The Farmville herald. (Farmville, Va.) 1957-current, 1963-03-29

Many of these points do not
agree With the decision Of Fed
eral District Judge Oren R.
Lewis. who has prohibited the
use of tuition grants as long as
public schools remain closed and
who ruled last August that pub
lie schools in Prince Edward
cannot remain closed as long as
public schools elsewhere in the
state are maintained
The conflict between State and
Federal courts is significant be-
cause Judge Lewis decision was
based on an Interpretation of
State, not federal law.
Collins Denny, Jr. attorney
for the county school board, said
that the u S. Supreme Court
has held repeatedly that the
State courts are the tribunals
which are to give the final and
determinatiVe Interpretation of
State law and What State law
means.
Appeal Likely
There appears little question
that this decision will be APP
pealed to the Supreme Court of
Virginia.
Another point in Knowles de-
clslon is of local Importance.
He held that funds now received
by the county school beard from
the State can be spent only for
\ the maintenance of elementary
school buildings. These "constitu-
tional minimum funds amount
to about $40 600 per year, and
the county board has been using
this money to maintain all the
I schools in the county.
According TO Judge Knowles
decision, this money can be used
only for elementary hool
buildings.
The written opinion OF Judge
Knowles covers 81 single space
typewriter pages. 1t contains a
detailed summary of the evil
dence submitted to him.
Four Major Issues
He outlined four major issues
at the beginning Of his state
ment. First. what are the
powers and duties of the county
school board and division super
lntendent?
Judge Knowles answers this
as follows: The Court is of the
opinion that the county
school board of Prince Edward
County and the division super
lntendent Of schools have eXer-
clsed every power and perform
cd every duty incumbent upon
them under the Constitution and
statutes Of Virginia.
Second Point
Second, what are the powers
and duties of the State board of
education and State srperinten-
dent Of public instruction?
/ In answering this question,
Judge Knowles wrote as fol
/ lows: - the State Board of
Education has neither power nor
duty to establish, operate or
maintain the public free schools
IN Prince Edward County or in
any other county, city or town
IN the Commonwealth II cannot
perform its principal function Of
general supervision unless the
schools are open and operating
and it cannot apportlon or eX-
pend a locality S portion Of the
funds appropriated by the Gen
eral Assembly unless and until
the governing body provides its
proportlonate part of the whole
amount to which the locality is
entitled under the law There is
no question but that the historic
method Of conditional appropl1a-
= tlonS may be changed, but even
then Section 1876 Of the Con$ti-
tuition limits the power Of estab-
hshment Of local public free
schools TO The local school au
thorities, which would still re-
quire the cooperation Of school
boards
! In the case of the Superin-
ftendent of Public Instruction the
court is unable to find, nor has
its attention been directed to
any power IN or duty imposed
upon the Superintendent to ea-
tablsh, operate or maintain tie
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