Evening star., 1954-11-18
By jones G. Deone

OCliOUl 0upL. I1OUdTG M. COr
ming has been instructed by
the Board of Education to an
swer new criticism by DR.. Mar
garet just Butcher. Negro board
member.
DR.. Butcher yesterday ac-
cused DR.. Corning of being "dil-
atory and temporizing" in ra-
cially desegregating the school
systems top administration.
Specifically, the board mem
ber questioned the existence of
four staff vacancies. She also
criticized the handling of ath-
letics plans, asserting that Negro
coaches had not been consulted
on plans for an all-star football
team and that basketball inte-
grafton is tagging.
DR.. Butcher sought to have the
superintendent instructed to sub
NIT a complete administrative
reorganization plan on December
Is. The board voted instead
merely to ask DR.. Corning to
reply to DR.. Butchers state
ments, however, and other mem
bers did not Immediately take
a stand on them.
Give Page Statement.
DR.. Butcher, who is on leave
as a Howard University professor
to work as a consultant with the
National Association for the. Ad-
vancement of Colored People,
raised the administrative ques-
ton in a five-page statement.
which she read at the conclu-
sion Of the school boards
monthly meeting yesterday.
The Negro board member. who
last winter repeatedly criticized
DR.. Corning for what she called
failure to remedy inequalities in
the city's Negro schools, told her
colleagues that mot a single
overt and direct action" has been
taken to reorganize the school
systems administration.
The schools, for many years,
have had dual officials and de-
partment heads. white for the
white division and Negro for the
colored. DR.. Corning informed
the board last May that he in
tended to make recommended
tions later for recognizing these
positions, but so far he has not
presented any plan.
DR.. Butcher declared that,
with respect to the staff integra-
ton, everything has been dila-
tory and temporizing or by in
direction"
Sees Lack of Consultation.
Theoretically" she asserted,
"staff functions have been inte-
grated, and former opposite
members are supposedly operat-
ing as a team. But we know
that temporary teachers were
swornsin by one associate super
intendent for assignment to his
Jurisdiction without consulting
his colleague.
Departmental meetings are
still being held on essentially
racial. lines, without any effort
on the part Of supposedly irlte-
grated directors to coordinate
either personnel or programs.
Mathematics teachers are pre-
senting their subject in their &C
customed ways, with no knowl-
edge of how it is being taught in
other schools or the people who
are doing the teaching"
The staff vacancies referred to
by the board member are those
Of the chief examiner and the
director Of health, physical edu-
cation and safety of the old COL
ored division and the English
and adult education directors of
the white division.
DR.. Butcher said, the school
systems current officer direc-
tory shows one chief examiner
and no vacancy, and she pointed
out that the board is asking Con-
gress to establish one chief
examiners position. But, she
added, the two former white di-
vision jobs still are listed in the
directory as vacant.
Fears for Morale.
"Unless the organization plan
of the school system is revised
and duties and procedures, ,deter-
mined and effected, the morale
and efficiency of the admins
trative staff is bound to be af-
fected adversely" DR.. Butcher
asserted.
Regarding sports. the board
member complained that athletic
councils, which oversaw compe-
tition in the two old divisions,
have not met together and that
there was no integrated sports
control.
Basketball is being integrated
this season, with Negro and
white schools all belonging to
interracial leagues. But DR..
Butcher said she had been in
formed that coaches of former
Negro division schools had been
unsuccessful in seeking to ar
range extra games with former
white division schools, in addi-
ton to the game apiece officially
scheduled.
She also complained that only
white coaches were consulted on
plans for an all-star team to be
picked from all schools to play
the winning Catholic football
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