A. C. Flora High School is a high school in Forest Acres, South Carolina, USA. It is part of Richland County School District One. The school has won many athletic state championships and numerous academic awards. A.C. Flora is considered one of the top high schools in the state. Its enrollment as of 2011 is 1350 students.
Desegregation controversy in 1970
In mid-October 1970, A. C. Flora closed temporarily because of racial tensions. The situation became an issue in the 1970 gubernatorialgeneral election between Republican then U.S. RepresentativeAlbert Watson of South Carolina's 2nd congressional district and his successful Democratic opponent, then Lieutenant GovernorJohn C. West. Democrats claimed the tensions were related to two aides of Watson who snapped pictures at the school, but law enforcement officials found no link between the aides taking pictures and the racial unrest there. Watson used the occasion to call for improved student discipline: "Education without discipline is worse than no education at all." The A. C. Flora case led the Spartanburg Journal to urge the candidates to omit school desegregation, already a fait accompli, from campaign discussion and to accent matters over which a governor would have more direct control once in office.
