
256
2
McDonogh 1 .
... 725
1
613
1
765
0
McDonogh 11 ...
.. 355
4
266
4
298
1
McDonogh 16 ...
.. 229
2
164
2
216
0
McDonogh 39 .. .
.. 998
1
781
1
953
0
McDonogh 45 ...
.. 511
4
470
4
467
0
Palmer
.. 454
7
358
7
655
0
Semmes
.. 214
8
88
8
342
0
Shaw
.. 306
10
256
10
577
0
Washington
.. 630
1
480
1
741
0
Wilson
.. 397
11
366
10
394
1
Total
...8,697
107
6,775
104
9,449
5
NEW ORLEANS
ublic schools of Orleans Par
ish settled into the new school
year with increasing enrollments
in the 20 desegregated schools and
throughout the system.
In the parochial schools, enrollments
also advanced since the opening date,
but overall parochial school enrollment
stood some 3 per cent below the level
of September, 1961.
Sporadic reports of bomb plants
heard during the first few days of the
school year soon died out after a police
warning that bomb hoaxers would be
subject to severe penalty. Some shots
were fired through the glass door of the
St. Rosalie Catholic elementary school
in Harvey, across the Mississippi from
New Orleans, in the dawn hours of
Sept. 7. But in the absence of any phys
ical violence police relaxed their school
patrols and resumed an eight-hour
work day.
Enrollments advanced steadily. By
the Sept. 20 reading, overall registration
in the public schools in Orleans Parish
stood at 95,975, almost 5 per cent above
last year’s 91,415.
In the desegregated public schools,
enrollments advanced also since open
ing day, though at the end of the month
there still were 752 fewer pupils in the
20 desegregated schools than were reg
istered at the same schools last year,
when only four of the 20 were deseg
regated.
Enrollments Compared
There were no enrollment figures
precisely comparable as to dates. But
an accompanying tabulation shows
white and Negro enrollments as of Sept.
28, the last school day of the month;
Sept. 6, the first day of the current
school year; and Oct. 19, 1961, the end
of last year’s initial six-weeks term.
There were no comparable statistics
for the parochial schools of the arch
diocese of New Orleans, which officially
maintains that all of its schools are open
to all Catholic children without regard
to race and, hence, that it keeps no offi
cial racial data.
As with the public schools, however,
a steady increase in attendance was re
corded at the 36 schools where both
white and Negro pupils are registered:
13,656 on Sept. 7 and 14,518 on Sept. 17.
Also, as the table shows for the public
schools, it is presumed the Negro en
rollment in the mixed Catholic schools,
unofficially reported at 188 the first
week, has remained constant, with the
increase in total enrollment represent
ing a return of white pupils once the
opening day tensions were dissipated.
Of the Sept. 17 mixed parochial school
total of 14,518, 13,393 were in the 27
mixed schools of Orleans Parish and
2,226 were in the nine mixed schools
of other parishes in the archdiocese.
Total Down 3 Per Cent
Overall, the archdiocese bureau of
information reported, beginning-of-the-
year reports show a total of 73,433 stu
dents enrolled in 164 Catholic elemen
tary and high schools. This was com
pared with the enrollment of 75,796 at
the same time last year, a decline of 3
per cent. The bureau said the enroll
ment pattern of the past few years has
been for enrollment to rise between 1
and 2 per cent before the beginning of
the second semester.
Some boycotts were reported. In
Buras, Our Lady of Good Harbor
school, which last year housed some
340 white pupils, was open but without
pupils.
The boycott began Aug. 29, the first
day of school, when only 38 white chil
dren and five Negro youngsters showed
up. The Negro children did not return
the following day after, as Plaquemines
political boss Leander Perez said,
“Some of our people advised the Negro
parents that they had been duped into
enrolling their children in the school j
and selling the white Catholics down |
the river . . .”
The second day enrollment was 26 j
white pupils. An orderly crowd of 300 |
closely observed the goings and com
ings at the handsome school buildings,
operated by Franciscan priests. The
following day, a Friday, the Rev. Chris
topher Schnieder, pastor of the parish
school, announced the school would be
closed because of “numerous threats”
and “insufficient police protection.”
