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SOUTHERN SCHOOL NEWS—JUNE, 1964—PAGE 11 Virginia (Continued from Page 10) KENTUCKY State Board Considers Actions Against Noncomplying Districts The lone white graduate is Richard \Ioss, son of Dr. C. G. Gordon Moss, jean of Longwood College. ★ ★ ★ The U. S. Office of Education con ned on May 20 that it had awarded \ $61,570 grant to Dr. Robert Lee Green of Michigan State University for a study of Prince Edward County Ne gro children. It will be a follow-up study to one made under Dr. Green’s direction last summer by a team of white and Negro college students. Purpose of the first investigation was to determine how the Negro children had been affected by the lack of formal education for four years. The new study will seek to find out how the children have been affected edu cationally and psychologically by a full year of schooling. A report on the new study is due by Sept. 30, 1965. Legal Action Appellate Court Announces Rulings In Three Lawsuits The U.S Fourth Circuit Court of Ap peals on May 25 handed down rulings in Richmond on three school desegre gation cases. The cases involve Surry and Greene counties and the city of Hopewell. In the Surry case (Pettaway v. Sur ry County School Board), the court declined to order the reopening of the county’s only white school. The court also declined to block the payment of tuition grants to white children who are attending a private segregated school. Instead, the court returned the case to District Judge John D. Butzner Jr. of Richmond for a hearing on the merits. Noted Pending Questions The case had been taken to the Cir cuit Court on appeal after Judge Butz- ner refused to order reopening of the school and a cutoff in state tuition grants. He said at that time that simi lar questions were pending in the U.S. Supreme Court in the Prince Edward case, and that action on the Surry dispute should await the high court’s ruling. The Circuit Court disagreed. It said l he Surry case should be considered cu its merits, adding that this case may “substantially different” from that °f Prince Edward. (The Circuit Court’s opinion was tssued the same day the Supreme Court acted on the Prince Edward case, but obviously the opinion had been writ- 'en earlier.) Dismissal Overruled in the Green County case, (Buckner t Greene County School Board), the ourth Circuit Court overruled Dis- n .ct Judge Thomas J. Michie’s dismis- of the suit. The case originally involved six Ne- . children seeking admission to j. he schools. Before Judge Michie’s ^missal action, three of the children ' re admitted to white schools, and a r declined a transfer. The two utaming children were wards of the „ nty welfare department, which re- *** that they be kept in the Negro TK , ? Plaintiff attorneys asked Judge " A 'hit 16 t0 ass *§ n the two children to - Sc hools and also to bar the oper- ' / -hool what they said was a dual bei n sys tem in which segregation was jS substantially maintained. overturning Judge Michie’s dis- clared- or ^ er ’ the Circuit Court de- H th e D ”^ le district court disregarded ■''here' eCe ^ en *“ S ' n this court and else- Sw ’ 311 't indeed the decision of the ,£ et Pe Court itself. to mi hally assigning Negro pupils tiq^ e £ated schools and then permit- the fVj e j n ' on ly upon application to »Ut Q j Placement Board, to transfer school iA hese segregated schools, the 5 pi an eoard has in effect formulated eVer v ' c h will require each and *ake th e " r ° s tudent individually to ?ati 0n e m ‘tiative in seeking desegre- “It • *h°oi S J*>° late in the day for this tie to sav that merely by °0t taki 1SS1 ° n a tew plaintiffs with- 'atisfvi ® any further action it is 0r good r . Supreme Court’s mandate ^ Prar.c eompliance at the earli- lo th tlcab le date.’ ” tJouewell case (Gilliam v. ° Urt die .’ l0( A Board) the Circuit bussed an appeal by the city school board from district court order admitting 15 Negroes to predomin antly white schools. The court said the issue was moot, since the pupils are attending predom inantly white schools pending adop tion of a permanent desegregation plan by the school board and its approval by the courts. The court said the board apparently had brought the appeal out of fear that it would be swamped with trans fer applications for next year. The court told the board, in effect, not to worry, that until a new assignment plan is adopted the board will have the right to “limit attendance at any particular school in terms of that school’s capacity.” ★ ★ ★ Court Briefs Contend Segregation Continued Fairfax County, where more than 400 Negroes are attending schools with whites, is still operating a segregated school system, according to briefs filed with the U.S. Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals in Richmond. (Blackwell v. Fairfax County School Board.) The case is set for hearing at Asheville, N.C., June 22. The case is on appeal from a ruling March 4 o c District Judge Oren R. Lewis of Alexandria. Judge Lewis held that although they still operate eight all-Negro schools, Fairfax authorities are not discriminating against Negroes in school assignments. He said that the 2,101 children who attend the all-Negro schools do so “solely on account of their place of residence or by choice.” Schoolmen Pupil Transfers Cited in Deficits The State Board of Education on May 22 allocated funds to help Pow hatan and King and Queen counties make up school operating deficits said to have resulted partly from the trans fer of large numbers of pupils from the public schools to private schools. The board granted $15,000 to King and Queen and $11,000 to Powhatan. The amount, in each case, represented half of the anticipated deficit, with the county expected to make up the other half. The two counties were among 