The Newberry herald and news. (Newberry, S.C.) 1884-1903, 1902-01-10
THE MATTER OF THE
COUNTY HIGH SCHOOLS.
SUPT. McMhHAN PRESENTS PRACrI.
CAL SUGGESTIONS
General Act IL Not Yct Nccded-.Sut County
Boards Should be Given Power to
Meet the Demand for High
Schools.
(The State, 9Th.

has the following to say in the mat
ter of county high schools:
Gin many counties the town school
is attended in it's higher grades by
pupils from country districts, who
in somo cases Gas in Orangeburg
and Union) are admitted free of tut
tion by the generous action of the
city board, but generally are requir
cd to pay tuition. In either case the
limit Of capacity to admit pupils is
being reached or has been reached
in many towns-especially in those
that have granted the privilege with
out the barrier of tuition charg B.
What is to be done to supply the de-
mand for high school education
Moreover, many smaller towns have
never yet boon able to provide high
school department for their own
children, and consequently in some
counties there is not even this begin
ming of high school accessible to
the children Of tho country. If the
law provided machinery by which
town and country in short
could unite in establishing and
supporting such a school, it would at
once become attainable in many
places where now the need of it has
come to be sorely felt. Indeed, we
have reached the time when some
counties have developed sentiment
in favor Of providing high school cd
ucation for all children from town or
country, who will attend. The
county board Of Anderson, for exam
pie, in the person of County Super
intendent II. e. Nicholson and City
Superintendent II. @. Walton, have
been agitating for q year the estab-
lishment Of a county high school, to
serve the city as we'll as the country.
They have called meetings of the
school trustees Of the county and se-
cured cooperation looking to COM
bined contribution of public funds
for this end. But more voluntary
cooperation of boards liable to con
stant change Of membership p will not
suffice. A simple enactment that the
county board may reserve and apply
in it's discretion 10 per cent. of the
school fund would suffice. 1t would
give in Anderson more than SO, 600.
While that board would use the fund
of high school, a board in county
not yet ready for high school might
usea small sum to assist in supplying
good teachers to specially backward
or poor communities, or might think
best not to exercise it's power to set
aside and expend part of the school
fund.
"It would be best to attempt no
distinct Legislation on the subject Of
high schools. An elaborate system
created by law for all counties at
this time would be positively hurtful
"A aste of money which is sadly
needed in the country school dis
sricts In any definite legislation
there would be danger of forcing
prematurely high school upon some
county not yet prepared for it. All
that ls needed is to strengthen tho
hands of the county boards, by the
several safeguards and powers sug-
gested above, and these boards will
establish the necessary high schools
az soon as local conditions can be de.
veloped to warrant them. The county
board would thus be, as it should be,
tho governing board of the county
high school. The county superin
tendent, employed by the county
board, would have general oversight
of the county high school, as of all
the other schools in the county.
"ln some counties these schools
would serve for the better propara
ton Of local school teachers, until
that distant day when the colleges
and the normal schools shall suffice
to supply trained teach ers for all the
schools Of the country. In some
counties these high schools would
take the form OF industrial schools
for boys and satisfying some,
what the craving that Clemson and