[1] “New Construction at Hungerford,” Orlando Sentinel, Aug. 30, 1954.
On May 17, 1954, the Supreme Court ruled that "separate but equal" was inherently unequal in Brown vs. Board of Education of Topeka. By August 30, 1954, the School Board had commenced the construction of new facilities at Hungerford. [1] The Board likely prioritized the acquisition and modernization of the school in the wake of desegregation and rising populations. Such projects of expansion were one of many now under the purview of the School Board. As Hungerford experienced change, so too did the school district. While desegregation gradually filtered down into local jurisdictions, the Board also attempted to address Central Florida’s rapid population growth.
Orange County and its school system was one of many across the nation that struggled to integrate schools. Local laws and policies inherently reinforced segregation. With residential proximity determining attendance, schools were built and expansions planned “when and where they were needed.” In commenting that progress to desegregate Orange County schools would be “a long time…, regardless of how the Supreme Court rules,” local Board officials not only stated their adequate adherence to “separate but equal” policies, but also pointed to recent improvements at Black schools exceeding those made at white schools. [2]
[2] Walter P. Jones, “County Policies Diminish Integration Problem,” Orlando Sentinel, Sept. 19, 1954.
This Sept. 19, 1954 article indicates Board consensus that Black schools within the system were “just as good and modern as those for white children.” Citing “its outstanding vocational division,” Jones High School was compared as “superior to either Boone or Edgewater” and “among top secondary schools of the entire south.” With the recent “construction of a well-equipped gymnasium and cafetorium, and a new elementary school,” Hungerford was also cited as an example of the Board’s effort to modernize Black schools and to commit to improvement and enlargement when deemed necessary by population growth. [2]
Different factors demanded the rapid expansion of the Board, and the demand necessitated an accounting of schools within the system to best direct their attention and resources as the School Board expanded to accommodate both desegregation and popular growth. On November 15 and 16, a Southern Association of Colleges and Secondary Schools committee composed of educators from Florida A&M, Bethune-Cookman, Rollins, and local high schools met to assess Hungerford’s “educational facilities, buildings, library, grounds, and staff.” In doing so, they intended to evaluate the school’s ability to meet “student population and educational needs.” [3]
By 1956, Superintendent Judson B. Walker warned that “conditions in the schools [were not] altogether ideal” due to “many instances of crowding.” [4] With enrollment projected to be 34,000 students, an increase of 3,000 more students than last year, the school system had yet to keep apace with expansion necessitated by increases from desegregation and population growth.
[4] Bill Kettinger, “Walker Warns Some Crowding Necessary,” Orlando Evening Star, Aug. 25, 1956.
A need for further expansion likely led to the Board pursuing a quiet title to "property adjacent to the Hungerford School" in 1958. [5]
Sources
[1] “New Construction at Hungerford,” Orlando Sentinel, Aug. 30, 1954.
[2] Walter P. Jones, “County Policies Diminish Integration Problem,” Orlando Sentinel, Sept. 19, 1954.
[3] “Group Starts Evaluation of Hungerford,” Orlando Sentinel, Nov. 15, 1954.
[4] Bill Kettinger, “Walker Warns Some Crowding Necessary,” Orlando Evening Star, Aug. 25, 1956.
[5] "School Board Seeks to Quiet Title on Land near Hungerford School," Orlando Evening Star, July 9, 1958.