Peninsula enterprise. [volume] (Accomac, Va.) 1881-1965, 1896-12-19
School Holidays.

/ Clo pTuGll, siilO bild1 10 ohO OCJSSo
!have in view. 1t is not question OF
one holiday, but question of princi
pie and of law. Hence l ask the
| privilege of replying to the rambling
and erroneous article Of DR.. John Il.
Mapp published in your last issue.
He starts out with an egregious
blunder by stating, 1.-THE County
iSchool Board is composed of all the
District Boards" "Treasurers and
School Superintendent" Mirabile
,dictu When in the name of law
did the "Treasurersn become mem
bers of the School Board? The Vir-
ginia School Laws. section 90, page
as read as follows: "The county
superintendent of schools, together
! with the district school trustees in
each county, including those IN
cities OF the second class, for certain
purposes herein after specified, shall
constitute a body corporate under
the style of 1.-The County School
Board of -- county" No "Treas
urer" in that law, but perhaps
Brother Mapp got his authority to
add these two members to the
County School Board from "the
beautiful" Thanksgiving proclama-
tions of Messrs. Cleveland, O'Ferrall
and Massey, "or he may have Dor
rowed his authority from the dim,
distant Colonial days" to which he
refers to support his case. He don't
have much respect for Virginia
statute law, but great is his admira-
ton of proclamations from those IN
authority. How humiliating Don't
know what officers constitute the
County School Board over which he
has presided for eleven years No,
no, he .is not infallible !" But he
sticks to it that the Board adopted
the Thanksgiving as a legal school
holiday at the meeting August Bird,
and says was conspicuous by my
absence" I was attending my sisters
funeral in Maryland and have no
apology to make. DR.. Broadwater
was clerk pro TEN and the minutes
of the Board are in his handwriting
and are signed by u. E. Mapp, chair
man" with his own proper signature,
but he says he signed them with
out taking the precaution to have
them read.n That is very lame ex-
cuse for his blunder. What would
any thinking, reasonable. level
headed man" think of Judge Black
stone if ne should sign n decree Of
his court and three months after
ward repudiate the decree and assign
as his reason for doing so, that he did
mot take the precaution in the usual
hurry of adjournment to have the
decree read before signing same"'
Would they say he was doing bust
ness "decently and in order?n Prob
ably they would say he ought ITO
step down and out" and let more
careful man take his place. DR..
Brodwater thinks the record is cor
rect and says he wrote the minutes
down at the meeting of the school
board. The written record is better
than mans memory. But there
would have been no misunderstood
ing if DR.. John E. Mapp had obeyed
the plain mandate of the law which
says 1.-The County Superintendent
upon the opening of the schools shall
notify the teachers of the days sc
fixed' as school holidays by the Dis
trict Boards at the annual meeting
of the County School Board. Why
did he not obey the law in
stead of running off after the
proclamations of Cleveland, O'Ferral
and Massey? 1 stand by the law bur
he says he has no "apology to make
to Mr.. Parsons" Well I want none
all want is for him to obey the plair
, statute law. He did not notify the
teachers of the days fixed" as holi
days at the opening Of the schools
and he knows it. A line in the ENTER
) PRISE, published seven weeks aftel
the school opened, announcing tina
thanksgiving is legal school holl
day. without his signature to it, il
all the notice he gave. Does he con
slider seven weeks after the schools
opened, "at the opening of TIT
schools Has he given notice tina
Xmas day and Easter Monday arr
holidays" No, no. He didn't fine
find them in the beautiful proclana
tions but they were certainly OBJ
served in Colonial days." and he hal
not denied the County Board adopted
them. He says I erred in saying thai
there will be "a recess without pay
from December Goth to January 4th.'
I did not err. December 25th is 6
legal holiday and the teachers will be
paid for it, but the Xmas recess from
: December Goth to January 4th, 1897
is without pay. Can't he see the dis
tinction?
hope this discussion will lead to a
better understanding of the law.
have no other object in view. l ain
candidate for no office, but want
the II, S43 school children in Accomac
county to have the benefit of all the
money NEARLY S2s,OOO) apportioned
for their education.