Ottumwa semi-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1899-1903, 1901-02-12
WANT NEW SYSTEM
The Present Organic cation of School
Plan is Assailed.
THE COMMITTEE MAKES SUGGESTIONS
1t includes Many RADICAL Changes
Board Is Composed of Some Prom-
nent Educators = Superintendent
Barrett Is at The Head.

nene Educ - superintendent
Barrett Is at the Head.
The present pan of country schools
is assaulted by Richard c. Barrett, SUI
perintendent of public instruction
who in conjunction with an advisory
board, recommends that all schools in
townships be consolidated and re-
cared as a single district, having
three or five directors instead of nine
different sets of officers, each compos-
ed of three directors, as is now the
case.
The committee believes that re-
auctions in the number of schools
means corresponding increase in
the chance of securing more compe-
tent instructors. They also say the
pan of having township unit does
away with the one man power now ex-
ercised to some extent by the direc.
tors OF the subdistricts.
The Pamphlet.
These recommendations are CON
tanned in a pamphlet now being dis
tributed by Superintendent Barrett.
The Ottumwa board is in receipt of
the document, which follows:
Permit us to call your attention at
this time to the need of having some
desirable changes in our plan of
school organization.
We recognize that better conditions
may be produced by such agencies as
libraries, better teachers, free books,
courses of study, etc, but We would
call your special notice to the import
ance of consolidating weak districts
by making the township the unit Or
ganization.
The Practical Plan.
Under this plan the entire township
is regarded as a single district with
three or five directors chosen from the
township at large by the electors on
the second Monday in March, one sec
rotary and one treasurer The arbi-
trary lines which now divide COM
munities into subdistricts and rural
Independent districts are abolished,
and the power to establish schools,
employ teachers, adopt textbooks,
prescribe courses of study, and deter
mine where children shall attend
school is vested in single board
charged with the supervision of all
schools and property belonging to the
corporation.
Desirability Apparent.
Instead of nine different sets of Off
GERS, each composed of three direct
ors, secretary and treasurer, as is
now the case in congressional town
ships divided in rural independent dis
tricts, there would be but one. The
I cir, Mi OH IF iva Of
kind is apparent.
Disadvantages of Present System.
There are in the state 3,6S2 indie
pendent and rural independent
districts and 1,175 school town
ships, or more than 49 districts
to each county. Thus, on the aver
age, the county superintendent must
annually obtain reports from nearly
100 school officers before they can
submit their reports to the superin-
tendent of public instruction, while in
some counties as high as 225 are re-
quired. The county treasurer and the
county auditor are also each required
to keep separate account with each
district, thus materially increasing
the work and expense of their respect
i've Offices.
Mistakes Made.
The multiplicity of school officers
makes possible many mistakes. AL
most an innumerable number of these
officers make no pretense of having a
knowledge of bookkeeping, and often
their reports are lacking in important
parts, or fail to balance. Not infre-
quently districts have lost public funds
owing to the lack of competency OF
those charged with their safe keeping.
Reduce Schools, Increase Competency
Some years ago the superintendent
of public instruction stated in his BIZ
enniai report that the records of the
treasurers OF school districts showed
deficit of more than $26,000. "How
much of this deficit is caused by bad
bookkeeping how much by mistakes
in transcribing, and how much by ac
tuat defalcation," he said, "it is i'm
possible to determine, since we have
no means to investigate"
To reduce the number of school of
ficers means to correspondence in
crease the chances of securing more
competent persons and diminish the
chances of loss of funds thru errors.
Falls Short.
In every system of public schools
two leading purposes should be to pro
vide equal school privileges for al
children, and to distribute justly ant
equitaply the burdens Of taxation
That the present system does not dt
this is our belief. Often, under pres
ent conditions, the railroad tax in {
township is distributed for the benefi
of one or two rural independent dis
tricts and to the detriment of taxpay
ers and children in other parts of thu
same township.
One Man Power.
The plan of having the township
the unit does away with one-man pow
or now exercised to some extent b.
the director of the sub-district, ant
places all school interests under thu
supervision and control of a boart
Observation-Disclosures