10 localities given aid f rom the board’s discretionary fund. J. G. Blount, fiscal director of the State Department of Education, ex plained that the two counties in ques tion sustained a drop in regular state funds which are based on average daily attendance in the schools. Attend ance has dropped because many child ren in the two counties have switched to private schools, he said. Blount said that school systems can not reduce expenditures proportionately when they suffer a sudden loss of stu dents. In the eight localities, other than Powhatan and King and Queen, which received money to help make up defi cits, the deficits were caused by a drop in attendance resulting from ill ness on the part of students, and by other unforseen situations, according to Blount. ★ ★ ★ Ken McDaniel, 16, a Negro attend ing the predominantly white Norfolk Catholic High School, has been elected president of the student government for next year. fit The Colleges Women’s College Accepts Negro Mary Washington College, a state- supported women’s school located at Fredericksburg, has accepted a Negro applicant for enrollment next Septem ber, Chancellor Grellet C. Simpson confirmed on May 13. Negroes have attended summer ses sions as day students, but the student to be admitted in September will be the first Negro dormitory resident and the first Negro enrolled in a regular winter session. ★ ★ ★ Grace Elizabeth Poindexter, 18- year-old Negro senior at the Prince Edward free schools, said April 30 that she had received a letter from LOUISVILLE HE possibility that the State Board of Education might take punitive action against school districts lacking complete desegregation of students and fac ulty was raised at a board meet ing at Frankfort May 28. Board members mentioned cutting state financial aid and canceling ac creditation, as potential weapons. Harry McAlpin, the board’s only Negro member, will report at the board’s next meeting June 24 on how much power the board might have in using such weapons. The board in the past has discussed the possibility of taking such punitive action against segregated districts. The present proposals appear much broader than psast ones, however, in that “complete” desegregation including faculties might be demanded. Thus a great many more districts might be involved. For while only 12 districts with both whites and Negroes enrolled lacked biracial classes in 1963-64, dozens of districts lacked de segregated faculties and did not have biracial classes at all grade levels. Past Proposals Past proposals for punitive action have lost out as the board adhered to a policy of “encouraging” compliance with the 1954 Su preme Court de segregation ruling. At the May 28 meeting, however, four board mem bers, including chairman Roscoe Miller, agreed that the 10 years that now have elapsed since the ruling have provided enough time for the school districts to comply volun tarily. McAlpin said that if the board has the power to tell a district how many nuts and bolts must be on a school bus, then it surely should be able to require equal educational opportunities for every child before giving accredita tion. Miller said, “Why can’t we cut the money off? That’ll stop things quicker than anything.” The board heard from Asst. State this relief to enforce the discontinu ance of the county’s racially discrimi natory practices. It has long been es tablished that actions against a county can be maintained in United States courts in order to vindicate federally guaranteed rights. E. g., Lincoln County v. Luning . . .; Kennecott Copper Corp. v. State Tax Comm’n. . . . The injunc tion against paying tuition grants and giving tax credits while public schools remain closed is appropriate and nec essary since those grants and tax credits have been essential parts of the county’s program, successful thus r ar, to deprive petitioners of the same ad vantages of a public school education, enjoyed by children in every other part of Virginia. For the same reasons the District Court may, if necessary to prevent further racial discrimination, require the Supervisors to exercise the power that is theirs to levy taxes to raise funds adequate to reopen, oper ate, and maintain without racial dis crimination a public school system in Prince Edward County like that op erated in other counties in Virginia. The District Court held that “the Longwood College turning down her application r or admission as a day stu dent. Longwood, a state-supported wo men’s school located at Farmville in Prince Edward County, has never had a Negro student. Miss Poindexter said the letter ex plained that her application had been sent in too late. She applied on Feb. 19. In answer to questions, Mrs. Frank N. Watkins, Longwood’s director of admissions, said that as of April 30, a total of 693 applicants had been ad vised that they could be admitted next year because of lack of room. Kentucky Highlights The State Board of Education launched a study of new proposals for withholding aid and accredita tion from school districts that lack complete desegregation programs. Louisville school officials disputed testimony given in Jackson, Miss., which concluded that desegregation lowered academic and disciplinary standards at a Louisville high school. An admissions policy barring Ne groes was affirmed by trustees of Midway Junior College, a church- related institution. Berea College withdrew its offer to act as host for a training program for civil-rights workers this summer. Actual athletic desegregation at the University of Kentucky apparent ly was delayed for at least another year when a Negro basketball star decided to attend the University of Louisville. Supt. Don Bale that 16 all-Negro high schools remain. He gave other figures from the Department of Education’s most recent