The Owosso times., 1902-07-11
Annual School Meeting.

UeIenSe, Wltn FAIRNESS.
Annual School Meeting.
The most important matter to come
before the voters of Owosso for months
is the school meeting which will be held
Monday evening in the Armory. Sue
cessors to 81. G. Frieseke and A. E.
Hartshorn, whose terms as trustees ex-
pire at this time, will be elected. This
means that two of the six men who
will manage the city schools, hire the
/ teachers and handle the funds of the
district for the next three years will be
elected Monday night If the choice of
that meeting should be an unwise one
three years must elapse before the
matter can be corrected. True even
two men would not be majority, and
any injury which they could work dur
ing the coming year with the other four
trustees still on the board would be
limited indeed, but no chances should
be taken.
The personnel of the school board
cannot be too high. The only con-
sideration in electing successors to the
men whose terms expire this year
should be to get the best possible
material for members of the board.
Business experience and plain common
sense-anything that assists or guaran-
tees good Judgment in man-should
be considered far more than any mere
fact of the better educational advantages
which he may have enjoyed, but from
the nature of the duties Of a school
board its membership should be COM
posed as largely as possible of men of
both education and experience. Men
who have had the advantages of train
ing in higher schools will, other quail
fcations being equal, be better prepared
for the duties of seeing that the Owosso
schools be kept fully abreast with all
that is good and progressive in school
work They will be better able to
decide whether the men who are paid
for making the schools what they
should be are men who know their
business, whether they have them
selves the requisite education and
character to keep our schools at the
front.
The schools are not and never have
been conducted on partisan basis.
They should not be. Two doctors are
on the board and still will remain. The
medical profession should be we'll repre-
sented, and THE TIMES is glad that
there are two physicians on the board.
Another member who will remain is
man who has himself been a successful
school superintendent and is graduate
of both our own schools and of the uni
versity of Michigan. The fourth mem
Der who holds over is one of the most
prominent representative Of organized
labor in the city, a man who was chosen
last year by the organized laboring men
of the city as their own personal repre-
sentative on the board. He has, it is
only fair to presume been able to adjust
various minor matters of work about
the buildings and grounds, handling the
coal supply, ETC., to the advantage of or
ganized labor here and elsewhere.
That is the personnel of the part of the
board which will hold over for another
year The two members who will be
elected Monday night to complete the
board should be the best men who can
be found in the city and any organiza-
ton or set of men who go to work to
find two such men and secure their cleo
tion may well feel that they have done
something which is q credit to them
both collectively and individually. All
personal or partisan feeling should be
left out of the consideration entirely
High qualifications are necessary for
members of the school board if the tax
payers are to expect full value received
for what their schools cost them and if
they are to expect that their schools
shall be kept up to the high standard
which they now hold. Then let every
legally qualified voter in the Union
School District be prepared before next
Monday night to do his or her full duty
by the Owosso schools.
The Maccabees and the Odd Fellows
are among the organizations of the
county which are discussing basket pic
pics at McCrrdv park