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page 4—APRIL, 1964—SOUTHERN SCHOOL NEWS McKnight Elected Chairman Of SERS Board of Directors SERS Board Members After Meeting Reed Sarratt, re-elected excutive director; C. A. McKnight, new board chairman; John N. Popham, newly elected board member; Dr. Alxander Heard, new vice- chairman; Bert Slruby, outgoing chairman. NASHVILLE A. McKnight, editor of the • Charlotte Observer, was elected chairman of the board of directors of Southern Education Reporting Service on March 14, succeeding Bert Struby, general manager of the Macon Telegraph and News. The board, during its annual meet ing in Nashville, elected Dr. Alex ander Heard, chancellor of Vanderbilt University, vice-chairman succeeding Thomas R. Waring, editor of the News and Courier, Charleston, S. C. Reed Sarratt was re-elected executive direc tor. John N. Popham, general managing editor of the Chattanooga, Tenn., Times, was named to membership on the board for a three-year term succeeding Frank R. Ahlgren, editor of the Memphis, Tenn., Commercial Appeal and a form er chairman of the 13-member group. Ahlgren asked not to be re-elected. Board members re-elected for the ensuing three years were Dr. Luther H. Foster, president of Tuskegee Insti tute; Don Shoemaker, editor of the Miami, Fla., Herald, and Struby. McKnight, the new chairman, was the first executive director of SERS, having established its offices in Nash ville in July, 1954, and managed its activities until May, 1955, when he was succeeded by Shoemaker. Previous board chairmen have been Struby, from 1962 to 1964; Ahlgren, 1957 to 1962; and Virginius Dabney, editor of the Richmond, Va., Times-Dispatch, 1954 to 1957. Waring had been vice-chairman since the inception of the organization. The board agreed to appointment of a committee to “re-examine the pur poses and programs of SERS and to report to the board giving its judg ment as to the programs the organi zation should carry out in the future.” Appointed to the committee were Heard, chairman; Dr. Foster, Popham and Sarratt with Chairman McKnight and Struby, the past chairman, to serve as members ex-officio. SERS is operated under grants from the Ford Foundation. Its present grant extends through June 30, 1965. SERS edits and publishes Southern School News and also is publisher of Race Relations Law Reporter, which is edited in the Vanderbilt University School of Law. The organization main tains a large race-relations library in its Nashville headquarters and pro vides microfilm reproductions of its vast collection of published materials for 51 major libraries throughout the United States. Major SERS functions also include an information and re search service for news media, authors, governmental officials and others. Board members present at the March meeting were Dr. Foster, Dr. Heard, McKnight, Charles Moss, executive edi tor of the Nashville Banner. Popham, Sarratt, John Seigenthaler, editor of the Nashville Tennessean. Shoemaker, Struby and Waring. DELAWARE Board Member Says Small Units Should Be Closed as Undesirable DOVER ELAware’s . SMALL schools, most of which have an all- Negro enrollment, spawn juvenile delinquency and crime and ought to be closed, in the opinion of Harry D. Zutz, a member of the State Board of Education. Zutz, who initiated a comprehensive survey by the State Department of Public Instruction of the status of Ne gro schools at the Feburary meeting, continued his attack at the March 19 meeting of the board. In addition to displaying photographs of all schools with an enrollment of 100 or less, where he said students are receiving an inferior education, Zutz succeeded in having the board hold up approval of additions to two small schools with a predominantly Negro enrollment. In one instance, he caused the board to reverse itself after it had approved a $78,900 addition to the Du Pont Ave. Negro school at Lewes. Action Deferred Subsequently, the board, on a motion from Zutz, also deferred action on a proposed $78,000 addition to the Rich ard Allen Negro school in the George town Special School District. However, the board unanimously appoved construction of a new school at Slaughter Neck at a cost of $484,000, and renovation of Bridgeville 220 at a cost of $247,000. It is anticipated that both schools will, in the immediate future, have an all-Negro enrollment. Construction plans at each were ap proved only after assurance from Dr. Richard P. Gousha, state superinten dent of public instruction, that the buildings would be usable under com plete desegregation. Additions Opposed Zutz, along with board member Woodrow Wilson, the only Negro on the six-member