The Cecil Whig. [volume] (Elkton, Md.) 1841-current, 1869-04-24
The Public Schools.

State, for the year ending Sept, 3Oth,
1868, and that Report ought to put to
shame the men and party who were in
strumental in destroying the Public
School system which preceded the pres
ent headless, disjointed abortion that
we term Public School Law. Many
of the counties are not represented in
this State Report, the County School
Commissioners having made no Report
to the Principal of the State Normal
School, as the law requires them to do.
Among the non-reporting counties we
find our own. Circulars were issued
from the Office of the Principal of the
State Normal School, to each OF the
County Boards, requesting them to fill
up certain printed blanks. This APP
pears to have been too much labor for
our County Board, along with several
others, so they appear to have run the
schools independent OF State authority
or "on their own hook"
There being no State officers charged
with the duty of enforcing the law,
there is no certainty of its being carried
into effect, or rather there is certainty
that the law will NOT be carried out.
The Report before US states that the
provision requiring the School Commits
sioners to levy, through the County
Commissioners, the additional tax ne
cessary to keep the school open ten
months in the year; and the provision,
limiting the School Commissioners COM
pensation to three dollars day, are
among the requirements that have been
violated. In many counties they have
received MILEAGE in addition, which
often exceeds their PER DIEM.
Any or all of the provisions of the
law may be violated with impunity, the
Report tells US. One of many instances
cited, to show how detrimentally the
division of authority in the present
law works, was in the case of Dis
trict Board wishing to employ certain
teacher. The County Board refused
to give q certificate. The District
Board refused to employ any other, and
so the school was closed. The law does
not define clearly the duties of the va
rious officers employed. The Principal
of the Normal School, who makes the
Report, which we receive these damag-
ing statements from, says:
az have been applied to several times to
express an opinion on doubtful points, but
have no authority to give an opinion. -
y II 81 am even in doubt as to my own
duties.'
The remedy recommended for these
and numberless other defects which we
have not time to refer to, is pointed out
in the following suggestions.
The appointment of central author
ity, as a representative of the State
with power to construe the law and en-
force it, and the simplest is State Su
perintendent. Mr.. Newell, in making
this wise suggestion, accompanies ii
with the farther remark, that the State
which spends about half million dol
lars annually, for the support of Public
Schools, should receive some assurance
that the money is properly expended.
We have no assurance, it would appear
by this, that the Public School funds
are properly expended; or rather, We
might say, that we HAVE assurance
that they are improperly spent If al
of t.e County School Boards should
follow the example of our County Board
and neither report their proceedings to
the Principal of the Normal School, OIL
to their own constituents of the county
they might, with impunity, appropriate
the school fund to paying mileage, or fol
oyster suppers, or whatever their taste
or fancy led to. We don't wish to bt
understood as intimating that our Coun
ty Board have improperly applied {
single cent, but the loose, disjointet
law, without head or system appears
according to the Report of the highes
functionary, created by the law, as ope.
to any and every kind of abuse ano
peculation. We may remark here, tina
it wouldn't be Democratic law, if i
was not.
In the matter of electing Trustees
the Report speaks as follows:
C. 1t is probable that no legal elections TO
Trustees were held in one-half the Schoo
Districts of the State. In many instance
where elections were held, the voters wer,
drummed up by the teachers, for the pur
pose of securing their own appointment.
This il disheartening view to thu
earnest friends of education. A law
ostensibly for the object of education
by which half a million of dollars ar,
annually expended, placing no restrain
whatever, upon dishonest officials, O.
affording any kind of protection to tn,
public money! The head of this new
Democratic system in his first annua
Report, recommends that we go bacl
to the main features of the law tina
was so wontonly destroyed to give
place to this miserable disointed affair
and establish a State Superintendent
and Board of Education as the simplcs
. and most efficient means of carrying
out the School Law and enforcing it,
provisions.
We have received communication
from "A Methodist" requesting us t,