Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1956-09-02

lemma in every school district
by a single unyielding formula
is, believe, doomed to failure.
Faced Fact SduareIy
1t is difficult for me to under
stand why we are abandoning the
plan proposed by the Governors
Commission on Public Education.
I have seen no plan which I re-
gard as superior or. indeed,
equal to that recommended last
fall. 1t was formulated by a
group of very able members of
the assembly. 1t was carefully
thought out. 1t faced Squarely
the fact that given the present
political and legal climate in the
United States, it is not possible
to operate a public school sys-
tenn that is completely segre-
gated.
The commission recognized the
fact that people in some areas
with small Negro populations,
opposed though they are to in
tegrated schools. would elect in
tegration in preference to closing
the schools. The commission
recognized that much the same
situation existed in the large
cities of Virginia where the resi-
dental areas are such as to-
impose their limitations on de-
segregation.
The commission also recog-
nized what we now seem not in
clined to face up to-if all inte-
grafton is to be avoided, we shall
have to abandon our public
school system. Hence great f1ex-
Utility was necessary. 1t was
achieved in the plan recon-
mended by the commission by
the pupil assignment plan and
the tuition plan, both locally
administered. This in the end
is the only way in my opinion
that the problem can be man.
aged with any degree of salts
faction. Even then it is as thorny
and difficult as can be imagined.
Regrets Action
1t is with regret that I see
the commissions proposal aban-
doned 1t is AN illusion to as
sumo the bills proposed as a SUBJ
stitute will prevent indignation.
They are much less likely to do
SO than the proposals of the
commission. They will simply
close many schools of Virginia,
some of which have no integra-
ton problems of their own. This
is true because the admission
Of one Negro student in any city
or county school will result in
State support being withdrawn
from the whole district and all
the schools in it without regard
to the situation in a particular
school.
There is another aspect of
these new proposals which
troubles me very much. was
those who last winter
urged the people of Virginia to
support the recommendations of
the Governors commission. 1
did so after the report had been
received with marked enthu-
siasm by the Assembly in special
session last fall, and a constitu-
tional amendment representing
the first step in the plan was
formulated by the Assembly for
submission to the people.
Believed in Proposal
The calling of a constitutional
convention to amend the conSti-
tuition in order to carry out the
proposal Of the commission was
authorized by very large major
ity of the voters in a special
election held on January 9 last.
1 assumed, and l believe many
others who worked for the
of the Constitution
assumed, that the pupil assign
ment plan and the tuition grant
plan were to be enacted into law
as soon as practicable after the
was approved i
spoke in many sections of the
State and / stated such to be
the case in most if not in every
talk made Certainly believed
that to be the plan, and
1 believed those who voted
for the Constitutional Conven-
ton thought likewise. Now there
is no reason why the whole
plan should not be changed if
a better plan is found. but be-
fore it is done, the people of
Virginia should have a chance
to express themselves on it.
Otherwise. I think we are likely
to forfeit the confidence Of those
who responded SO generously to
our appeals last December and
January.