MISSISSIPPI LEGISLATURE
2018 Regular Session
To: Rules
By: Senator(s) Frazier, Blount, Horhn, Norwood, Burton, Dearing, Jackson (32nd), Simmons (12th)
A CONCURRENT RESOLUTION RECOGNIZING RETIRED CLINTON PUBLIC SCHOOL DISTRICT SUPERINTENDENT DR. VIRGIL BELUE UPON HIS RECEIPT OF THE "EDUCATION HERO AWARD" FROM THE MISSISSIPPI ASSOCIATION OF PARTNERS IN EDUCATION.
WHEREAS, we join the public education community in offering congratulations to retired Clinton Public School District Superintendent Dr. Virgil Belue, recipient of the Education Hero Award from the Mississippi Association of Partners in Education; and
WHEREAS, Dr. Belue was Clinton Public School District's first Superintendent and served in this role from 1970-1992. Under his leadership, the school district grew from three to seven schools and a vocational center while emerging as one of Mississippi's top school districts; and
WHEREAS, after retiring with 17 years on the Board of Trustees of the Public Employees' Retirement System, in 2013 Dr. Belue was honored by the Mississippi Legislature for 60 years of public service; and
WHEREAS, Dr. Belue's success in restoring the promise of public education has something to teach us all. On July 28, 1970, Dr. Belue became the first Superintendent of the schools in Clinton, Mississippi, a district that did not exist until a few weeks before. In 1954, with the landmark case of Brown v. Board of Education, the Supreme Court had declared the segregation of schools to be unconstitutional. The fact that no one sued Clinton can be traced to decisions that Belue began making 46 years ago. What Belue did was both very simple and extremely difficult. Over time, carefully keeping local parents in the loop, he managed to rid Clinton of the "neighborhood school" concept, which allowed districts to redraw their boundaries street by street in order to maintain white and black schools as racial composition shifted. He designed a single school system for the whole Clinton district so that students move through the schools together, from kindergarten through high school, regardless of where they live. Belue did, in other words, what many school districts have not done to this day: He eliminated not only de jure segregation, which the Supreme Court had outlawed, but also the de facto segregation; and
WHEREAS, in addition to his work in public schools, Dr. Belue taught undergraduate and graduate courses for Mississippi State University and Mississippi College. Before retiring, Dr. Belue had "A" and "AA" teacher certification in Social Studies and "AAAA" certification in School Administration and School Guidance and Counseling; and
WHEREAS, it is with pride that we pay tribute to this most public-spirited citizen of the State of Mississippi, whose enormous civic energy is a legacy of leadership and dedication:
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE SENATE OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI, THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES CONCURRING THEREIN, That we do hereby recognize retired Clinton Public School District Superintendent Dr. Virgil Belue upon his receipt of the "Education Hero Award" from the Mississippi Association of Partners in Education.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That this resolution be presented to Dr. Belue, forwarded to the Executive Director of Mississippi Association of Partners in Education, and made available to the Capitol Press Corps.