, 1876-08-10


It has boon question Of whore tho Boartl
Of Education could rotronch ami reduce lis
expenditures It must be pretty evident just
now that there In no possible nso for tho
office ct Assistant Superintendent Of Public
Schools. That Is an Office wholly unneccs.
sary. It is mere place for tho expenditure
Of money. There being money In It, 1t has
produced atrife aud excitement, lobbying,
attempts nt blackmail, joalousios. and scan-
dals, eventually leading up 10 murder. Let
II be abolished.
While the Board il saving this expenditure,
lot It examine whether thore IL not too much
monuy spent In superintendent in propor-
tion to the a1nount expended for teaching.
There has been n sort Of sanctity thrown
around the public schools which hns forbid
dsn criticism, and pronounced censure upon
their management to be hardly loss thnn
treason. It hns bnon claimed for tho
management TINT any investigation or
scrutiny waa onnlity to tho schools. There
are two classes Interested in the schools: The
first ciass are those who pay tho taxes, and
tho second class tho children for whom Tho
schools are intended. TcachorB and all 9TH
ors employed aro paid In order 10 o1tond to
rs many chi1dran Or possible tho benefits for
which the taxes ars provldsd Tie education
ut tho children Ia the end sought; this is
what the money is contributed for. Tho
payment Of teachers aud other officers is
secondary nattor,-the providing an agency
to carry out tho primary purpose. To pay
$1,000 for teaching 100 children, when 200
Children might be taught for the san,o sum,
il waste of money--a robbery both OF tho
taxpayer and of the children. When tho
Board of Education, therefore. wastes the
taxes either in paying too great salaries, or
salaries for useless Offices, they commit q
double wrong. They effort money under a
proper proto1t, but use it for MI improper
purpose, and they deprive the children Of tho
schooling to pay for which the money has
been collected.
Now let the Board examine itsliat OF sataried
officers. How rnany Of the men employed aro
employed in teaching; how many in superin-
tending? Does not the business Of su
pcrintondenoe ovcrshadow TINT Of tenching !?
And cannot tho superintendent be re-
duced at q grent saving Of money
and with an increase Of teaching? Begin
ming at tho Superintendent, with twenty or
more Of malo principals and large forco of
head assistants, extra teachers, and other aitla
TO superintendent, how much Of this Gun DO
dispensed with? Thoso places on tho
"stan are better paid md nro greatly pro-
ferred to those in the line. The introduc-
tion Of stranger, rs in tho case Of STr. DoTY,
no matter how fitted the person may be, is
the signal for revolt, for intrigue, for joal-
o,lsy, for cabals, for secret circulars, and con-
Adential accusations. Tho tendency il to
enlarge the force at headquarters, to put atl
that is possible on tho "stafr, to hayo ovory-
body supcrintonding everybody ctso Or
assisting TO do SO, and consequently touching
is sacrificed to superintendence, md tho
money needed to pay teachers to teaoh is
thrown AWAY paying people to supcrintond,
or assisting somebody olse to superintend, o1
to do something or anything else than the
only work that ought to be paid for, and
that is teaching. In tho name of the people
who pay tho ta1os, and the children fol
whose benefit the taxes ara paid, VIC insist
TINT tho Bonrl of Education roviso its list d
Offices, and as far ns possible conluo its anla
ries to teachcrs, and conino the duty OF th'
teachorB to tcnehing.