Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1886-01-16

A Measure Devised at a Meeting OF Elk.
Trustees.

A PROPOSED NEW SCHOOL LAW.
A Measure Devised at a Meeting of Elk.
| Trustees.
BILL PREPARED TO ESTABLISH A BOARD OF
| TWENTY-FOUR MEMBERS WITH SPECIFIED
| DUTIES AND POWERS-EX-TRUsrEE RICHARDS
OPPOSED TO MUTUAL ADMIRATION So
CIETY.
meeting of ex-trustees of the public schools,
| called by DIR. Robert Reyburn as chairman was
| held in parlor of the Ebbi:t house last even
| ing for the purpose of considering the situation
in school affairs, due to the action of the Com
missioners in declaring that the school board
| was not legally invested with powers which it
| 1t has been accustomed to exercise. There
were present ex-Trustees Robert Reyburn, W.
H. Browne, A. G. Richards, ]. c. Dulin Edward
Champlin, G. Y. Alice, Bushrnd Robinson, ].
| Sullivan Brown, A. Hart. Chaplin Brown. Chas
%: HOvey and Arthur Christie and MIR. Robert
! w. Fenwick. .-
DIR. REYBURN'S STATEMENT.
Dr. Reyburn, in calling the assembly to order
| stated that the recent action of the Commission
| ers was elimination OF what going
| when he was a member OF the board Every
| month things were done by the Commissioners
without authority from the board. Now the
| Commissioners nave assumed thai the board
| had no authority whatever. In every city of
| the country the board OF school trustees was q
/ separate and independent body, empowered to
| elect its own officers and have the care Of The
| schools and school buildings. He could not see
what the citizens OF Washington had done to
| have taken from them this little fragment Of
| power OF caring tor their own schools
| GEN. BROWNIES PROPOSITION.
Gen. W. 81. Browne thought the matter was
something that concerned everybody in the
| District, members of Congress vino had child
rem in the schools as well as others residing
here. The Commissioners had not stripped
them OF every privilege. They left them the
| schools and 10000 children who daily go TO
school. That number is greater by several
Thousand than the army of the United States,
and it was well ufficered as the army. To
| what was the present action of the Commits
| sioners tending if not to make this organization
| q political instrument. He thought there should
| be at least three trustees from each school dvi-
| sion, making board of twenty-four members.
.Then,' said Gen: Browne, .'if by any possibi-
1ty any one man should be at all eccentric there
would outvote him 'A' He enc thought Sn 'H the
upon the teachers would be good. Now, he
said, they did not know how soon they may be
swept out OF the profession. He believed Con-
gress would take the matter in hand and pro-
vide tor the appointment of board OF reputable
gentlemen. who would serve, the trustees
always had, without compensation. In this
District there were good men who would serve
as trustees. He did not believe there one
| there that night who would serve. He knew
that some there had declined to serve. What
one was there, he asked, who would take The
office as matters stand now? He did not know
OF one who would not feel degraded to accept
| such an office.
MAJOR RICHARDS OPPOSED TO MUTUAL ADM
RATION.
| Major A. G. Richards said he had not been
aware of the object of the meeting, but had
ascertained its character pretty we'll from what
had been said. 1t seemed to him in the nature
OF a meeting for indignation and a little mutual
admiration. =" want to say, for my part" he
| continued, "that approve entirely OF what the
| Commissioners have done. In view OF the his
i I'd 1 u
| the Commissioners have done right. The board
of trustees have acted more boyish than school,
| boys themselves. l am surprised that the
| Commissioners have not asked their resigna-
| tions. The board is a badly organized, badly
selected condemnation of men," Continuing.
Major Richards said it struck him that the
schools had been supervised almost to death.
| The whole system Was too diftuse and too eX-
pensive. To his mind, there was no sense in
having fifteen or twenty superinterdents. They
had one Commissioner at least who would
| listen to them, and he did not feel like CEN
should go first and talk with him. He wanted
| them to DE careful that there were no personal
| ends to be served in this matter. He could not
be tool to anything of the kind.
| II can't see, he said, "why as ex-trustees Of
public schools we have right to arrogate to
ourselves any special functions. 1 think the
meeting should have been called from a wider
circle. We have served and our services have
been dispensed with; probably they were not
| approved: But at any rate let US 60 slow; be
cautious"
Gen. Browne disclaimed having made any
|
| lacking the system.
MIR. J.. g. BROWN CAME FOR BUSINESS.
| Mr.. j. Sullivan Brown said that either b, or
Major Richards misunderstood the objects of
this meeting. He had come there for business
A board of trustees that had no power was a
perfectly useless institution. An advisory
board was merely an official board. He spoke
| at length upon the growth Of the school system
| here under the care of the trustees. II anything
had gone wrong In the last three years, he said,
| 1t was because the powers of the trustees had
been abridged by the Commissioners. He
| the trustees should have greater power.
| GEN. HOvEYs PROPOSITION.
| Gen. G. E. Hovey, after reviewing the laws
| relating to the school board, argued that the
| intention of the committee that prepared the
| organic act was to confer the powers upon the
| board that the Commissioners hold are not
conferred by law, because the same committee
| approved q code of laws specifically defining
ssy 10 the
| the Commissioners and to Congress q PROPOSE
| ton that the school board should be enlarged
and thaG the powers which Congress intended
TO confer upon the board should be conferred
hess as TO sns action
cause. 1t was not unknown that in some of
the school divisions there had been great dis
satisfaction. There had been q vigorous en-
forcing of the one-man power. The Commits
| soners had to do something, but what could
only word the nn Of
board were 'the care and MANAGEMENT of the
| schools" After taking legal advice they sent
| up notice to the school trustees that they were
| nobodies. ~ do not say" observed Gen. Hovey,
| shat the Commissioners were wholly wrong In
passing that opinion upon the existing board"
| He suggested that as q draft of bill had been
drawn up on the basis Of a board of twenty-our
members, that 1t be considered as Q committee
| of the whole, with q view to submission to the
Commissioners and to Congress.
THE BILL PROPOSED.
| Gen. Hovey then read the draft Of ian act
| creating a school board for the District of Co
lumbia, and prescribing the powers and duties"
| which he said was based upon the provisions
In the 1ngersoll code, which had been approved
by the House OF Representatives.. This bill pro-
vides for board OF twenty-four trustees three
from each division, TO have the power of ap-
pointing superintendents, supervising princl-
pals, teachers and other school employees au-
| tnorized by the Commissioners; to prescribe the
course Of study and text books; to examine and
report upon all bills for school expenditures; to
have the supervision OF the alterations and
repairs TO buildings, and the power of approval
| OF plans for new buildings, and TO make ali
regulations, within law, for the government OF
the schools.
A COMMITTEE 10 BE APPOINTED.
This bill was discussed at some length. Major
Richards said he approved it entirely. It wa
decided that the chair should appoint com
mittee Of twenty-five to present the bill to the
Commissioners and to the congressional com
mittees. The chair proposed to appoint al
} | those present as members OF the committee bu
| 1t was decided as inadvisable, as 1t would iooh
| as though they had appointed themselves mn
chairman was therefore authorized to eelec
. | twenty-iour gentlemen to act with himself OF
the committee.