The Vermont watchman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1883-1911, 1884-11-19
educational.
Hearing Before the Committee on
Education.

The senate and house committees ON edu-
cation sitting together gave a hearing Tues
day, the 11th, to the persons interested in the
house bill allowing Randolph, which adopted
the town system of schools in 1888, to return
to the district system.
THE CASE OF THE PETITIONERS
Mr. A. A. Storrs, the member from Ran
dolph, who introduced the bill, was asked to
give the reasons why the passage of the
measure was desired. The chief reason
given was the ill-will produced throughout
the town by the adoption of the town sys-
tenn. Senator Idle questioned Mr. Storrs at
considerable length to ascertain the cause
of the alleged dissatisfaction. In reply he
stated in substance that the schools were no
better than under the district system, con-
veying the impression that they were worse;
that the expense was greater; that the
school tax in his district under the district
system was from twenty-five per cent to
twenty-eight per cent and that now il is
fifty per cent of the grand list; that his dis
trict was about an average; that the cause
of the expense was an increased number of
weeks of school, more was paid for board
and wood and the general management was
less economical than under the district sys-
TEN where some things, like carrying teach
ers to and from their homes, were done with
out expense. Mr.. Storrs thought the town
was not ready to adopt the system, and his
testimony under the searching questioning
of the committee was substantial adlnis-
sion that the opponents of the system from
the instant of its adoption, were determined
not to be satisfied, that they were deter
mined to be dissatisfied and had persistently
acted upon that determination Aside from
the fact that they didn't want the system
any way objection was made to putting
business the district was capable of trans
acting itself into the hands of a school
board. although it was admitted that there
was more difficulty in the management
of schools by the town than of general town
Ct. Il Tl,., all ruin
ances had never been carried to the school
board: in short, it was admitted by Mr..
Storrs that neither he nor others had ever
taken any pains to remedy the state OF
things of which he complained either by
bringing their causes of dissatisfaction to
the knowledge of the directors or by an eff
fort to elect men whom they deemed more
competent for directors. On the contrary,
the men about whose incompetency and bad
management they were scolding were
reelected without opposition. Mr.. Storrs
was unable to tell how many of the
petitioners for the passage of the bill
have children. 1t appeared that only sixty
have any children at school. To the ques-
ton if the system had received the same
fair trial it would have had if all had taken
hold to sustain it, the reply was that the
feeling has been not to help or hinder the
working of the system. The condition of
the school-houses before the adoption of the
town system was throughout the town very
good In his own district school-house
costing $4,000, or five dollars on a dollar of
the grand list, had been built. The school
houses were not as good elsewhere i'll the
town. In reply to questions by Mr.. Per-
kins, Mr. Storrs said he was not aware that
any repairs, or any addition to school fur
niture and apparatus had been made in the
school-houses of the town. A little white
washing had been done, some glass set and
some plants and evergreens put in some OF
the school-houses and some teachers meet
ings had been held. Respecting the school
tax of fifty per cent Mr.. Storrs admitted
that the district had received a rebate of
twenty per cent on account of its school
property making the actual tax under the
town system thirty per cent while under
the district system the district tax had been
from twenty-five per cent to twcnty-elght
per cent which with the nine per cent state
tax added would make the actual tax under
the district system from thirty-one per cent
to thirty-seven per cent, or one per cent
greater at the lowest figure than under the
town system. From details which it is not
necessary to give, it appeared that Mr..
Storrs' great grievance is a personal one,
arising from his own and his districts neg
lect from willful and disgruntled feelings to
settle up the affairs of the district as the law
requires. He had the appearance of enter
tanning honest convictions that he had been
placed by circumstances in a false position
with reference to the town system and
seemed to be painfully conscious that COM
nonsense, reason and all the facts were
squarely against him. Mr.. Horace Giiford's
objection to the town system was that he
lived in fractional district The school
house is in Bethel, three-fourths of a mile
distant, while the nearest school in his own
town was two and a half miles away The
town offered to pay for carrying his child to
school but he preferred to send her to Bethel
and pay tuition. There was one other
school child only in this fractional district,
it appeared during the hearing, and she so
much preferred the Randolph school that
IL 81 n,NI holt Lao
putting in her pocket the money the
board allowed her for riding. Mr.. Gift
ford acknowledged that if the town sys-
tenn were the law of the state he would
have no grievance, since fractional dis
trcts would not then be injuriously af-
fected. To mitigate his hardships, however,
the town has allowed him twenty per cent
rebate on his school tax, which placed him
on the same footing with his fellow citizens.
DIR. George Davenports objection was that
whereas under the district system his tax
was ten per cent now it is thirty per cent.
The district had, however more weeks OF
school, the state tax of nine per cent was
not assessed and the school-house had
been repaired, inside and out, shingled, re-
arranged inside, painted and between $40C
and $500 expended, which he claimed was
more than was needed, and the work had
not been economically performed. 1t was
acknowledged that these repairs being made
the tax will be considerably less hereafter
that maps, "a globe, dictionary and black
boards had been supplied, that the general
condition under the town system was better
schools better, more weeks, average attend
ance larger and teachers permanent instead
of new one every term. In reply to ques-
tons by Mr.. Ide, DR.. Davenport could give
no satisfactory reason why school tax
should be ten per cent in his district and
twenty-eight per cent, nearly three times as
large, in Mr.. Storrs' district, except that
the district ought to have the benefit OF
the money it has got "a principle he would
not wish to apply he confessed, to highways
or other town matters. 1t was conceded
that his district, whose list is 81 400 con
tributed 1920 to school purposes; that it had
received 800 in repairs, and $50 for thirty
weeks of school, showing that the district
had actually received $50 more than it had
paid, so that the reasonableness of any com
plant from the doctor or his district was moi
apparent to the committee. Mr.. Hall was
another fractional district director who
would be relieved by an amendment to tho
laws or the general adoption of the system.
THE OTHER SIDE.
Mr.. p E. Grow, chairman of the board OF
directors, stated that the town system haG
worked well in his district. There had beer
more weeks of school and better schools al
less expense Under the district system the
tax had been thirty-two per cent besides
the state tax, and they had only from
fua tn xva ptv ". iOh WI nf gahn