Virginia's distinctive political and legislative tradition makes its intergovernmental relations particularly challenging. Following the Dillon Rule, a 19th century legal doctrine that limits local governments to exercising only those powers specifically authorized by statue, Virginia is the only state that maintains an independent city system,…

As rural communities strive to meet the demands of both their citizens and of higher levels of government for increased local services, they must rely more and more on outside assistance. The maze and complexity of federal and state mandates forces officials to seek technical assistance from a network of public and private agencies. The dynamics…

This book aims to understand Virginia's rural past through a study of its schools. Rural Virginia schools of the late 19th and early 20th centuries were affected by at least three distinctly southern influences: the legacy of the Civil War and Reconstruction, regional underdevelopment and poverty, and the dilemma of racial coexistence in the…