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SOUTHERN SCHOOL NEWS—MARCH, 1964—PAGE 9 MISSOURI St. Louis Public School System Gaining Negroes, Losing Whites ST. LOUIS E xtensive desegregation in the St. Louis public schools de spite continued residential segre gation was reported in a study approved Feb. 11 by the Board of Education. The administrative re port noted that the school system is adding 3,300 Negro children annually and is losing 1,100 white children. Supt. of Instruction William Kott- meyer presented the report, which said Negroes have been employed in 49 per cent of nonteaching positions filled since establishment of the school board’s merit system two years ago. Pickets carrying placards marched in front of the school board building in downtown St. Louis, protesting the construction of 34 supplementary class rooms in West End playgrounds to relieve congestion. The board’s assembly room was filled to capacity with 80 persons, and a similar number were refused admission because of fire-code restrictions. Results of Policy The study was compiled by admin istrative officials to “show the results in carrying out the board’s policy of achieving maximum integration con sistent with sound educational prin ciples and responsibilities.” Board members went into closed ses sion for 90 minutes to review Kott- meyer’s 40-page report. It showed that in the last 10 years the number of white pupils decreased from 59,142 to 47,939 and the number of Negro pupils increased from 31,185 to 64,102. In 1953, < 'he school population was 65 per cent white, compared with 43 per cent in 1963. The report showed there were 11,173 white and 8,940 Negro students in the nine general high schools last Sep tember. For the first time, no high school was either all-white or all- • Negro. Referring to the transporting of 4,650 children, primarily Negroes, from over crowded West End schools, the report noted that complete desegregation has heen achieved in 18 classrooms at five receiving schools. In nine receiving schools, the 1 of travel time for pupils who t oy bus prevents synchronizing schedules. In three other rece schools, there are no local pupils. Where full classroom integr as not been possible, a signi: William Kottmeyer Scored and lauded. degree of integration has been achieved nonetheless,” the report said. “All play grounds and lunchrooms” as well as other extracurricular activities are de segregated, the report continued. Turning to faculty desegregation, the report said there were 1,818 white and 886 Negro teachers in the school sys tem in 1953. In 1963, there were 1,811 white and 1,670 Negro teachers. The entire professional staff, includ ing teachers, administrators and certi fied employes, increased from 4,051 in 1962 to 4,156 in 1963. Negro professional employees increased from 1,796 in 1962 to 1,921 in 1963, and the number of white professional employees decreased from 2,245 to 2,224. Almost Half of Jobs The report showed that in nonteach ing employment, Negroes obtained 274 of the 564 positions filled since estab lishment of the merit system in Oc tober, 1961. Previously, nonteaching employees were hired by the executive officers of the board. Several factors lessen the degree of school desegregation that can be ac complished, Kottmeyer told board members. These include the rapid rise in the number of Negro pupils, the steady decline in the number of white pupils and the lack of desegregation in the housing patterns of St. Louis. “For all practical purposes, there is no integration in the community’s Tennessee (Continued From Page 8) bbon and the suit has not been heard on ^ merits. . ,?® ro plaintiffs have filed objections 10 the board’s plan. efendants in the suit also include 0 fJ ? F d Commissioners of the City ed a . on > which serves as board of j r U jfL at !° n tor the city district located ^tadison County in West Tennessee, h e Jackson portion of the suit, Bm 6V6r ’ Was set t° r hearing and Judge ° n '^ LU ^' ^2, 1963 approved a ' tied vf e S ra <d ua ted desegregation plan dents ^ hoard. Forty Negro stu- 5 V . - attending biracial classes at ackson schools this year. l ,s ceZZ Q I °inmission Favors Mediate Study missjo ne wly.formed Tennessee Com- F e (, p 1 } Human Relations suggested hiajpj'r, , that an immediate study be dons” • delating to present condi- nit Uti 0 ln helds of educational in- oth ers nS ’ h° us Ing, job opportunity and 5 stat ( ? a fi° n resu lting from the study, dve en t said, may result in “posi- "*0y affirmative action to eliminate ^ fouJ Iminator y practices which may . h’an, ^ to exist -” 'Oripg 6 - hy Gov. Frank G. Clement ^lon at ? Uar y» the 21-member com- i tlV6 rnor &iS ° recommen ded that the ^ttcticp. a< d°Pt a fair employment ttl ° re tl;, e 6 ant d Provide a budget of ‘ the 550,000 a year for operation X passion. 