Morning journal and courier., 1893-09-20
SMALL SCHOOL DISTRICTS.
Connecticut Has 1 ala for Only I64,-


Connecticut Has ALA for Only 64,-
O53 Pupils.
Connecticut and Rhode Island are the
only states in New England still retaining
the school district system. Massachusetts,
and New Hampshire were convinced of the
undesirability of it some time ago, and
Maine and Vermont threw over the district
system for the town system this year. Even
in Connecticut and Rhode Island the SEN
timent against the old system is growing,
as shown by the fact that it has been
abolished in twenty nine towns in this
state and In many of the towns In Rhode
Island.
In the last report of the commissioner of
the school fund are tables giving the num-
Der of children of school age in each town
and the number of school districts into
which each town is divided. A glance
through these tables diseloses some inter
esting information. For instance, taking
some of the towns in Hartford county, 1t
is seen that Avon, with 240 school chill
dren, has seven districts, but that isn't by
any means the worst, for Marlborough,
with only SO school children has four DIG
tricts, and Hartland has eight districts
and 1902 school children. Some of the other
towns in this county are divided as fol-
lows: Bloomfield, 8 districts and 237 chill
dren; Burlington, 0 districts and $50 chill
dren; East CRANKY, 6 districts and ia
children; East Windsor, II distrIcts aud
TIA children; Glastonbury. 19 districts and
693 children; CRANKY. IL districts and PAT
children; South Windsor, 10 districts and
$50 children, and Windsor 10 districts and
594 children.
Many other towns in the county are d.
vided into dlstrictssabout as small as these
1t looks as If there was lot of needless
machinery in accomplishing the education
of the children, and 1t must result In many
places in inefficient and poorly attended
schools.
Hartford county is not different from
the other counties in the state. Beacon
Falls has three districts and only 81 pupils
Bethany has five districts for its 100 chill
dren, and Madison has twelve districts and
252 children. There are six districts and
1870 children liz Middlebury, while South
arated into nine districts. Woodbridge has
six districts for 1875 children.
In New London county Salem has 80
children and eeven school districts, and
Voluntown is not far behind with eight
districts for 255 children. Lisbon has six
districts and 81 children, and Lebanon has
351 children and no less than sixteen dis
tricts Ledyard has fourteen districts for
262 children, and Lyme thinks seven dis
triots none too many for 1S2 children.
Brookfield in Fairfield county has eight
di4tricts for las 212 children and Easton as
many for 1873 There are fourteen dis
tricts in the town of Fairfield for S12 pu-
pills, and Monroe has seven for 1T. New
Fairfield beats that with seven for 1853
children, but about the worst is Newtown
with t~enty-one districts and 1888 chill
dren. Rsddipg has ten districts for 219
children and Wilton the came number for
800. Then in Windham county there are
Scotland with 90 children and Ave dis
tricts and Chaplin with four districts and
50 children. Ashford's 1913 children are
under ten district organizations. Litoh- |
fields banner town ia Bethlehem with 600 |
children and eight districts, but IL Is close |
ly followed by Warren with eleven |
districts and LOG children, and !
Woodbury. with 3s1 children and fourteen |
districts. Union, in Tolland county has |
only IS school children, but 1t has six |
districts, and wellington has nine districts |
for 1876 children. Columbia has eight dis |
tricts and 1888 children, and Bottoms 100 |
children attend school in Eve different dis |
tricts.
Many other towns could be put In this |
list, but those named serve well to show |
what some of the school districts of the |
state are. In some of these towns there |
must be about as many school officials as
there are children. In the 1877 towns of |
the state there are / ,414 districts and 1884,
053 children attending school. This is an |
average of only 116 pupils in each district,
in spite of the fact that the districts In. |
twenty nine of the large towns of the state !