The Morris County chronicle. [volume] (Morristown, N.J.) 1877-1915, 1900-02-16
CODIFICATION COMMISSION
Bill Embracing states Educational Inter
ests ready on Monday

report which it is understood will be
presented in the Senate on Monday
night by Senator Stokes, a member
of the Commission.
From interviews with members of
the Commission, the Chronicle is en-
abled to note some of the changes in
the new bill, which will be intro
duced in place of Senate bill 1877 of
last year.
1t is proposed to continue the
County superintendent as at present
with supervision of single county,
the compensation of this officer, who
by the way is State school official,
appointed by the State Board of Edu-
cation, shall be paid out of the State
School Fund and not by the counties
as at present.
1t is also recommended that the
minimum of compensation for a
County Superintendent be fixed at
81, 900 instead Of $500.
ELECTION OF BOARDS OF EDU-
CATION.
The Commission not being able to
agree among themselves as to the best
methods of selecting the Boards of
Education, offers three alternative
methods as follows:
a. appointment by the Mayor or
other chief executive officer of the
municipality.
b. Election at large in the munich
pality.
C. The election at large in the
municipality of an intermediate board
of six whose functions should be to
appoint members of the Board of Ed
ucation and to fill vacancies in the
last named board. The Commissioners
include in their report the second of
these viz, election at large with the
comment that:
They are no nearer an agreement as
to the advantage of one method over
another than year ago; but wishing
to present au entire bill, they offer
the method suggested as certainly
available. convenient and effective.
BOARDS OF ESTIMATES.
The Commission has made the ap-
pointment of business manager (as
well as that of a superintendent of
schools) optional in the school dis
tricts; his duties have been somewhat
limited and simplified.
The function of this Board is to
determine the amount of money to be
appropriated in each year for the cur
rent expenses of the schools and for
repairs to the school property.
Under the former report, this Board
was to consist of the President of the
Board of Education, the Mayor or
other chief executive officer of the
municipality, and the Comptroller,
if there be one, and if there be none,
then the Chairman of the Board
or of the Committee of the Board
having general supervision of the
finances of such municipality
CONTRACTS WITH TEACHERS.
Relative to the contract with teach
ers, the Commission have incorporated
in their new report a provision which
has received the almost universal
endorsement of many teachers to the
effect that Board of Education may
make its own rules and regulations
governing the employment and en-
gagment of teachers, and the terms
and tenure thereof, and the promotion
and dismissal of teachers; and provid
ing further that if Board of Educa-
tion shall make no such rules and
regulations, then there shall be exc
cuted with the teachers contract in
writing substantially as required in
the former report.
SCHOOL CENSUS AND STATE
SCHOOL TAX.
In these two important matters the
Commission will recommend a radical
change from the existing law, and
from the revision of their former
report, in the matter of determining
the amount of the State School tax
to be raised and in the apportionment
of the several school districts.
Under existing law, there is taken
in May of each year, by enumerators
appointed by the several school boards
a census of all the children in the
State between the ages of five and
eighteen.
The total of this census, multiplied
by five dollars (less such an amount
as shall be appropriated from the
State Treasury by virtue of an act of
1899) constitutes the State School Tax.
which tax is raised by the several
counties in proportion to the amount
of taxable real and personal property
in said counties. Ninety per cent.
of the amount raised in any county is
returned to it at once for the use of
its schools, and this amount, together
with it's share of the reserve, is ap-
portioned among the various school
districts in the county, first by allot-
ting to each district two hundred dol
lars for each teacher regularly en-
ployed in its schools, and the balance
on the basis of the last published
school census
The compensation of the census
is based upon the number
of names returned by him, and this
is a constant temptation to him to
swell his list.
But the school census is used now
as basis of distribution of the tax
than of raising it.
The school district benefits directly
by the fraud of it's census enumera-
tors, in as much as it's false census is
the basis of apportionment to it of
the tax, and the larger it's local CEN
sus can be made to appear, the larger
share of the money raised will it
receive.
The average for these past five
years is 2 77-100 mills. The Com
recommends that instead
of tax, the amount of which shall
be determined by an untrustworthy
census, census which it costs $40, 600
in each year to take, we return to the
old mill tax, and fix the State School
fax to he an amount which shall he