'die, -i Sam Dodson Jr. of Nash- *rman, said he hoped that a salaried staff and commission office will be established within the next 60 days. What They Say SNCC Leader Urges More Demonstrations John Lewis, national chairman of the Student Non-Violent Coordinating Committee, said in Nashville on Feb. 20 that Negroes “must demonstrate and keep on demonstrating until this coun try is free.” Speaking at a rally at Mt. Zion Bap tist Church, Lewis called for non violent action which he said “would turn this Southland upside down” to rid it of “the evil of segregation.” Urging that “those of us involved in the freedom fight” should work to bring about “confrontations” between the Southern states and the federal government, Lewis said: “The federal government must step in and oversee voter registration the same way it got James Meredith into the University of Mississippi, if need be.” Lewis, a 1963 graduate of Fisk Uni versity in Nashville, was one of the leaders of the Negro march on Wash ington last August. On Feb. 21, Lewis and two other Negroes were found guilty of unlaw ful conspiracy to obstruct trade and commerce in connection with a super market demonstration in Nashville last year. Sentenced to two days in the workhouse and fined $25 each, the three served notice they will appeal the conviction to the State Supreme Court. housing pattern, and thus the Negro and white pupils are not integrated residentially,” Kottmeyer pointed out. “This compounds the problems facing the board in its attempts to foster inte gration in the schools,” he added. Kottmeyer cited several school pro grams which he said offered biracial contact for pupils who do not have desegregated classrooms. They include combined choral groups, instrumental music groups, interschool athletics, ele mentary school gifted classes and the permissive and regular transfer pro grams for pupils and teachers. ★ ★ ★ NAACP Branch Demands Discharge of Kottmeyer Kottmeyer was the central figure earlier in the month when on Feb. 3 his dismissal as acting superintendent of instruction was demanded by the St. Louis branch of the National As sociation for the Advancment of Col ored People. The NAACP, in a protest against plans to build 34 supplementary class rooms to relieve congestion at West End schools, voted the action against Kottmeyer in a meeting attended by about 100. The group adopted five of six pro posals by the Rev. Arthur Marshall Jr., chairman of the NAACP educa tion committee. The sixth, to recom mend recall by voters of all school board members who approved the sup plementary building program, was tabled. His suggestion that the group de mand a special session with the board and stage a mass demonstration out side the board offices during the meet ing was adopted without dissent. NAACP members endorsed also his recommendations that every bdhrd meeting be picketed until the group’s demands are met, that the board be asked to report on progress in erasing school segregation, and that Kottmeyer be discharged. Office Picketed The following day, members of Par ents for Integrated Education appeared at Kottmeyer’s office at the Board of Education for the second day to protest the supplementary classrooms. The eight pickets held hand-written signs and sat quietly on a row of benches. Timothy Person, chairman of the group, said it had pledged to use all necessary measures to prevent instal lation of the supplementary units. This includes demonstrations at the school sites as a last resort, he said. Person said the group is asking that permanent school buildings be erected to accommodate pupils in congested Negro neighborhoods or that pupils be transported to available classrooms elsewhere on a desegregated basis. “I am terribly disturbed about this plan,” the Rev. Mr. Marshall said, “and almost angry, but a preacher shouldn’t get angry.” “The board needs another march and demonstration,” he said. “We ought to throng the streets and office building and get in the building and on top of it and everywhere.” ‘He Needs to Go’ The Rev. Mr. Marshall said that he respects Kottmeyer for his knowledge of educational planning, “but I accuse him of keeping the schools segregated. He needs to go. We must ask for his dismissal.” School officials denied that the sup plementary units were structurally in ferior. They said the units were mod em, well-lighted and permanent struc tures that provide an educational environment comparable to regular school buildings. In an editorial two days after the NAACP’s action against Kottmeyer, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch said: “The outburst against Deputy Super intendent of Instruction Kottmeyer by some members of the St. Louis branch of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People was aimed at the wrong target, and for reasons that strike us as clearly un sound. . . . “The proper target of a protest of this sort is not the school system’s principal administrative officer; he rec ommends policy, but does not make it. The proper target is the 12-member Missouri Highlights An administrative report to the St. Louis Board of Education stated that the school system is adding 3,300 Negro children annually and is los ing 1,100 white children. It said Ne groes have been employed in 49 per cent of nonteaching positions filled since establishment of the school board’s merit system two years ago. In protest against plans to build 34 supplementary classrooms to re lieve congestion at West End schools, the St. Louis branch of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People demanded that Wil liam Kottmeyer be dismissed as Act ing Superintendent of Instruction. The St. Louis Board of Education reported that faculties at all 10 pub lic high schools were desegregated for the first time. St. Louis’ new fair-housing bill was reviewed by Morris M. Hatchett, an attorney and chairman of the Com mittee on Housing of the St. Louis branch of the NAACP. “If you live in a Jim Crow neighborhood and send your children to school there, it’s because you want it that way,” Hatchett said. An answer was filed by the St. Louis branch of the NAACP to a suit by the Board of Education. The board’s suit asked an injunction to prohibit interference with its bus transportation program. School Board, now headed by a Negro, the Rev. John J. Hicks, which makes school policies and which must account for them at the polls. Mr. Hicks has