Evening star., 1955-07-26

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From Silver Spring
Called Deportation
A group of residents of the
Rollingwood School district in
Chevy Chase, Md, last night told
the Montgomery County Board
lof Education they would fight
the boards plan to dump chill
Idren from a sharply contrasting
economic community into the
Rollingwood, School this fall.
The protest came on the heels
of the boards announcement
that it would shift 80 Negro
pupils from the Linden School,
lin the Lyttonsville section of
Silver Spring, to the Rollingwood
School, which is off Beach drive,
near East-West highway in
Chevy Chase.
In a strong show of resistance
to the down-county program for
lntegrating schools, the residents
called the transfer of the pupils
"deportation."
go Join Protest
Sixty Rollingwood homeowners
crowded the small meeting room
Iof the board to hear their pro-
test voiced by Andrew A. Lips
comb, of 1912 Vale street. who
said he was the spokesman for
the newly formed Rollingwood
Community Association.
He presented a petition, bear
ing 1928 signatures, which
charged that the transfer would
leap-frog" the Negro pupils
over adjoining school districts
and dump" them into the Rol-
lingwood school.
The 80 pupils are among more
than 300 Negro children being
given new school assignments
this fall as the result of the
closing of four substandard
schools in the suburban area
No schools in the up-county area
will be integrated this fall.
"The resident7 of Rolling
wood said Mr.. Lipscomb, live
miles away from Lyttonsville.
Few, II any of them, knew of it's
existance. They bought their
homes in a community which did
not adjoin such a district"
Urges Redistricting
He demanded that the school
board redistrict the down-county
area. so that the Negro pupils
would go to schools nearest their
homes. He said both Woodlin
and Rock Greek Forest schools
are closer.
Mrs. William Boone. acting
president of the Rollingwood
Parent = Teacher Association.
spoke up after Mr.. Lipscomb's S
attack on the school board.
His views. she said, do not
reflect the opinions of the
schools PTA. which has never
voted on the integration issue.
She revealed that a special
meeting of the PTA will be held
next Tuesday, when DR.. Forbes
H. Norris, superintendent of
schools, will explain the problems
OF ending segregation in county
schools.
Willard G. McGraw, board
president, told the Rollingwood
group that the shifts of Negro
pupils this fall is a temporary
arrangement made necessary by
a shortage of classroom space.
Hits Gerrymandering
Then he added: I'VE cannot
engage in gerrymandering to
accommodate any particular
community"
He said school officials drew
up the plan without "any vindic-
tive feeling" toward the Rolling
wood section.
Another board member, La
throp Smith, retorted to Mr..
Lipscomb's description of Lyt-
louisville as a "slum." He called
the reference "intemperate" and
added:
"The people there don't like it
any more than you do. You get
only socialism when you fail to
solve social problems"
The Rollingwood School was
chosen to absorb some of the
transferred Negro pupils because
it is one OF the few schools in the
county which will have small
surplus of classroom space this
fall, school officials said.
On Double Sessions
Rock Creek Forest Elementary
School will be on double sessions
this fall.
Another group of residents ap-
Ipeared at the meeting to urge
redistricting Of school lines, but
not for reasons of integration.
DR.. William j. Bowen, speak,