The Farmville Herald

School Suit
Hearing
Fails
To Remove Haze
Richmond Circuit
Court Takes Case
Under Advisement

Prince Edward county's new-
est school suit in state courts,
seeking to determine who has
public school operating responsi-
bility under the Virginia consti-
tution, remained legally clouded
after two days of testimony in
Richmond Circuit Court Thurs-
day and Friday.
Judge John Wingo Knowles
took the case under advisement
on the second day, but gave no
indication when he would hand
down his decision. The suit was
brought by the Prince Edward
school board through its attor-
ey Collins Denny, Jr.
The arguments apparently left
Judge Knowles with one knotty
legal decision: whether or not
the state must operate public
schools in a locality when the
local governing body refuses to
appropriate money for them.
The Virginia Supreme Court
of Appeals has already held that
county supervisors cannot be
compelled under the state con-
stitution to appropriate funds for
public schools. The state's high-
est court did not rule on what
the state's responsibility is.
High Court Opinion
The Supreme Court did indi-
cate, however, that whatever
the Virginia constitution says in
this matter is directed to the
state legislature and not to the
county governing body.
Attorneys for the Negro de-
defendants in last week's suit
again maintained that federal
courts have settled the school
issue in Prince Edward by hold-
ing that school closing violates
the federal constitutional rights
of Negro children and parents
under the equal protection pro-
visions of the 14th Amendment.
S. W. Tucker, counsel for the
defendants, told the court he
thinks the state legislature has
power to compel the county
board of supervisors to appro-
priate funds for public schools.
He added, however, his doubts
that courts could compel the
legislature to take this step.
Denny
insisted the
School
Board has "the sole right, au-
thority and duty to operate
(Continued on page 7)
schools, but there are others who can block this duty . . . The Board of Supervisors can render it impossible to fulfill this duty, and this was intentional in our constitution."

He admitted the County School Board could not operate schools for some and not for others.

Similarly, Denny said, if the state operates schools in 131 Virginia localities it must operate them in the 132nd.

"The overpowering question is who, under the constitution and laws of Virginia, establishes, operates and maintains the schools which exist in Virginia."

State school officials testified they knew of no authority vested in them by which they could reopen and operate public schools in Prince Edward county.

Dr. Woodrow W. Wilkerson, state superintendent of public instruction, and J. G. Blount, Jr., director of finance in the State Department of Education, also said they could not have prevented the closing of the county's schools.

Frederick T. Gray, special counsel for the state, advised Judge John Wingo Knowles that the 4th U. S. Circuit Court of Appeals may withhold a decision on the school closings until this issue is resolved by the state courts.

The federal litigation involves a decision by District Judge Oren R. Lewis that schools in Prince Edward cannot be closed to avoid racial desegregation as long as other public schools in Virginia remain open. The appeals hearing is set for January 9.