Lloyd K. Garrison files, 1949-1968

Scope and Contents

This collection documents the service of Lloyd K. Garrison as a member of the Board of Education from the end of 1961 until 1968, (and as its president from 1965-1967). Included are both official and informal minutes of the Board, Garrison's correspondence with the Local School Boards, and information on issues of concern to Garrison himself and the Board in general during his tenure, such as integration and school reform.

The papers comprise approximately 7.0 cubic feet and are organized into 7 subseries. The organization of the first two subseries reflects the roles of a Board member in regard to the central Board of Education and to the Local School Boards, which functioned in an advisory capacity. The remaining five subseries reflect topical and organizational issues facing the Board.

Subseries (1) contains calendars (agendas) and supporting documents for several central Board meetings held in 1962, at which numerous contracts for building repairs and funding for special projects and other similar items were to be considered. Subseries (2), consisting largely of correspondence with Local School Boards and individuals, deals with the issues of importance for the particular school districts, such as repairs to school buildings.

Subseries (3), (4), (5), and (6) are large subject files that deal with topics of special concern to Garrison. The subjects involved were set aside from the rest of the subject files because of their increased complexity and importance. In some cases, subseries are related to each other through some common thread, although the connections are not always obvious.

Subseries (3) and (4), for example, both deal with problems facing the school system and attempts to remedy them. Integration (subseries 3) includes materials on various school boycotts and other community involvement issues, as well as materials on community figures like Brooklyn activist Milton Galamison. School Reform (subseries 4) deals with various attempts to change the schools and their programs, such as the 4-4-4 reorganization plan which had among its claimed benefits a tendency to facilitate the desegregation of the schools.

The next two subseries both deal with administrative aspects of the Board during Garrison's tenure. Subseries (5), Planning, Programming, and Budgeting System, documents an attempt to develop a more efficient system of management for the administration of the school system. Subseries (6), Budgeting, contains materials related to the budgeting process, including budget requests from various divisions within the system, and public statements from concerned groups inside and outside of the school system, primarily for the 1962-1963 fiscal year.

The final subseries, (7), contains files on a variety of subjects. Included are topics such as community renewal projects, high schools, and the Mayor's office.

Extent

7 cubic feet (14 boxes)

Dates

1949-1968


Conditions Governing Access

The records are open for use by all researchers; however, the files on "subversive activities" are subject to access restrictions in order to protect the privacy rights of individuals.

Arrangement

The series is arranged into seven subseries.

Immediate Source of Acquisition

The files were placed in the custody of the Teachers College Library at Columbia University by the Board of Education in 1981. They were transferred by the Municipal Archives in 2003.

Related Materials

The Board of Education archives, of which the Garrison Papers are a part, contains several other series that relate to this collection. Of particular use are the collections of individuals who served on the Board or as administrative officials around the same time as Garrison did. Some of the collections are: Series 490: Superintendent of Schools, Bernard E. Donovan subject files, 1964-1970; Series 601: Deputy Superintendent of Schools, Nathan Brown subject files, 1967-1970; Series 385: Member of the Board, Rose Shapiro papers, 1955-1969; Series 378: Member of the Board, Isaiah Robinson files, 1968-1972; Series 281: Secretary of the Board, Harold Hay subject files, 1951-1967; and Series 351: Member of the Board, Seymour Lachman subject files, 1969-1972.

Also related is Series 911: United Parents Association Records, 1921-1989.

Processing Information

The records were processed and the inventory prepared by Dan Sokolow in 1993, as part of an internship through the program in Archival Management of the Department of History of New York University.