Adams County v. State Ed. Finance Commission

• Decision Date: 17 December 1956
• Docket Number: No. 40375,40375
• Citation: 91 So.2d 524,229 Miss. 566
• Parties: ADAMS COUNTY, Mississippl, Board of Education, v. STATE EDUCATIONAL FINANCE COMMISSION of Mississippi.
• Court: Mississippi Supreme Court

Page 524

91 So.2d 524

229 Miss. 566

ADAMS COUNTY, Mississippl, Board of Education, v. STATE EDUCATIONAL FINANCE COMMISSION of Mississippi.

No. 40375.

Supreme Court of Mississippi.

Dec. 17, 1956.

Wm. F. Riley, Brandon, Brandon, Hornsby & Handy, Natchez, for appellant.

Jas. T. Kendall, Jackson, for appellee.

KYLE, Justice.

This case is before us on appeal by the Board of Education of Adams County from a decree of the Chancery Court of that county affirming an order of the State Educational Finance Commission disallowing and disapproving an order of the county board of education proposing to reorganize and consolidate the school districts of the county under authority of Section 1 of Chapter 12, Laws of Mississippi, Extraordinary Session of 1953, by incorporating all of the territory of the county lying outside of the corporate limits of the City of Natchez into one school district.

This appeal is authorized by Section 12 (c) of Chapter 11, Laws of Mississippi, Extraordinary Session of 1953.

The statutes requiring consideration by us on this appeal are parts of the school laws enacted by the Legislature at its 1953 Extraordinary Session, providing for the consolidation or reorganization of school districts, the establishment of a minimum program of education for all the children legally enrolled in the public schools of the state, and providing for the establishment of a program of state aid for the construction of school buildings and other school facilities, to be administered by the State Educational Finance Commission.

The two sections of the statutes with which we are primarily concerned on this appeal are Sections 1 and 2 of Chapter 12, Laws of Mississippi, Extraordinary Session of 1953.

Section 1 of Chapter 12 provides for the abolition of all school districts in the state which were in existence upon the effective date of the act. And Section 1 then provides that, 'As soon as practicable after the passage of this act, and in no event later than July 1, 1957, the county board of education of each county, pursuant to a survey of such county for the purpose of determining the educational needs of the county from the standpoint of the efficiency of operating schools and school districts, shall, by an order spread upon its minutes, consolidate the territory of the county in such school districts or reconstitute existing school districts so that all of the territory of such county shall then be included within such school districts as the county board of education shall deem necessary to promote the physical, mental, moral, social and educational welfare of the children involved, the efficiency of the operation of the schools, and the economic and social welfare of the various school areas.' It is further provided that a certified copy of the order shall be forthwith transmitted to the State Educational Finance Commission, created by House Bill No. 2, Ch. 11, Laws of Extraordinary Session of 1953, for consideration by the Commission; and that, 'Such order shall be considered by said commission from the standpoint of whether same promotes the physical, mental, moral, social and educational welfare of the children involved, the efficiency of the operation of the school system of the county, and the economic and social welfare of the various school areas of the county, and shall be approved or disapproved by said commission.' Section 1 of the act then provides that, if the order shall be disapproved by the Commission, it shall be returned to the proper county board of education with a statement of the reasons for such disapproval and for amendment in accordance therewith; and if the county board of education shall not concur, in whole or in part, with the reasons stated for disapproval by the Commission, it shall resubmit its order or modified order, supported by such documentary evidence as may be prescribed by the rules or regulations of the Commission and by such additional documentary evidence as may be deemed appropriate by the board. It is further provided that if the Commission shall not approve the resubmitted order or modified order, it shall thereupon docket the controversy for public hearing upon not less than five days notice to the county board of education, and that at said hearing, 'the secretary of the commission shall cause to be recorded all oral proof made and all rulings or orders made or entered, and shall preserve such additional evidence as may be introduced at said hearing, all of which shall be made available for the record in the event of an appeal from the order entered by the commission after said hearing.' And finally, it is expressly provided that, 'No such order shall be effective until finally approved by the commission and no school district shall be eligible for any grant of funds from the state public school building fund until the consolidation or reconstitution of same shall have been approved by the commission as herein provided.'