body, is particularly opposed to additions to existing small Negro schools. That was the point he made as he caused the board to reverse itself after it approved the addition to the Negro school at Lewes. The Lewes project consists of the Delaware Highlights Harry D. Zutz, a member of the State Board of Education, continued his efforts to prevent additions ot existing small schools, most of which have an all-Negro enrollment. Small schools, he said, breed crime and delinquency. The president of Delaware State College, which has a predominantly Negro enrollment, protested a re duction in his school’s budget as proposed by Gov. Elbert N. Carvel. A Delaware judge said organizers of school boycotts will face a jail sentence if they appear before him. addition of two classrooms to a Negro school with an enrollment of 130 in eight grades. “Would this addition be necessary if we were to take grades 7-8 out and shift them to the Savannah Road (white) school?” Zutz asked. Children ‘Cheated’ “These children are being cheated of an educational opportunity, because their school is not equipped to supply a program available elsewhere in the district,” he added. As evidence, he cited that the white school has an enrollment of about 200 in grades 7-8 compared to 29 at the Negro school. “Let’s look at the possibility of using the facilities at the Savannah Road school, and moving the children over there,” he said. Dr. Hiram C. Lasher agreed that the board might well hold up the project “until we know a bit more about it.” A move by Zutz to rescind earlier approval was seconded by Dr. Lasher, and received unanimous approval. The project at Georgetown, also consisting of a two-room addition, was deferred for the same reason. “I’m not convinced it’s in the best interest of the children,” Zutz com mented. Later, Zutz displayed photographs of schools with an enrollment of less than 100, which he called “no credit to any one who lives in Delaware, which is proud of its educational system.” All but two of the schools—Arden and Iron Hill—are located in Kent and Sussex counties in the southern portion of the state. Juvenile Delinquency Zutz said the small schools are where “crime and juvenile delinquency have their beginnings.” Dr. Lasher, in rebuttal, pointed out that there is less crime in rural areas, where he lives, than in the cities. “Maybe so, but sometimes we think the country boys come to the city,” Zutz said. Zutz lives in Wilmington, the state’s largest city. In the Colleges Delaware State Leader Protests Reduced Budget A proposed reduction by Gov. Elbert N. Carvel of the budget at Delaware State College has drawn a protest from its president, Dr. Luna I. Mishoe. Dr. Mishoe, appearing before the Joint Legislative Finance Committee of the General Assembly, said that a re duction of nearly $100,000 in requested funds would force the predominantly Negro state college to drop one of PERKINS MISHOE three proposed new departments. While Delaware State College re quested $770,950 for the next fiscal year, Gov. Carvel recommended only $685,850. The budget for the University of Southern School News Southern School News is the official publication of the Southern Education Reporting Service, an objective, fact-finding agency established by Southern newspaper editors and educators with the aim of providing accurate, unbiased information to school administrators, public officials and interested lay citizens on developments in education arising from the U. S. Supreme Court opinion of May 17, 1954, declaring compulsory segregation in the public schools unconstitu tional. SERS is not an advocate, is neither pro-segregation nor anti-segregation but simply reports the facts as it finds them, state-by-state. Published monthly by Southern Education Reporting Service at I 109 19th Ave. S., Nashville, Tennessee. Second class postage paid at Nashville, Tennessee. OFFICERS C. A. McKnight Chairman Alexander Heard Vice-Chairman Reed Sarratt Executive Director Tom Flake, Director of Publications Jim Leeson, Director of Information and Research BOARD OF DIRECTORS Luther H. Foster, President, Tuskegee Institute, Tuskegee Institute, Ala. A'exander Heard, Chancellor, Vander bilt University, Nashville, Tenn. C. A. McKnight, Editor, Charlotte Ob server, Charlotte, N.C. Charles Moss, Executive Editor, Nash ville Banner, Nashville, Tenn. John N. Popham, General Managing Editor, Chattanooga Times, Chatta nooga, Tenn. Felix C. Robb, President, George Pea body College, Nashville, Tenn. Reed Sarratt, Executive Director, Southern Education Reporting Serv- ice, Nashville, Tenn. John Seigenthaler, Editor, Nashville Tennessean, Nashville, Tenn. Don