The Missouri Constitution of 1875 specified that school districts were to maintain dual school systems. This provision was renewed in the 1945 constitution and was not repealed until 1976. In December 1950 black parents brought suit challenging the constitutionality of the dual school system. On February of 1975 the school board adopted unanimously a desegregation plan that provided for the elimination of racial isolation and all vestiges of the district's traditional dual school system. The Kirkwood plan was designed not only to correct racial isolation but also to effect curriculum reform and meet fiscal constraints. Factors involved in the design of the plan included declining enrollment, budget deficits and decreasing revenue, and the desire to reorganize junior high schools into middle schools and institute new teaching methods in order to improve the quality of education. These circumstances conspired to permit the Kirkwood School District's desegregation to begin auspiciously. The arrival of a new superintendent provided a positive impetus for change. Fiscal necessity compelled adjustment of attendance boundaries. School reorganization had become a priority to the administration and teaching professionals. The minority proportion of the population was small. The community was involved but few elements ever took firm positions and intense community opposition did not develop. (Author/AM)