The sun., 1896-02-09
TWO SCHOOL BILLS.
They Offer TO DO Away with tho Ward ID.
visions Tint Wnve Existcd SO Long.

The last official vestige Of ward government
In New York may I've swept away by the adop-
tion of either the Page or the Pavey bill to do
away with ward trustees in schools hereafter.
These trustees are now appointed. as they have
been for many years, from the wards In which
they reside, and when originally each of tic
twelve wards OF New York was of similar area
and population the plan worked very we'll. AT
present. however, the arrangement OF alloting
five trustees to each ward, irrespective OF its
size. population. and school accommodate ions.
Is an annChronsm which IL Is the purpose of
these two bills to do away with.
BY a law passed in 1859. the local admins
tra,ion of the affairs of the common schools
OF New York was ntrustcd to Boards Of Trus-
tees Ave for each ward. At the present time,
following this arrangement, there arc live
trustees I'm the Second wnrd. which las an area
of only eighty acres. and live in tho Twenty
fourth ward, which has an area of s. 900 ncros.
There nrc five trustees in the Third ward. which
has no common schools, and five in the Twelfth
ward. which has more than twenty grammar
and primary schools. and total population Of
100000. The population of the Third ward
is 1000.
The Page bill. prepared by q committee Of
the 3oard OF Education. Messrs. Strnus. Holt,
Hubbeil. Hunt. IIurlbut. Ke,churp. and Nom
tant, provides for tho Subdivision OF the city
into forty.ilve school districts. with the same
number of schools IN eacl district. aad the ap-
pointinent by the Poard of Education of five
trustees In each. or IL total of o25 school truS-
tees in town. This division is proposed rs a
substitute for the present ward division. ;hiCh
RiNes total number Of trustees IN town OF 12O.
1t is further provided in the Page bill that the
city l. to be re,iiatri"ted every iiv. years. so
that there may be ut no time more than live
schools in any one district and hs there VIII
be five trlsteo! for each district the nuGlhcr
OF trustees VIII correspond with tho number
g A. r,Igf g. u, .l,.,1
1t Il further provided in the hill that, pend
ing the relistrlcting of the city each five years,
the number of districts may be increased when
any ono of them attains the number of ten
schools. The present school inspectors num-
Der three in each of the eight districts into
are so joined as to make up these districts, the
First, Second. Third. Fourth. Fifth. sixth.
aud Eighth wards making un the first district,
thr seventh. Tcnth Thirteenth. and Four
tcrnth wards making up the second, the Ninth
anI Sixteenth wards making up the third
INSPECTION district. and 50 on.
Bv tho PAGE bill il is proposed that the
Board of Education shall divide the city into
fifteen inspection districts. each to include
three school districts. The effect of this
would I've to raise the number Of inspectors Of
schools from twcntv-four. the present number
has been urged 10 the Page bill is based on the
clair, that 1t would unduly increase the MIN
Der of trustees and inspectors.
The lavey bin !egisates ont of office on Juno
30 all the present trustees. and vests the en-
tire local administration of the Nav York city
ties now performed by trustees ara 10 devOlve
on the City Superintendent and his assistants
Both bills seek to do away with ward divisions
and boundaries.