Classes resumed after Labor Day
with 13 white students present; there j
were 18 by Thursday but attendance
plummeted to zero on Sept. 7.
Each day since then, the parish priest
has opened the school but no students
have attended. The mother superior
who is principal of the school remains
at the school. The position of the arch-
diocesean school authorities is that the
school is open, like all others without
regard to race, and classes will be
taught for any pupils who attend.
Other boycotts were reported in Jef
ferson Parish. State Rep. John F. Rau
Jr. of Jefferson said a survey showed
that 1,100 Catholic school pupils from
three desegregated parochial schools
have transferred to the public schools.
He identified the parochial schools as
St. Joseph the Worker, at Marrero
which has enrolled three Negro pupils;
St. Anthony in Gretna which has 10
Negroes enrolled; and Our Lady of
Prompt Succor which had two Negroes.
“A fourth West Bank school, St. Ro
salie in Harvey, was resegregated Sept.
10 when the six Negro children pre
viously attending failed to show up and
apparently are not being educated else
where,” Rau said.
Overall Decrease 1,009
It was noted, however that in all six
Catholic schools of Jefferson Parish af
fected by the nondiscrimination direc
tive enrollment was down only 1,009. In
a prepared statement, in reply to a
query, the Chancery stated:
“Current tabulations show 15,656 stu
dents attending Catholic elementary and
secondary schools in Jefferson Parish.
At the same time, last year the Catholic
schools of Jefferson Parish had a com
bined enrollment of 15,351.
“Though the overall figures show an
increase of over 300, there have been
some decreases in certain schools.
“It has been claimed that 2,539 pupils
have transferred from parochial and
private schools to Jefferson Parish pub
lic schools.
“In spite of these 2,539 reported trans
fers, enrollment figures show an actual
decrease of 1,009 in Jefferson Parish
Catholic schools. However, this decrease
has been more than offset by gains else
where in the civil parish of Jefferson.”
In both the public and parochial
schools, pupils quickly settled into their
classroom routines. Outside some pick-
W hat They Say
“Renegade white people” are largely
to blame for desegregation of the
schools, Leander Perez Sr. told a jam-
packed gathering of people at a Belle
Chasse segregation rally sponsored by
an organization called Friends of the
Catholic Children.
The small number of Negroes attend
ing previously all-white Catholic
schools indicates that “the Negroes are
not the ones asking for integration,” as
serted the fiery president of the Pla
quemines Parish Commission Council.
Perez again blasted the Catholic
hierarchy, asserting that the Catholic
Church has been duped into following
the communist philosophies.
Nor did the civil authorities of New
Orleans escape his scathing attack.
Mayor Victor Schiro and Police Supt.
Joseph Giarrusso were lambasted for
urging calm here during school open
ing.
“You’re not going to get that kind of
reception here in Plaquemines Parish,”
he told the cheering crowd.
Two days later, Perez told a mass
rally at Westwego Park, in Jefferson
Parish, to “have a talk” with parents
of Negro children attending previously
white parochial schools.
“That’s what we did,” he said, re
ferring to the situation regarding Our
Lady of Good Harbor school in Buras.
“We just went to see those people and
explained that they were being used.”
eting continued during the first week of
school, one lone demonstrator at
Semmes public school on Sept. 10; 10
at St. Raphael’s parochial and a hand
ful at St. Leo the Great. (See Commu
nity Activity.)
A Catholic church and two desegre
gated public schools were emptied by
bomb scares on Sept. 7. They followed
in the wake of 30 telephoned bomb
threats investigated by police the pre
vious two days. These annoyances
eventually ceased after Police Supt. Jo-
sept I. Giarrusso pointed out that “we
have been successful in the past in ap
prehending persons responsible for such
hoaxes. They have been dealt with se
verely in the courts.”
In Jefferson Parish, sheriffs’ deputies
and their police dogs withdrew from
duty at the desegregated Our Lady of
Prompt Succor school at Westwego on
request of the Westwego City Council
after Marshal Sidney Guillot assured
the mayor and aldermen he would per
sonally handle any crowds that might
gather. Crowds at the school were esti
mated to be as large as 300 on the day
school opened.
