American Notes EDUCATION

Choosing a valedictorian is usually a simple matter: the pupil with the top grades gets the honor. But for two rival students at Newton County High School in Covington, Ga., even a federal judge couldn't settle a dispute that has roiled the racially volatile school.

Originally the school board had selected Johnathan Henderson for the honor. Henderson, who is black, had a grade-point average of 96.96, winning awards in trigonometry, physics and Latin, plus scholarships totaling $42,500. But C. Thomas Allgood III sued. Allgood, who is white, claimed he should be the top graduate because his grade-point average was 97.7. Problem: his scores included two years of grades from the virtually all-white private school from which he had transferred, an institution whose accreditation was in dispute.

Last week, after the school board deadlocked on the issue, U.S. District Judge Marvin Shoob issued a Solomonic decree: the two students would share the honor. But Henderson declined: "I refuse to share in what I feel is an injustice."