Section 2 of Chapter 12 makes similar provisions for the reconstitution of municipal separate school districts; and where any municipal separate school district is reconstituted or created, as provided in said section, the order of the county board of education referred to in the preceding section shall embrace only the territory of the county which lies outside of the boundaries of the municipal separate school district or districts. Section 2 further provides that all applications for the reconstitution of municipal separate school districts shall be submitted to the State Educational Finance Commission at the same time the plan for the reorganization or reconstitution of school districts is submitted to the Commission by the county board of education of the county or counties in which such municipal separate school district is located, and the application of such municipal separate school district shall be considered by the State Educational Finance Commission in connection with the plan for reconstitution or reorganization of districts submitted by the county board or boards of education, and from the standpoint of whether or not the overall plan for the entire county or counties best promotes the educational interest thereof.

The record in this case shows that, pursuant to the provisions of the above mentioned Sections 1 and 2 of Chapter 12, a survey was made of Adams County and the Natchez Municipal Separate School District, under the auspices of the county board of education and the Board of Trustees of the Natchez Municipal Separate School District, by a survey team from Mississippi Southern College, under the direction of Dr. Ralph S. Owens, of the Department of Education Administration, and Dr. Raymond M. Ainsley, Director of Educational Research.

The report filed by Dr. Owens and his associates showed that Adams County had a population, according to the 1950 census, of 32,247. The population of the City of Natchez, which constituted a municipal separate school district, without added territory, was 22,740, and of the county outside the City of Natchez, 9,507. The total enrollment in the white schools of the county, outside the City of Natchez, during the 1954-55 Session, was 844. The total enrollment in the Negro schools, outside the City of Natchez, was 1368. The enrollment in the white schools of the city was 2774, and in the Negro schools, 2014.

There were only three white schools in the county outside the City of Natchez, at the time the survey was made, namely, the Kingston Consolidated School, which had an enrollment of 42; the Pine Ridge Consolidated School, which had an enrollment of 114; and the Washington Consolidated School, which had an enrollment of 723. The Washington Consolidated School maintained a high school department, grades 9 to 12, inclusive, with an enrollment of 136 high school students. There were 31 Negro schools in the county, outside the City of Natchez. None of the Negro schools maintained a high school department. The Negro high school students living outside the city attended the Sadie V. Thompson High School in the City of Natchez. The number of Negro high school students from the county enrolled in the Natchez High School, grades 9 to 12, was 179. The total number of Negro children from the county enrolled in the city schools, grades 1 to 12, was 315.

The report showed that the Washington Consolidated School building, constructed in 1951 and located only a few miles east of the City of Natchez, and the Central Elementary Negro School building, constructed in 1953 and having six classrooms and a principal's office, were substantial brick buildings in excellent condition. All of the school buildings in the City of Natchez were in good condition. The Natchez High School building for white children, constructed in 1927, was valued at $568,000 at the time the school survey was made. The Sadie V. Thompson School building for Negroes was a new building constructed in 1953 at a cost of $678,600 and housed grades 4 through 12. There were 11 1/2 elementary teachers and 21 high school teachers employed in the school. The enrollment during the 1954-55 school session was 930, and of that number 213 came from outside the city. The latter number included high school students, grades 9 through 12.

In the report filed by the survey team, it was recommended that the school districts of Adams County be reconstituted, so as to provide for two school districts, one to include the territory embraced within the corporate limits of the City of Natchez, and the other to include all of the territory of the county lying outside the corporate limits of the City of Natchez.

The two-unit plan called for a building program for the white schools in the county, which would include a new county high school building to be located at Washington, estimated cost, $565,000; an addition to the existing Washington Consolidated School building, to be used as a junior high school building, estimated cost, $468,000; a...