desegregation report (SSN, January). ★ ★ ★ School Officials Disagree With Testimony in Jackson Louisville school officials disagreed with testimony given in federal court in Jackson, Miss., to the effect that racial desegregation at Louisville Male High School had brought lower standards in scholarship and discipline. The testimony was given May 19 by a former Male High principal, William S. Milbum. He was a defense witness in suits attacking segregated schools in Mississippi. (See Mississippi report.) Milburn contended that Male High suffered “a general erosion of scholar ship, a lowering of discipline, and a lowering of the moral fiber of the school” as a result of desegregation, which started in 1956. He said that many of the school’s “better white students” had transferred to other schools. Commenting on the testimony, Supt. public schools of Prince Edward Coun ty may not be closed to avoid the effect of the law of the land as inter preted by the Supreme Court, while the Commonwealth of Virginia permits other public schools to remain open at the expense of the taxpayers.” Allen v. County School Board of Prince Ed ward County ... At the same time the court gave notice that it would later consider an order to accomplish this purpose i' the public schools were not reopened by September 7, 1962. That day has long passed, and the schools are still closed. On remand, therefore, the court may find it neces sary to consider further such an order. An order of this kind is within the court’s power if required to assure these petitioners that their constitu tional rights will no longer be denied them. The time for mere “deliberate speed” has run out, and that phrase can no longer justify denying these Prince Edward County school children their constitutional rights to an educa tion equal to that afforded by the pub lic schools in the other parts of Vir ginia. The judgment of the Court of Ap peals is reversed, the judgment of the District Court is affirmed, and the cause is remanded to the District Court with directions to enter a decree which will guarantee that these petitioners will get the kind of education that is given in the State’s public schools. And, if it becomes necessary to add new parties to accomplish this end, the District Court is r ree to do so. It is so ordered. Mr. Justice Clark and Mr. Justice Harlan disagree with the holding that the federal courts are empowered to order the reopening of the public schools in Prince Edward County, but otherwise join in the Court’s opinion. Samuel V. Noe said, “I would dispute his statement that discipline has broken down. It’s true we are deal ing with a higher percentage of stu dents—both white and Negro — from culturally de prived homes, but that does not mean we have had a deteriora tion of discipline.” Noe said a flight to the sub urbs by families in the higher socio economic levels had begun long before desegregation and: “Had there not been desegregation, the student body would have changed anyway.” Academic Elite Noe said that while Milbum at one time had run what was virtually a college-preparatory school for boys, “with the academic elite from the city and the county,” this was being changed before desegregation by the initiation of coeducation and by the development of strong high schools in Jefferson County. Foster J. Sanders, who became prin cipal of Male High when Milbum re tired, said Milburn’s statements “came out of the past—his era . . . . ” He said that Male’s graduating class has re ceived over $100,000 in college scholar ships and the two with the highest monetary value had gone to Negro students. Sanders said, “We have encountered very few discipline problems. I think the records at Male and the Board of Education would show that our per formance in this area is second to none.” Sanders cited several examples of top achievements at Male High this school year: a student paper won na tional, state and local honors; a 135- member band performed before more people “than any other band in Ken tucky”; a state champion football team (about 8 Negroes were on the varsity of about 60 players); and a district champion baseball team. Supt. Noe said he did not know that Milbum, who was defeated in 1961 as the Democratic candidate for mayor, was to testify in Jackson. Noe said that two Mississippi school superin tendents—Kirby Walker of Jackson and R. S. Brown of Biloxi—had visited desegregated schools here, including Male High, on April 24. In the Colleges Midway Trustees Continue Policy Of Segregation The trustees of Midway Junior Col lege, a church-related school at Mid way, Ky., voted to continue a policy of segregation even though the school administration favored desegregation. The board voted 12 to 1, with 11 abstentions, on May 13 to maintain an admissions policy that bars Negroes. The issue arose because Delois King, a Negro girl from Louisville, had ap plied for admission next fall. The college is affiliated with the Disciples of Christ and enrolls about 100 girls. Lewis A. Piper, president, said he was disappointed by the board’s action. “I personally feel very stongly about this,” he said. It had been reported previously that the college administration was pre pared to give normal processing to an application from a Negro and put the final decision up to the trustees. In other action at the board meeting, Piper, 67, announced his retirement after 19 years as president of the insti tution. Midway is the only institution of higher education in Kentucky known to have an official policy barring Negroes. ★ ★ ★ Berea College canceled plans under which its campus would have served as a training center this month for young civil-rights workers preparing to spend much of the summer in Mississippi. (See KENTUCKY, Page 12) Prince Edward Text (Continued from Page 10)