Daily Republican., 1883-04-05
The Country School Elections.

On Saturday next the school election
for commissioners and to decide upol
the amount Of tax to be raised will
which to carry on the schools for tn
year, will be held in all the school dis
tricts in the State outside of Whining
ton and New Castle 1t is very wis
provision of the law that provides tina
each district shall raise "a certain amour
Of money either by voluntary contri
buttons or by taxation before it is EN-
titled to the State appropriation. Wer
it not for this provision we fear tina
many districts in the State would hav
10 schools, as the people general.
become very Indifferent and care
less unless there. is something a
stake. A bill pending before the Legis
lature, which has already passed tn.
House, makes an appropriation OF
$4,000 III money to the State to bt
divided amongst the respective districts
in proportion to the number of children
attending school. 1t has yet to pass the
Senate before it becomes a law, but un,
fortunately we fear it will not pass in
time to be made available the present
year, as the law requires the districts to
match the appropriation in raising an
equal amount by taxation additional.
A school election should be very
important affair TO the peope-greater
i'll Importance than a State or Hundred
election. While the latter are mostly
political and partisan in effect, and re-
late principally to choice Of officers,
the first applies directly to our intel
lectua, moral and social status. The
public schools are the bulwarks of the
Nation. If they are properly con-
Quoted they must elevate the people in
intelligence, and a people SO educated
must become better citizens. Happy
are the people OF the school district Tho
can throw aside for the time partisan
ship and all other outside and miuur
considerations, and unite to elect thu,
best friends Of education in the district
for commissioners, and that will unite
in selecting tn. best teacher that can
possibly be got. A board Of commits
sioners, who have the welfare of the
district AT heart, will try to secure
properly qualified teacher-uot cheap
one-the highest priced ones are gener-
ally the cheapest in the long run. We
have known commissioners when they
had fair choice Of teachers to 90
around them all and Sre what they
would teach for and then select the
cheapest, and they generally got what
they bargainel for with large interest
added. Where cheapnes, is made the
leading motive III the selection Of IA
teacher in most cases thu money Of the
district is thrown away with perhaps "a
worse effect upon the district than if no
school had been kept at ALL
The first consideration ON Saturday,
when the voters meet, should he to ST
ltCt the best man in the district tor
degree Of intelligence and he who has
the cause Of education thoroughly at |
pf Ia ul,
grind in the shape Of some relative for
teacher should be avoided equally |
with the man who would vote "uo tax"
Whatever may be- said about the Bour-
bOnism Of Delaware, it cannot be- denied |
that in the plan Of her school system
she is thoroughly democratic. In no
other State are the people Of district
left entirely 10 themselves in school
Iuattero. Here they can say school or
no school by voting tax" or ono tax, -
or if they vote for tax they can say how
much tax, Twenty five and thirty
years ago it was no unusual thing for at
least one-thi7d of the district, III the
State to vote down tax, and no schools
would be held in these districts unless a
few OF the most spirited citizens would
band together and carry on school by
private subscription, generally raising
sufficient to secure the State apprOpri-
alton. That these instances are now