News and citizen. [volume] (Morrisville, Vt. ;) 1881-current, 1885-02-12

lSISs SudlI bLiO AAOSSli1, W
the town in 1885 and 1886 vote upor
the question of abolishing the distric
system and adopting the town sys
TEN.
Among the reasons why the action
required by this law should be entered
upon thoroughly, are these:
Careful observers going from Yer
mont to other States to study schools
hiring back the report, Vermont is be-
hind in her schools and school sys-
TEN.
Intelligent people who come from
other States and look into our schools
say, you are behind in your provision
or the education of your children.
Vermonters of all shades of opin-
ion everywhere say, "Our schools &C,
complish far less for our children than
they ought to do with the expendi'
ture we make for them.
In such a state of things we are
called upon to express by direct vote
our choice relative to two modes OF
controlling and supporting our schools.
To one of them we ale all accustomed
through long use; the other, though
an older and a widely used system, is
less familiar TO us.
The town system may be described
briefly as system by which the peo-
pie of the towns manage their schools
through agents chosen directly by
themselves, and by which they pay
for ttei~ schools directly with money
drawn from the town treasury. The
system was introduced into Massa-
chusetts in 1S47, and it is aow exclu-
siyely used in that State, Pennsylvania
and Indiana is prevailingly used in
other States; is increasingly used
everywhere, and is the system uni
versally favored by students of edu-
cation, because, at the same or less
cost, larger and better schools are
furnished by it than by any other sys-
tenn known among US. This system
has been in operation in Vermont
long enough to test it, and is now
used in substance in nineteen towns,
by more than thirty thousand people.
Let these testify to its meri S.
Burlington adopted the town sys-
TEN as a p DIVISION of her city charter
in 1867. She boasts of the best
schools in the State and has never
sought a return to the district sys-
TEN. Vergennes has recently united
her school districts, and now, as one
body, conducts her schools in the
same number and places as before.
After ten years trial the people of
Witsfeld sustained the town system
by vote of ITO to Al the people of
sustained it by a vote of
80 to %, and in Hinesburgh no vote
for return was called for. After five
years trial in Brighton but two per-
sons in a full town meeting voted to
return to the district system of
schools.
During the last session of our Gen
eral Assembly the committees on ed
ucation fully considered the compare
tive merits of the town and district
systems of schools and recommended
the adoption of the town system.
While the matter was under consider
alton testimony concerning the work
ing Ing ct Of the system was received from
many of the towns using it. That
testimony was reported in the Mont
pelier daily Journal, from which we
make extracts.
FROM RANDOLPH.
Mr.. E. P. Grow. chairman of the board
of directors. stated that the town system
had worked well. Regular attendance,
less hardness, greater interest by pupils
and parents, equality of privileges and
equalizing of school taxes, better and
permanent teachers at a smaller actual
cost has been the outcome of the adop-
ton of the town system in Randolph.
Mr.. A. A. Smith was of the opinion
that the people got more for their school
money, a great deal, under the town sys-
TEN of management; the school Furnish
ings are better, the houses are kept in
better condition, the teachers are perma-
nently engaged. extending in some cases
to two years, while before there was a
change every term. Under the district
system there was a great inequality i'll
the length of terms in different districts.
Now each district has the same number
of weeks. Formerly some districts paid
a high school tax; others none at all.
Now there is an equality of taxation for
the schools.
Mr.. D. Fl. Morse corroborated all that
had been said about the favorable work
ing of the system. The tax in his dis
trict had been one dollar on each dollar
of the grand list for the support OF
schools. Now it was thirty cents on the
dollar, with more weeks of school, bet
ter teachers and better schools.
Mr.. III. o. Gilbert explained how
teachers meetings were regularly held
for mutual improvement in school work
under the direction of the board. and the
interest that had been awakened by this
means.
Mr.. A. A. Priest and Col. j. B. Mead
made remarks fully sustaining the testi-
mony of the preceding witnesses.
FROM BRIGHTON.
Senator Hobson told the committee
how the system had worked in Brighton.
where, after a five years trial, it had
been re-adopted in a full town meeting
ny d Dtdi ~ fObCs OHlg i"O
voting very feebly in the negative. The
tax under the new system of manage
ment had been nearly the same as under
the district system, but they had done a
great deal more with the money. Better
schools. more weeks of school, larger
attendance, and new school house in
nearly every district had been provided
with the money. Men that were origin
ally opposed to the system were now its
strongest friends. Distrust aud dissatis-
faction arose originally among its OPP
ponents, especially in the back districts,
from few that were not going to like
the system, and that the village was
going to get some advantage. After tri-
al the back districts had found that they
were the ones whose condition had been
most improved; they demanded and had
theiI rights, having better houses, better
and longer terms of school at less OK.
pense.
FROM WAITSFIELD.