## Facts

- The Dalcho School in Dillon County, South Carolina, operated as a segregated public school for white children.
- G. W. Tucker was guardian of three boys (Dudley, Eugene, and Herbert Kirby) described as having overwhelmingly white ancestry and as “technically” classifiable as white under state law.
- The boys were reported to be well-behaved, good pupils, and not a negative influence in school.
- White parents objected to the boys’ attendance, asserting the boys were not of “pure Caucasian blood,” and some threatened to withdraw their children if the Kirbys remained.
- The Dalcho School trustees dismissed the boys, citing the school’s “best interest” and considering community sentiment, the boys’ perceived racial background, and concerns about disruption to the school’s effective operation.
- Trustees indicated willingness to provide separate schooling for mixed-race children in the district and noted such a school had previously existed.

## Issues

1. Whether local school trustees had statutory authority to dismiss students from a white public school based on perceived racial classification and anticipated community reaction under a “best interest of the school” standard.
2. Whether the dismissal was arbitrary or unlawful so as to justify judicial intervention through certiorari review of the State Board of Education’s affirmance.

## Decision

- The South Carolina Supreme Court dismissed the petition for a writ of certiorari.
- The court left in place the State Board of Education’s decision affirming the county board and the Dalcho trustees’ dismissal of the boys.
- The court concluded the trustees acted within their statutory discretion and that the record did not show a clear abuse of that discretion or other legal defect warranting relief.

## Legal Principles

- School trustees possess broad statutory discretion to manage local schools and to dismiss pupils when necessary for the “best interest” of the school.
- On certiorari, judicial review is limited; courts generally do not reweigh evidence or substitute judgment for school authorities absent lack of jurisdiction, legal error, or a clear abuse of discretion.
- In a legally segregated public school system, school authorities may treat racial classification and community reaction as relevant to the school’s administration when acting under a “best interest” standard, particularly where officials assert that separate educational facilities will be provided.

## Conclusion

The court refused to annul the State Board’s affirmance of the trustees’ dismissal of the Kirby boys, holding that the trustees acted within their “best interest of the school” discretion and that certiorari did not permit the court to overturn the decision without a clear showing of legal error or abuse of discretion.


Tucker v. Blease, 97 S.C. 303, 81 S.E. 668 (S.C. 1914)