The Westwego council also called on
Archbishop John P. Cody to rescind his
directive under which three Negro chil
dren were admitted to the school. The
resolution said the situation was caus
ing hardship and inconvenience to the
city government and the citizens.
★ ★ ★
Board Tells Trade Schools
To End Racial Restrictions
With a bare quorum present, the
State Board of Education on Sept. 19
adopted a resolution directing six state
trade schools to accept and process ap
plications from prospective students
without regard to race. The decision
Leander Perez Sr.
Capacity crowd
Gov. Jimmie Davis, speech-making in
Shreveport, told inquiring reporters
who questioned him about the Univer
sity of Mississippi situation:
“I can appreciate Gov. Barnett’s po
sition. I’m sure that everyone familiar
with the problem that faced me in ref-
was taken in response to a federal court
decision ordering desegregation of the
trade schools and contempt proceedings
against 13 education officials who had
ignored the order. (See Legal Action.)
Affected by the board’s directive
were the Sowela Vocational-Technical
School at Lake Charles; the Southwest
Louisiana Trade School at Crowley, the
Natchitoches Trade School at Natchi
toches, the St. Helena Parish Trade
School at Greenburg, the T. H. Harris
Trade School at Opelousas and the
Shreveport Trade School at Shreveport.
The board’s action formalized accept
ance on Sept. 17 and 18 of applications
from 13 Negroes for admittance to the
Sowela school at Lake Charles. The
prospective students were given a series
of examinations and routine processing
of the applications was begun. Under
the procedure approved by the court,
the enrollment process will be the same
as has existed for the past 10 years ex
cept that it must be applied without re
gard to race.
To Maintain Standards
In a statement, Rex Smelser, director
of the Sowela school, said:
“We do not intend to accept the ap
plications of any persons whose purpose
is to agitate or disrupt sound education
al conditions. Persons seriously seeking
to enroll for the purpose of securing an
[ education will be properly processed
| and duly considered for admission. We
J will not lower our standards. In fact,
J we expect to raise them as time de-
j mands.”
The board meeting at which the de
cision was made was a tense affair, with
icy silence prevailing between board
President William E. Dodd and State
Superintendent of Education Shelby M.
Jackson, an adamant foe of desegrega
tion.
Before the vote was taken on the
trade schools policy, Dodd pointedly
said to no one in particular, “Speak
now or forever hold your peace.”
No Reply
There was no reply from anyone.
This move obviously was calculated
to draw from Jackson a statement of
approval or disapproval of the board’s
action in view of his earlier statement
that he did not know what has been
going on in the federal court with re
gard to the case.
After the meeting, Jackson issued this
statement:
“I am not a member of the state board
of education and I do not have a vote
on the board. I stand on my previous
statements. It is quite obvious that the
attack made on me and the State De
partment of Education are personal in
nature and completely out of order.”
★ ★ ★
Flood of Applications
For Grants Continues
A flood of applications for grants in
aid to attend private, segregated, non-
erence to segregation every day that
I’ve been in office knows of my contin
uous and constant fight to maintain seg
regation.
“My good wishes are with Gov. Bar
nett that he may be successful in keep
ing the traditional way of life in Mis
sissippi that has been best for all races.”
★ ★ ★
In Jackson, Miss., W. M. Rainach,
former Louisiana state senator and gu
bernatorial candidate, declared that for
Gov. Davis to send “his best wishes” to
Gov. Barnett was not enough.
“Even though Gov. Davis did not
carry out his promise to go to jail if
necessary to preserve segregated schools
in Louisiana, he at least can come to
Mississippi now—and by his presence
let the Kennedy administration know
that Louisiana stands solidly behind a
governor who will go to jail to protect
his people.”
★ ★ ★
In Alexandria, deLesseps S. Morrison,
U.S. ambassador to the Organization of
American States, said that “if circum
stances appear favorable,” he will be a
candidate for governor in the 1964 cam
paign. He added, “Naturally, segrega
tion still will be an issue.”
