History of Lauderdale County School District | Page 91

transportation problems. “We have one bus route from Meehan now that covers more than 30
miles,” he said. James D. Stoddard, Vimville principal, said he feared that putting to many
children in one attendance cent might result in over-crowding. “The new Negro school will be a
good test of the consolidation idea,” he said. Julian H. Jones, Long Creek principal, said that the
consolidations to date had not resulted in better schools. “The people want to be sure they are
getting something better before they give up their school,” he said. C.L. Clay, Center Hill
principal, said that the students got more individual attention and a better chance to use their
individual talents in a smaller school. F.P. Posey, Middleton principal, said that the large size of
his consolidate school enabled him to offer a much wider variety of courses that would otherwise
have been possible. (Tomorrow – Summary of the county school situation)
Meridian Star, November 1, 1959

Our County Schools: 7 – White Schools Can’t Match Negro Facilities
Editor’s Note – This summary article is the last in a series on the Lauderdale County School
System. For a picture series on the new Middleton Negro School, see page 8 in today’s Star.
By Jack Wardlaw, Meridian Star Staff Writer

A study of the Lauderdale County School System lead to one inescapable conclusion:
there is no such thing as equal educational opportunities in this county. The Negro school is so
far ahead of any one of the six white high schools in facilities, curriculum and individual
opportunity for students that the white establishments appear shabby and hopeless by
comparison. In the six previous articles in this series, the Star has analyzed the schools in regard
to physical facilities and curriculum. It has examined some of the problems involved in trying to
improve them.
Physical Conditions – To summarize the Star’s findings in the white schools outside
Meridian: The physical condition of the school building, while not uniformly bad, is generally
poor and in some instances terrible. In almost every case, previous consolidation programs have
left buildings overcrowded. With in the buildings, facilities for the teaching of science are
particularly lacking. Also poor (or nonexistent” are vocational training facilities. In lower
grades, students in many instances have the services of a teacher for only half a day due to the
practice of lumping two grades in one room – a throwback to the one room school house of a
half-century ago. The curriculum situation is far worse, offerings range from a bare 13 high
school units, which leaves absolutely no choice of courses, to a still-low total of 23 ½. By
comparison, Meridian High School offers some 50 units. In sports, a student either plays varsity
basketball or he sits on the sidelines and watches. Some baseball is being taken up. But a
potential Charlie Conerly or Jackie Parker would never be heard of if he came up through a
Lauderdale County schools. Also missing are the other valuable activates which come with
football and a larger school-band, cheerleaders, annuals, school newspapers and many others.
Good Things, Too – There are many good things that could be said about the county
schools – their teacher and principals are dedicated and generally well qualified, as their salaries
are above the state average. Everybody from the school board down to the teachers is striving to
provide as good an education as possible. However, all of this would be just as true in a larger
school, and many improvements could be made, according to the Citizens Study Group, which is