The Elk County advocate. [volume] (Ridgway, Pa.) 1868-1883, 1877-11-22
Importnnt to school Directors.

lunUE buut w tJthOVt tfNOtOtFH
The following extracts from tho
Penna School Journal should be
read by all School Directors
School Directors cannot attend to
official business unless in session.
Papers are sometimes signed by the
officers of school boards, or by individ-
ual members of the same, that have
never been formally passed upon by
the board. All such papers are illegal,
and not binding upon the board If
they bind anybody it is only the in
dividual members who sign them.
The law makes it the duty of boards
of directors to visit the schools under
their control by one or more of their
number at least once month. This
duty is not always performed. Is it
possible to do it better the coming
term? Let all boards take the mat.
ter up in earnest, and alb, pt plan of
visitation. They can appoint q per-
son outside of the board and delegate
to him the power of visiting the
SNhNoiSs lhctl uStillS lllc ltdtilClS anu
reporting to the board. They can APP
point member of the board district
superintendent, and require him to
do all the visiting. They can divide
| themselves into committees Of one or
more and pay monthly visits to the
school. Or they can divide the
schools among them and each mem
Der visit his allotment of them But
to be effective the visitation must be
regular, and the inspection close and
careful. Properly done, it is the life Of
q system Of schools.
Teachers are plenty, and many can
be found who will accept very low
| salaries. Let Directors remember
that low priced teachers, like mauy
other things that are low-priced. are
liable to be the dearest 1t is vastly
| better to employ a good teacher at u
fair salary than it is so employ poor
teacher at one-half the amount. In
deed many teachers are dear at any
price. The best policy for board Of
directors to adopt in regard to teachers
is to employ none but those who are
well qualified, and then aggree to pay
them fairly for their work. We regret
exceedingly to see boards of directors
cut down teachers salaries drive out
of their districts the best teachers, and
then supply their schools with teach,
ers who will work cheap Such q
| policy tends to rob the children of
what to them is more valuable than
money.
On the second Tuesday of May next,
county, city and borough superin-
| tendents are to be elected. This il
really more important election than
that of members of the Legislature or
even that of Governor. The Superin-
tendency is always successful when
the right man is in the office, and it is
never successful unless he is. We can
name Superintendents in Pennsylva-
mia WI ose worth to the counties and
cities where they labor cannot be esti
mated in dollars and cents. They are
literally doing more than all other
agencies combined to lift up the people
to higher level of intelligence and
morality. And, unfortunately, we
can name others whose services could
be dispensed with without incurring
loss of any kind. They are dead
weights, drawing their salaries and
doing nothing. We write to ask
school directors to begin to look
around for the man they want to serve
them rs superintendent for the next
three years. If you now have him.
heco him; if you have him not. light
your lantern and go in search of him
Don't hesitate.about the'salary. You
can hardly pay a good man too much,
and poor man you do not want at all,