The Owosso times. (Owosso, Mich.) 1897-1926, 1897-03-26
THE coMMIssIoNERsAIP.
One of the Village superintendents Writes
on the Important Subject.

on the Important Subject.
There has been considerable said
concerning the doing away with the
Office of county school commissioners.
1t is claimed that the people do not de-
rive the benefit from the Office that the
expense demands
While economy is one of the princi-
pal factors of good management, yet
it must be remembered that all econ
omy can not be estimated in dollars
and cents.
Our public school is one of the prin-
cipal features of our national existence
and every effort that is put forth to
develop the system and make it more
efficient to fiji our citizens for all the
duties of life is money spent that will
for years to come bring in a revenue
of national safety that no rate of in
terest can estimate.
One of the strong principles of any
system of associated human power is
the centralizing of it's directing force,
and If in the county the powers of the
office of commissioner be taken from
him or lessened, the school work be-
comes fractional and will lack organ
| ization.
| In each county should be one officer
in whom is conferred the whole control
of the schools of that county. He
| should be invested with executive
powers so that the schools of the coun-
ty would be directly under his care.
He should be thoroughly acquainted
with all the wants of every school and
| county. He sh uld be often in each
| school room each year and should be
constantly informed of every interest
| Of each school,
To have such an officer would require
g. man of the highest qualifications and
a man wholly devoted to the Office in
all it's requirements The salary
| should be such as to demand the serv-
ices of the best men in the state.
The idea that the office should in
any way be secondary in its character
is against the best interest of our
schools.
has been suggested that school
visiting should be only casual and only
upon the request of the directors of the
districts. Such system of school Wis
iting would be useless and without any
good results. In fact, the only re-
quests the commissioner would get to
make visit to district would be
when there was someth ng special GO
ing on in the district
The office in this county is worth all
the money paid for any man who gives
his whole time to it. You can put it
down as true principal of buying or
selling that cheap office means cheap
service, and if the salary and duties
the qualifications and results of the
Office be reduced.
Each voter in the county should be
directly interested in the election of
school com missioner and of the main
tanning of the office. This is not a
question of politics 1t is question
concerning one Of the factors of society
that is near. s. the home an the heart.
The stronger The organizatlun OF our
school system the greater its results;
but to do awaywith any central power
in the county would be to throw the
different schools of the county adrift
to wander without any directing force.
The work of the county should be
uniform and unified, but This would be
of a thorough commissioner
am very much pleased to learn that
our present commissioner Mr. Bristol,
is in hearty sympathy with thorough
system of county school supervision.
hope he will be returGed to Office. |
He is young man aud in every way |
we'll qualified to perform all the duties
of the Office, and his being prepared to |
give his undivided attention to the |
work should receive the hearty sup |
port of every vote, in the county who
has the advancement Of our schools |
more at heart than the saving of GER
tain rate in taxes. w. Il SHEEHAN.
Sup't OF schools, Vernon Mich.
FITS.-All Fits stopped free by D~, ~"
Great Nerve Rsstorer. No Fits after ,s, dss
bottle free TO Fit cases. Send TO DR.. Kline,
1873 Arch St. Philadelphia, Pa.
A cigarette Is q rul of plper In which |