The Vermont watchman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1883-1911, 1885-02-04
The Town System of Schools.

Vermont, at its recent session, by act num-
Der twenty-seven, section one, enacted the
following: Each town in which the school
district system exists SHALL at the annual
meeting of the town in 1896 and 1886, vote
upon the question of abolishing the district
system and adopting the town system.
Among the reasons why the action required
by this law should be entered upon thought
fully are these: Careful Observers going
from Vermont to other states to study
schools, bring back the report " Nermontl Is
behind in her schools and school system.
Intelligent people who come from other
states and look into our schools say; You
are behind in your provision for the educa-
ton of your children" Vermonters of all
shades of opinion everywhere say: " Our
schools accomplish far less for our children
than they ought with the expenditure
we make for them" In such state OF
things we are called upon to express by di-
rect vote our choice relative to two modes
of controlling and supporting our schools
To one of them we are all accustomed
through long use the other, though an older
and widely-used system, is less familiar TO
us. The town system may be described
briefly as system by which the people OF
the towns manage their schools through
agents chosen directly by themselves, and
by which they pay for their schools directly
with money drawn from the town treasury.
This system was introduced into Massa-
chusetts in 1S47 and it is now exclusively
used in Massachusetts, Pennsylvania and
Indiana; is prevailingly used in several
other states, is increasingly used every
where, and is the system universally IA
vored by students of education, because at
the same or less cost, larger and better
schools are furnished by it than by any
other system known among us. This sys-
tenn has been in operation in Vermont long
enough to test it, and is now used, in sub
stance, in nineteen towns by more than
thirty thousand people. Let these testify to
its merits: Burlington adopted the town
system as a provision of her city charter in
1867 She boasts of the best schools in the
state and has never sought return to the
district system. Vergennes has recently
united her school districts and now as one
body conducts her schools in the same num-
Der and places as before. After ten years
trial the people of Waitstield sustained the
town system by a vote of one hundred ten
to forty-one, the people of Middletown suS-
tanned it by a vote of ninety to TWENTY-FIVE,
and in Hinesburgh no vote for return was
called for. After five years trial in Brighton
but two persons in a full town meeting voted
to return to the district system. No town in
Vermont, after five years trial of the town
system, has returned to the district system
of schools. During the last session of our
general assembly the committees on educa-
ton fully considered the comparative merits
of the town and district systems of schools
and recommended the adoption of the town
system. While the matter was under con-
sideration, testimony concerning the work
ing of the system was received from many
OF the towns using IL. lIldJ testimony was
reported in The WATCHMAN, from which we
reprint the following extracts
From Rdndolph.-Mr. p. L. Grow, chair
man 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 adoption of the
town system in Randolph. Mr.. a. n. Smith
la,
for their school money, great deal, under
the town system of management; the school
furnishings 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 change
every term Under the district system there
was great inequality in the length of terms
in the different districts; now each district
has the same number of weeks. Formerly
some districts paid high school tax, others
none at all; now there is an equality of
taxation for the schools. Mr.. ID. Ii. Morse
corroborated all that had been said about
the favorable working of the system. The
tax in his district 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, better
teachers and better schools. Mr.. III. G. Gill
bert 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 Colonel j. b. Mead made remarks fully
sustaining the testimony of the preceding
witnesses.
From Brighton.-Senator Hobson told the
committee how the system had worked in
Brighton, where, after five years trial, it
had been re-adopted in full town meeting
by nearly unanimous vote, only two vot-
ing very feebly in the negative. The tax
under the new system of management had
been nearly the same as under the district
system but they had done 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 originally opposed to the system
were now its strongest friends. Distrust
and dissatisfaction arose originally among
its opponents, especially in the back dis
tricts, from fear that they were not going
to like the system, and that the village was
going to get some advantage After trial
the back districts had found that they were
the ones whose condition had been most
improved, they demanded and had their
rights, having better houses, better and
longer terms of school at less expense.
From tsfeld.-Representative l.. ID.
Savage of Waitsfield gave the experience of
that town, where the system, adopted in
1874 had become thoroughly rooted and by
its merits had overcome opposition. A year
ago one of the school-hOuses was furnished
with the best improved furniture and this
year the town voted without word OF OPP
position, to put new seats into all the school
houses, and the buildings had been painted,
papered and put in good condition.
From Eden.-Representatiye Stone of Eden
said his town adopted the town system three
years ago. There was an increase in the
total attendance from thirteen thousand
two hundred fifteen weeks in the last year
under the district system to fifteen thou
sand eighty-tive in the first year under the
town system. The aggregate cost for the
last year under the district system was 1927 I;
the first year under the town system, $685..
The tax for the first year, when they built
one new school-house and repaired the old
ones, was forty per cent; for the second year,
thirty-fve per cent for the third year, TWEEN
ty-five per cent. Under the old system some
districts had paid taxes as high as one hun
dred one and one hundred twenty-four per
cent. More weeks of school, better schools,
permanent teachers, schools in districts
which had been without schools under the
old system, the allaying of district quarrels,
had been some of the beneficial results of
the three years experience,
From ord.-Representative Knapp
of Woodford stated that his town adopted
the system in 1871 Its voters were so well
satisfied that they could not be induced to
return TO the district system. The little dis
tricts get the full benefit of the new system
and their condition is greatly improved UNI
der it,
To this recital we offer but one addition,
namely, that the maintenance at a conven-
iapf nDint in "a of "a school Of higher