The Morris County chronicle. [volume] (Morristown, N.J.) 1877-1915, 1902-01-31
ORECAST OF
SCHOOL LAW
Stokes Act the Basis Of New
Measure.

Legislature will Act on Same at an
Early Date rost Serious Dcfeci
inPresent Law Classification Of cit
les into Those Divided and Not Di.
vlded into Wards Elective system
Probable for School Boards.
One Of the most important tasks Of
the present Legislature will pfabably
be the enactment of general school
law to replace on the statute books
the Stokes School act, which the Court
OF Errors and Appeals has pronounced
unconstitutional
The court has not as yet pronul.
gated its decision that the present
lschool act is bad law because it con-
Etains invalid classification, and it il
generally understood that the delay is
1 idue to an arrangement between the
beourt and the State School aathori.
ties, with Attorney General Grey as
the medium. by grace Of which the
act is still operative and much con-
fusion in the administration of local
boards of education is avoided.
The decision Of the court, delayed
in it's PRONUNCIATION by the application
Of the attorney general for rehear-
ing, will probably not be formally
fled until Legislative remedy has been
provided for the present defective
not. This remedy. is now in course
Of preparation. 1t will be submitted
TO the Legislature at the earliest pos
sible day in tho form Of bill, mould
ed as well as the present law, on the
principle of unifying the educational
systems Of all of the municipalities
of the State and bringing them under
q single general plan.
STOKES ACT AS A BASIS.
Much labor Eand time that would
necessarily be involved in the draft
ing Of an original plan on the line.
of the proposed measure have beer
saved BY the fact that many Of ths
important details and features Of ths
| present aot can be incorporated il
the new one. To cure the constitu-
tional defect. is the work that CALI
for the most careful thought Of tn,
men charged with it.
i The chief defect in the present Law
4 which caused the Court of Errors ant
lAppeals to overthrow it, was its clas
sitication of cities into those divided
into wards and those not divided
This classification will beleliminated
| and there will be other changes, tina
will, it is believed, inure to the i'm
provement Of the general educationa
system.
| Among the features said to be under
consideration is that of providing fol
numerically small boards of education
in all Glasses of municipalities.
1t is also said to bo likely that tn,
| proposed bill may eliminate the op
tional feature Of the present law rela
tive to the establishment OF. smalle
boards in cities, and force the munici
ralities to act by mandatory provi
sion.
u When the Stokes law was passed
was left to the option Of the voters o
certain municipalities whether. the,
desired an elective or appointiv
board. Many Of them failed to ak
advantage of the option and tn
object of the law was in measur
| defeated, or at the least retarde
thereby. In the tests that have bee
| made, however, the results hay
} shown tendency toward the electiy
system, and there is said to be an in
clination on the part of the Trainer
Of the new measure to incorporate
section that will provide for an eleC
tive board with the referendum pre-
: vision for an appointive board.