In Baton Rouge, State Supt. of Edu
cation Shelby M. Jackson, after a meet
ing of the Joint Legislative Segregation
Committee (See Legislative Action),
smiling confidently said: “I’m the next
governor—and I’m for segregation.”
Louisiana Highlights
Orleans Parish public schools and
parochial schools of the archdiocese
of New Orleans gained enrollment
throughout the month following de
segregation of 20 public schools and
36 Catholic schools early in Septem
ber. Public schools reported a 5 per
cent increase over last year, but
Catholic schools were 3 per cent
below the level of last year.
Six trade schools operated by the
state were directed to accept and
process applications from prospec
tive students without regard to race.
The directive of the State Board of
Education was made under orders
of a federal district court which dis
missed contempt proceedings against
13 state school officials when the
board complied.
Seven Negro pupils were permit
ted to join in the federal court case
against the East Baton Rouge Parish
School Board after they were denied
admittance to white schools in the
capital city.
Orleans Parish school budget for
1962-63 was approved by the Legis
lative Budget Committee.
sectarian schools continued to flow ini
the Baton Rouge office of the Louisian
Financial Assistance Commission.
At mid-September, 4,070 grants o
$360 each had been approved for stu
dents in the New Orleans metropolita
area which embraces Orleans, Jeffa
son and St. Bernard parishes. Seven
hundred more applicants were in tl
mill, said the commission chairmai
Sen. E. W. Gravelet Jr. of Pointe-a-la
Hache.
Among the requests being processe
were 16 from pupils planning to atten
the newly organized Foundation privat
school in Baton Rouge and 400 fra
students of the Isidore Newman scha
in uptown New Orleans.
Schools Listed
Grants approved thus far are for tl
following schools, which include son
of New Orleans’ oldest and most &
elusive private institutions:
Ninth Ward Private School, 1,1!
Connor-Parkview, 68; Ecole Classiqu
236; Stuart, 221; Louise S. McGehs
147; Junior University of New Orlear.
337; Clifton Ganus, 96; Lakewood, 1
Marjorie Walters, 77; Garden Distrij
Academy, 47; Femcrest, 85; United Ec
ucational Co-op, 121; New Orleai
Academy, 155; Ridgewood, 158; Metairi
Country Day School, 104; Funtime Elf
mentary, 26.
First Educational Co-operative, S
Rural Private School, 1; Prytania R
vate School, 355; Vieux Carre Priva'
School, 7; Rugby Academy, 67; Lai
Charles Christian Institute, 67; Kek
Academy, 7; Bessie F. Hiern School,!
Faith School, 15; Louise Davis Scho<
2; John Curtis School, 59; Bush El'
mentary, 70; Same Barthe School, *
La Petit Ecole, 15; Magnolia School, ^
Mount Olivet Day School, 81; Metair
Private School, 38.
The Bush elementary school is a P r
vate, non-sectarian school for Negro®
It has been noted that the $360 P
year which each of the private sch®
pupils is authorized to receive is m° :
than is spent per pupil in the puW
schools of the three parishes.
The figure approximates the sta 1,
wide per pupil expenditure figure 1
$362.80 for the 1961-62 school y ei
However, under the State Depart!
of Education minimum program 31
equalization formulas, state and 1°®
support combined totaled $334 per p' ) f
in Orleans Parish, $274 in Jefferson 3 ®
$301 in St. Bernard. Fully half of *
Orleans figure is from local source*
★ ★ ★
Enrollment in Jefferson
Parish Schools Soars
Public school enrollment in Jeffer^
Parish stood at 41,207 as the new seb 5
term began, an increase of 2,389 0
last year.
State Rep. John F. Rau Jr. of 3e&
son said a survey showed that the ^
ord high enrollment is swelled by tr**
fer of 2,539 pupils from paro<^
schools to public schools in order
avoid desegregation.
Rau told the Jefferson Parish Se^"
Board that he will ask the next se sSl
of the legislature to provide reimbu^
(See NEW ORLEANS, Page V
Perez Blames ‘Renegade Whites’
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