The Baltimore County union. [volume] (Towsontown, Md.) 1865-1909, 1885-01-03
Correspondence Baltimore County Union.
THE PUBLIC SCHOOL LAW.

RAYvILLE, Nd, December goth, 1884.
Editors Union:-Much has been said concern
ing the proposed reduction of the salaries of the
teachers of our public schools, and when we take
into consideration the salaries paid 20 the EN-.
ployees in the different departments of our county
government, we are forced to admit that the teach
ers are not overpaid. But there other matters
concerning our public schools that need attention,
and with your permission we propose to call the
attention of the public to some of the defects in
our present school law.
1t is the opinion of many persons of intelligence
that the present law is unconstitutional, inasmuch
the constitution does not give the Judges of
our Circuit Courts the power to appoint the School
Commissioners, and as no competent tribunal has
decided the constitutonality of the law, it is
privilege to presume that it is not constitutional.
Article of the Bill of Rights says, "That the
legislative, executive and judicial powers of gov
eminent ought to be forever separate and distinct
from each other; and person exercising the
functions Of one Of said departments shall assume
discharge the duties Of any other" Article 33
of the Bill of Rights says, "No Judge shall hold
any other Office, civil or military, political trust,
or employment Of any kind aohatsoever, under the
constitution la,cs of this State, or of the United
States or any of them.'
Thesetwo articles distinctly say what the Judges
shall not do. Article 4, section g. says, "The
Judge or Judges of any court may appoint such
officers for their respective courts may be found
necessary" Now as School Commissioner is
not a necessary officer in court of any kind, we
do not think this section of the constitution gives
a Judge any authority to appoint School Com
missioner.
But whether it be constitutional or not, it is not
in accordance with the principles of Republican
government, because the people have voice in
the selection of school officers. The Judges ap-
point the Commissioners, the Commissioners APP
point the Trustees and the Trustees appoint the
H. u. H.. .l~ko.
any of these appointments, and the appointees
are not responsible to the people for their man
agement of the public schools All the people are
allowed to do under the present law is to pay the
bills contracted by the Commissioners clear
case of taxation without representation.
Among the useless provisions in the present
law is the one requiring the teachers to collect
book fees from pupils not released from the pay
ment thereof by the Trustees. The Trustees de.
eide who shall pay book fees and who shall be re-
leased from the payment of book fees, and some
times they decide that certain parties shall pay
book fees who never pay any bills unless COM
PEELED by process of law to do so, and as the
teacher is responsible for the collection Of the
book fees he is either obliged to these parties
and lose more in trying to collect such bills than
they amount to after they collected, or pay
them out IF his own pocket; and besides this, it
is apt to make an enemy of the party he attempts
to collect from. Sometimes parties Of this kind
think their children have as good right to be ad-
mitted free as the children of others have and
will for this cause keep their children away from
school unless they are admitted free.
The object of the free public schools should be
to educate the masses without regard to their
station in life their ability to pay book fees
The Trustees do not admit the children of tax
payers free, while in nearly every case they do
admit the children of non tax payers free. Then,
as the taxpayers are the ones, who, under the
present law, support the public schools, both by
book fees and by the amount annually levied by
the County Commissioners, is it not useless to
make teachers perform the disagreeable duty of
collector and hold them responsible if they fail to
collect, when the whole amount necessary to sup
port the schools could be levied by the County
Commissioners and collected by the Treasurer and
Collector of taxes? 1t would make no difference
to the tax payers, because they obliged to foot
the bill whether it be called book fees or taxes.
This article is not written with the intention of
casting any reflection ON the Judges any one
connected in any manner with the management
of public schools, 1--WE give them credit for do
ing the best they can under the law as it now ex-
lists, ).but it is written to set people to thinking
about the matter that by the time the Legisla-
ture meets again they may decide whether there
is room for mprov ement in the present law or not
OBSERVER.