Education: The Battle of North College Hill

Mustering up the most urgent words it could find, the powerful National Education Association (341,000 members) had once called it “probably the most serious school situation now current in the nation.” The N.E.A.’s words were not enough. A school-board battle which had aroused the citizens of North College Hill (a suburb of Cincinnati) went right on. Last week the N.E.A. moved into the arena again. For the first time in its history, the N.E.A. blacklisted a school system, and urged “all worthy members of the teaching profession” to stay away from North College Hill, Ohio.

The trouble started back in 1940, when a Catholic-dominated school board voted 3-2 to incorporate the St. Margaret-Mary Parochial School into the public-school system, entitling it to state support. They changed the school’s name to the Grace Avenue School, ordered rent paid to the parish for the building, and put St. Margaret-Mary’s eight teacher-nuns on the public payroll. The school stayed Catholic; its pupils went to class half an hour early every day for religious instruction.

The three pro-Catholic members were voted out of power in 1942 and the school lost out on public funds. But when the Catholics returned to power in January 1946, St. Margaret-Mary again became the tax-supported Grace Avenue School. A non-Catholic taxpayer filed suit, accusing the board of violating the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, but the case has never been heard.

“Concealed” Names. The Catholic majority on the board turned on School Superintendent William Cook. They tried to reinstate a principal whom Cook had demoted, ousted another whom he had appointed. The board accused Cook of “concealing” the names of applicants and recommending only the teachers he wanted hired. By Ohio state law, that is his privilege. In March, the board told Cook he would not be rehired when his contract expired July 31.

In protest, most of North College Hill’s 565 high-school students went out on a three week strike. At a board meeting, 1,000 people crowded into the high-school gym, heard letters of resignation from 28 of North College Hill’s 33 teachers. There were sobs in the audience.

“I never saw anything like it,” said Superintendent Cook. “I’ve seen children cheer for their schools . . . but I never saw hundreds of children cry for their schools.” The meeting turned into a riot. One Catholic board member was beaten, and two parents were arrested. Editorialized the Cincinnati Post: “The majority of the school board has forfeited completely the confidence of a large number of citizens.”

“For the … Community.” Last week, when the news of the N.E.A. blacklisting hit North College Hill, the school board called a meeting. All five members decided to resign—”for the good of the community.” Probate Judge Chase M. Davies took over as a one-man board until a new election could be held. His first step: to reappoint Superintendent Cook for another three years.