The Scranton tribune. [volume] (Scranton, Pa.) 1891-1910, 1896-11-06
Jones Of Arkansas should take a rest.
Conserving the High School.

SouSSA e'S ss'e..
At the last meeting of the Scranton
board of control the High and Training
School committee introduced. and the
board passed, the following resolution:
In view OF the large increase in the at
tendance at the public schools OF this city
and the consequent increase in the teach
inS force which has multiplied the work OF
our Superintendent to such an extent as
to require an assistant in his department;
and as the opening OF the new high schooi
has shown an attendance in that depart
mcnt of our schools much larger than
ever, requiring close and constant SUI
pervision which our superintendent 10y
reason of the manifold duties incumbent
upon him with regard to the lower grade
of schools, cannot be expected to give;
we therefore recommend that the SUI
perintendent be relieved from the super
vision of the high school and that the
principal thereof be held responsible di-
rectly to the board for the work done IN
the school under his charge.
This resolution, we understand. was
drawn up in secret session. without the
knowledge of the superintendent 1t
therefore can scarcely be said to have
originated in desire to spare him un-
necessary labor: and must be construed
as n gratuitous exercise of meddlesome
authority, for which there is no warrant
either i'm law or in fact. That there is
no warrant for it in fact is proved by
the statement that Superintendent
HOwell,had nCvcrasked nor intimated
wish to be absolVed from full per-
formance Of the duties customarily APP
pertaining to his office. That il is with
out warrant in law is shown by section
seven of the act of June 2S. 1895, ito
regulate the establishment. classification
and maintenance of high schools, the
distribution of appropriations in aid of
high schools. and the employment Of
teachers in high schools receiving state
aid" That section reads as follows:
High schools established in accordance
with this act of assembly SHALL BE
Under THE SUPERVISION or THE
SUPERINTENDENT OF THE CITY,
borough or county in which they are sit
uatyd.
1t will be perceived that the language
Of this act is mandatory and does not
leave the matter open, to the discretion
of the school board. The purpose Of this
provision is to insure unity OF super
vision and uniformity of internal gov
ernment among all the public schools of
q given community. If Il precedent like
that contemplated in the resolution
passed by the Scranton board of con-
troll last Monday night be permitted to
stand unchallcnged. it will be only the
question of brief time until under our
beautiful system OF school government
by factions. first this suh-school and
then that sub-school will want its in
dependent master, and ere long the
whole system win be reduced to chaos.
The purpose of this article is not to
defend Superintendent Howell nor to
take sides in any warfare of school
board factions. We do not pretend to
know what the able politicians of the
board of control would probably call
"the true inside" Of this recent and as
founding action. We only know this:
That the best interests Of the people of
Scranton: the best interests of the
fathers and mothers who have children
in the public schools, demand clearly
and plainly that there shall be no de-
Capitalization Of the public school sys-
TEN of Scranton; no disintegration of
that system into n collection of inde-
pendent and jealous separate entities;
no sacrifice Of the unity which is essen
tial to its fullest success and TO fac
tiOnal violation of plain law. If ii is
not possible for the present employees of
the city in its schools to work together
tremendously and to good advantage,
let the obstreperous personages be To-
Gated and discharged; but in the cater
wauling of petty factionalism don't sac
rifice the usefulness of the high school
nor detach 1t as thing apart from the
system Of which it is the climax and
the logical head.