strongly defended Mr. Kottmeyer and the ‘extra classroom’ plan. The Board, of course, could have disapproved Mr. Kottmeyer’s proposals, and could have drafted its own plan had it wished. ‘Proposal Was Sound’ “We believe Mr. Kottmeyer’s pro posal was sound and that the School Board exhibited good judgment in adopting it as its own. The supple mentary units, contrary to the evident understanding of some NAACP mem bers, are not the old-fashioned port ables; they are permanent buildings of brick and steel frame construction. Their prime purpose is to provide school facilities for children in their own neighborhoods; but interestingly enough, they also can help racial inte gration in the system. For they will help reduce the need to transport West End youngsters to schools elsewhere in the city. “The classrooms now used by trans ported pupils then can be made avail able, if the board so decides, for pupils taking advantage of the permissive transfer program. “St. Louis is fortunate to have a top flight educator like William Kottmeyer at the head of the Instruction Depart ment. Subjecting him to such ill- informed harassment is hardly the way to advance the cause of public education for all the city’s children.” Hicks Urges Halt The Rev. Mr. Hicks on Feb. 6 called for a halt to the “misguided attacks” on Kottmeyer. The president of the Board of Education said Kottmeyer, in proposing the supplementary units, was merely carrying out a board- approved program to relieve serious overcrowding under the neighborhood school concept. “It is charged that the building of supplementary classrooms is an act of containment against Negro children,” the Rev. Mr. Hicks said. “This is far from the intent and purpose of the board, which adopted the program.” The Rev. Mr. Hicks asserted that erection of the classroom units on four elementary school playgrounds “is sim ply an attempt to cope with a serious and pressing problem—that of over crowding and population bubbles in the West End and adjoining areas of the city.” The chairman said Kottmeyer is a nationally known and respected edu cator and administrator “who should not be crucified” for proposing solu tions to a serious problem. “It would be nothing short of tragic for every child in the school system and for the entire community if we should lose Dr. Kottmeyer’s services,” the Rev. Mr. Hicks declared. “All sincere efforts should be made to find solutions through the presenta tion of facts based upon sound educa tional methods and principles,” he said. “We will only destroy our great school system if we descend to name-calling and personalities.” The St. Louis Teachers Association, representing about 1,400 teachers, adopted a resolution Feb. 5 offering its “unqualified support” to Kottmeyer and the board. Legal Action NAACP Answers Injunction Suit The St. Louis branch of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People filed its answer on Feb. 14 to a Board of Education suit seeking an injunction to prohibit inter ference with its bus transportation pro gram. The answer filed in the court of U.S. District Judge John K. Regan charged that it was unconstitutional to keep transported Negro students in class rooms separate from white pupils. About 4,600 pupils, primarily Negro, are transported by bus to predominant ly white schools because of overcrowd ing of central and West End schools. The NAACP charged further that the board’s building program perpetuates segregation and denies fair and equal education opportunities. The Board of Education sought the injunction last August against the NAACP and other civil-rights organizations which pick- (See MISSOURI, Page 10) All St. Louis High Schools Have Desegregated Faculties Faculties at all 10 St. Louis public high schools are desegregated for the first time, a report to the Board of Education showed Feb. 7. No high school in the system has 100 per cent white or Negro enrollment, the report said. The report, drafted by the Superin tendent’s Committee on School Inte gration, said considerable activity to ward complete faculty desegregation in the system had been achieved by encouraging white teachers to transfer to all-Negro schools and Negro teach ers to transfer to all-white schools. The faculty at Southwest High School now includes three Negroes and 77 white teachers. The student body in cludes five Negroes and 2,284 white children. Cleveland High School has four Negro and 87 white teachers, and 15 Negro and 2,436 white students. Both schools formerly were all-white in fac ulty and enrollment. There are 296 Negro high school teachers in St. Louis, an increase of 12 over last year, and 589 white high- school teachers. There are 1,358 Negro elementary teachers, an increase of 87 over last year, and 1,192 white elemen tary teachers. On enrollments in the 134 elementary schools, the report noted that 23 are all-white, 36 are entirely Negro and the others are biracial. The racial breakdown at the other high schools: Beaumont—942 white and 1,488 Ne gro students and 67 white and 20 Negro teachers. Central —1,347 white and 220 Negro students and 52 white and five Negro teachers. McKinley—1,303 white and 350 Ne gro students and 52 white and nine Negro teachers. Roosevelt—2,847 white and 14 Negro students and 102 white and four Negro teachers. Soldan—11 white and 2,497 Negro students and 34 white and 55 Negro teachers. Sumner—two white and 2,333 Negro and two white and 85 Negro teachers. Vashon—one white and 2,018 Negro students and six white and 76 Negro teachers. O’Fallon Technical High School—'1,622 white and 1,362 Negro students and 110 white and 35 Negro teachers.