Shoemaker, Editor, Miami Herald, Miami. Fla. Bert Struby, General Manager, Macon Telegraph and News, Macon, Ga. Thomas R. Waring, Editor, The News and Courier, Charleston, S.C. Henry I. Willett, Superintendent of Schools, Richmond, Va. Stephen J. Wright, President, Fisk Uni versity, Nashville, Tenn. CORRESPONDENTS ALABAMA William H. McDonald, Chief Editor ial Writer, Alabama Journal, Mont gomery ARKANSAS William T. Shelton, City Editor, Ar kansas Gazette, Little Rock DELAWARE James E. Miller, Managing Editor, Delaware State News, Dover DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA Erwin Knoll, Washington Bureau, Newhouse Newspapers FLORIDA Bert Collier, Editorial Writer, Miami Herald GEORGIA Joseph B. Parham, Editor, The Macon News KENTUCKY James S. Pope Jr., Sunday Staff, Louisville Courier-Journal LOUISIANA Patrick E. McCauley, Editorial Writer, New Orleans Times-Picayune MARYLAND Edgar L. Jones, Editorial Writer, Baltimore Sun MISSISSIPPI Kenneth Toler, Jackson Bureau, Memphis Commercial Appeal MISSOURI Robert H. Collins, Staff Writer, St. Louis Post-Dispatch NORTH CAROLINA Luix Overbea, Staff Writer, The Journal-Sentinel, Winston-Salem OKLAHOMA Leonard Jackson, Staff Writer, Okla homa City Oklahoman-Times SOUTH CAROLINA William E. Rone Jr., City Editor, The State, Columbia TENNESSEE Ken Morrell, Staff Writer, Nashville Banner TEXAS Richard M. Morehead, Austin Bu reau, Dallas News VIRGINIA Overton Jones, Associate Editor, Richmond Times-Dispatch WEST VIRGINIA Thomas F. Stafford, Assistant to the Editor, Charleston Gazette SUBSCRIPTION RATES One year (12 issues), $2. Groups: five or more copies to different addressees, $1.75 each per year; five or more copies to one addressee, $1.50 each per year. Add 50 cents to above rates for orders outside U.S., Canada and Mexico. Single copies, any issue, 20 cents each. Ten or more copies, any one issue, 15 cents each. MAIL ADDRESS P.O. Box 6155, Nashville, Tennessee 37212. Delaware, a predominantly white col lege and Delaware’s only other four- year institution of higher education, was approved at $5,807,489, as submit ted to the governor. But the Joint Finance Committee is not expected to submit its version of the budget until mid-April or later. Dr. John A. Perkins, president of the University of Delaware, in his ap pearance before the JFC, also stressed the future role of Delaware State Col lege. Dr. Mishoe, in opposing a reduction in his budget request, pointed to recent growth at the college, which has in - creased from 356 in 1960 to 720 in 1963-64 academic year. A decade ago the enrollment was less than 100- While enrollment has doubled in e has past five years, the faculty increase not kept pace, Dr. Mishoe said. The present faculty, Dr. Mishoe sal is 54, compared to 44 five years ag°; President Perkins of the Universi^ of Delaware also cited expansion, no ing that the current undergraduate tal of 3,995 at his school will climb (See DELAWARE, Page 5) Legal Action Judge Says He May Sentence Boycott Leaders to Prison Organizers of school boycotts may end up in prison, according to Judge Elwood F. Melson of the New Castle County Family Court. Judge Melson told the Joint Finance Committee of the General Assembly he is ready to send boycott organizers to jail if they appear before him. Judge Melson appeared before the JFC to request an additional $20,000 in the Family Court budget of $270,000, submitted by Gov. Elbert N. Carvel. Judge Melson told committee mem bers from the Senate and House of Representatives that “anyone under the age of 16 who is illegally and habitually absent from school is de linquent.” Anyone who contributes to this tru ancy, he said, whether through threats, persuasion or any other means, “is con tributing to the delinquency of a mi- „„„ >» nor. These people, he said, should be punished according to law. “Punishing such men might make martyrs of them, but if I am sitting . . gzjcb on the bench and I i ee ] t ? j a «f men are deliberately flouting and principles of our civiliza 0 ^ I intend to send them to J au - judge said. Ju dge Among those who agreed vn Melson was Sen. Walter chairman of the JFC. iot& eI Judge Melson’s son, himself a state senator and currently a P ^ a t- master in the Family Court, tacked school boycotts. dt-^ He said that school bo >' cot ‘ ’ i£m s, * and civil disobedience camp is which the violation of t ® . r tb e praised, break down respec law in the minds of youth. “The law is a whole clo * h ’ deS tr«f you break it in one place yo the entire piece,” Melson sai • ^ ^be Sen. Hoey also agreed s e rV younger Melson, who form on the JFC with the senator. ^ ^ “We are coddling these P a °P very time we should be enf