Belmont chronicle. [volume] (St. Clairsville, Ohio) 1855-1973, 1888-01-19

show by their actions that experience
has taught this lesson in OhiO:-the
towns have better schools, with regular
school work and grading advantages
which are preserved by intelligent su
pervision. .,....
The common neglect of township
boards of education to exercise the pow
ers given them by the statute, presents
a remarkable contrast with what is COM
mon in the town boards of education.
of the 1,34S township boards. not one
in ten exercise the power given by the
statute lSec. 4009) to s'establish one or
more schools of higher grade" nor (Sec.
4020) the power ito determine the
studies to be pursued in the schools"
nor (Sec. 4017) the "power to appoint a
superintendent" There is not one in
ten of the 7SS boards in the cities, vii
lagos and special districts, but that ex-
erciSes all these powers. This is not to
be accounted for by any difference in
the intelligence of the two classes, of
men. The average intelligence of these
boards in the country may be not infe
riOr to that found in the towns. The
only cause that accounts for the differ
ence is the fact that the members of
boards in towns are conscious of the
power to manage and control the schools.
The boards in the country know that
they have not the power; they know that
the control of the teachers is taken from
them, and that there is no other way to
govern and instruct a school than by the
teachers. Every member of township
board of education in Ohio knows that
his most important power is exercised in
meeting with his fellow directors to
choose teacher of the sub-distriet school.
The law (Sec. 401S) gives the directors
of every sub district power to employ
and for sufficient cause dismiss the teach
ers, and to fix their pay; but the board
of education (Sec. 395S) determines the
amount of tax to be levied for the con-
tinuance of the schools after the State
funds are exhausted, and (Sec. 1867 the
board of education appOrtions the fund
among the sub-districts. These proVis-
| ions of the law necessarily lead to con-
f1icts. For more than thirty years these
conflicts have troubled the country
schools of Ohio. Directors make con-
tracts with teachers, as the law author
ICES them to do; boards of education ap-
portion to the sub b-district less money
than was counted to them by the direct
Ors in making these contracts, and the
law authorizes this also. Innumerable
quarrels and much litigation have re-
suited. The schools need peace and
good neighborhood, but they seem to be
everywhere the bone of contention and
conflict between township boards and the
directors of sub-districts.
This unreasonable double-headed sys-
TEN has been defended on the ground
that power should be diffused, not cen
tralized. This political maxim is sound,
but it does not apply to this case. The
members of township boards are not
elected to that Office by the people; they
become members by rule of law, be-
cause they happen to have been appoint
ed to different office. The directors
themselves are chosen at meetings where
on an average not one-fourth of the vo-
ters are present. 1t is not uncommon
that no person attends at the appointed
time and place for sub district election
on the second MOnday.o April All
experience shows that school officers,
elected by the people on the first Mon
day of April, do attend TO the business;
these boards have organized and main
tanned every good thing that has been
done in the past forty years for the COM
mon schools of Ohio.
Let us learn by experience and adopt
for the whole State the time and meth
cd of electing boards of education that
we have found to-be the best for ones
half. 1t is simply a Question how best
to transact business. ELI T. TAPPAN.