The Jersey City news. (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1889-1906, 1898-12-14
NEW EDUCATION BOARD
Bill For It To Be Submitted
To the Next Legis-
lature.
MANY EXCELLENT REASONS URGED
Both Parties Said to Favor a
Smaller Educational
Body.

The old School Board must go. Repub-
lican leaders in Newark are determined TO
bring this matter before the Legislature
at the approaching session, says the New
ark Sunda CALL" and the result VIII
be the enactment of a law creating a
small. more wieldy body, which will exer-
else the control over the public schools
now vested in the Board of Education.
This question has been discussed among
Marty leaders in Newark for several
years. Neither party can claim exclusive
rights to the proposition of a change Tor
best men Of both parties recognize the
necessity Of a change. There is no united
opinion as to the form the change should
take The matter has not as yet gone SO
far. The Republicans would hardly give
into the hands of Mayor Seymour the APP
pointment of a commission, even though
the law might provide for a non-partlsan
Board. 1t is more likely that an elective
Board will be created, the members 10
be cln sen in the city at large. The num-
Der of members will probably not ex-
coed seven or mine, and the law VIII ny
a salary for each member
The present board is composed of two
members elected from each ward, thirty
III dl. ilCt 2 III
cans and fourteen Democrats. The Re-
publcans are in the majority, and would
probably continue in control after the
Spring election. The terms of eight Re-
publicans and seven Democrats expire
next year. To secure a majority the
Democrats must elect nine out Of the hf-
teen members to be chosen. On the basis
of this years elections the Republicans
10, 1I-1+ 1iohf ar ton of fhA
fifteen members to be chosen. In spite
of the fact that the Republicans Wall re-
tain control of the board, the party lead
ers favor a change in the makeup OF
the body.
The time for some decisive and COM
prehensive movement seems close at
hand, and the interest in the project IS
far more general than it has ever been
before. Thinking men and women VINO
take an interest in the public school sys-
tenn realize now that something should
be done to change the methods by when
the schools are governed. The raplo
growth of parents associations III all
parts of the city has helped the matter
along. Many more people are now
watching the public schools than former
ly. and there are just so many more to
find fault with the present order OF
things.
The Board of Education, as now con-
stituted, is cumbersome, and the men
who fill the office of commissioner are hot
~infrequently singularly and glaringly I'M
fitted for such duties. The commission
ers themselves admit this, many OF them.
They speak of their colleagues in terms
anything but complimentary, SO far as
their qualifications as school commission
ers are concerned.
By the selection of commissioners to
represent a ward or a district the board
is made up of men with a small body or
constituents, whose interests he feeis
bound to further, ever and always to the
disadvantage of other wards and dis
tricts. Instead of having the best well
fare of the entire system of schools at
heart he bends his energies to improve
the schools directly under his supervision
Whenever an issue arises where there is
a possibility of discrimination the COM
missioner discriminates in his own favor.
AS there is never enough money to go
around some ward or district must suf-
fer. and it often happens that the ward
most in need has to wait. In this way
one ward falls behind the others, and
when it's condition is such as to attract
general attention, the board comes to its
assistance. As a consequence, there is a
constant pulling and hauling to the detri-
ment of the system as a whole. 1t is not
only with reference to the division of
school moneys that this competition pre-
walls; it is a deep and subtle influence
and it pervades all phases of school adj
ADMINISTRATION. A principal whose commits
sioner is a member of the teachers COM
mittee, or who is most influential. Sc
cures often the pick of the best teachers,
and thus is able to maintain a better
school than some of his fellows. Com
missioners at the lower end of the scale,
or of the political party in the minority.
have to tax what is left. There is no
evenness in the distribution of the teach
ing force; a weak school is often made
weaker by the Introduction Of weak
teachers, while it should be strengthened
by the introduction of the best and
strongest.
The standard of the Board of Educa-
ton should be raised so far as the quail
fcations of the members are concerned.
Men are under the present system elected
commissioners who are signally unit.
who are competent to direct and govern
the schools, men who are qualified 10 dis
cuss with the superintendent and his as
sisrant the various branches of public
school education and to handle the flaan-
cfal and mechanical branches as .hey
should be handled. No business house IN
the world would permit its affairs to be
governed by mel SO totally in ignorance
of the simplest details of running a DusI-
ness as many of the choo1 commissioners
are of the essentials of sound school gov
eminent. Men are put in charge of the
school finances who never had the re-
hottest knowledge of the way large suTns
of money are administered; others are
set to judge of the best and most deslr-
able methods and systems for heating
and ventilating who not only have no per-
sonal aptness for such matters, but Who
have no practical experience whatsoever.
Whether the city has in the future an
appointive board. whose members are
chosen by the Mayor, an equal number
from each of the two leading political
parties, or an elective board. the terms
of the commissioners should be longer
than at present, and there should always
be a leaven of experienced commission
ers. This may be done by means of a
system of terms of different lengths. one
or more commissioners to go out of office
each year. some being appointed or elect
ed for two years, others for three. and
others. possibly. for five.