Alabama Education Association is urging citizens to vote no on Amendment 4, which would remove language from Alabama's constitution providing for separate schools by race and for poll taxes.
AEA is fighting the proposed constitutional amendment because it restates language added to the constitution in 1956 to inhibit school integration. That language says there is no right to a public education in Alabama.
At a news conference organized by AEA Thursday, Montgomery attorney Bobby Segall said passage of Amendment 4 could lead to education funding being diverted to other uses.
Retired University of Alabama law professor Martha Morgan said Alabama might get a temporary black eye nationally if voters reject the amendment, but Alabama would suffer far more damage in the long run if it passes.
Copyright 2012 The Associated Press.