New-York tribune., 1905-02-16
ACCOUNTING IN SCHOOLS.
Corporation System AdUocated by
Report of Investigating Committee.

The New-York Association for Improving tne
Condition OF the Poor. whose president. H. fui'oh
Cutting. is friend of President Tiff or the BOARD
of Education. has. already told In The tribune
prepared report TO show the board how 1t can i'm
prove the business methods of the department ana
save money for in extending the vacation
schools. recreation centres, evening schools ana
the popular lectures President Tint mas appointed
Commissioners Dix, Renwick. jackson, Warourg
and himself committee to examine the report
Frederick A. Cleveland professor OF finance at
New-York University; William r. Patterson. now
professor OF statistics at the University OF Iowa
and Frank Tucker. now vice-Dresident OF the
Provident Loan Association, assisted General
Agent Allen Of the association in making the re-
searches necessary for the report.
Mr. Cleveland suggested that the remedy for the
fills discovered would seem to be the adoption Of
that principle of accounting now universally fol-
lowed by the best managed corporations. namely
the principle of grouping all expense items around
units OF results obtained.
The report continues:
The Department of Education has at present
cstional policies and urges expansion. 1t has also
department Of audit. which records expenditure
and keeps ii within the total appropriated by the
Board OF Aldermen, There is. however. no effec-
T6ere is no reSu t%O and
cessible record of results obtained from specific
ton of. the expense involved in each department.
GG R e Susnes word IS ShS Is 59
practical IN IN the 9 administration Of a school fund
q
Such method could be framed and put into
operation at Initial cost of far less than so OO0
and after the first year would be less expensive
than the methods now in use; It is Important. we
believe. that your board should be able at any mo-
ment to defend by tabular statements the educs-
tional value and cost of any and all of YOUR
cational policies Such statements ought to
be simple, clear and readily available to the press
to public officials and to private organizations and
individuals interested in the work of your board
and ready TO defend its curriculum and to arouse
public sentiment when the occasion demands.
W. r. Patterson. IN a criticism Of the city super
intendent's annual report. the only one In which
the facts about the schools made public says
Summary tables lacking. The number of
Pupils In attendance in the boroughs in the various
schools may be found by searching through the in
olVidual tables, but summary is made from
whlch one may get q comparative statement for a
series OF years. for the several boroughs
for the period covered by the report. For example
the report OF the superintendent in charge of rec
reation centres, vacation schools and Fairgrounds
gives a lengthy statement Of the total enrolment
and average attendance of the schools in the sew
eral ooroughs, but no totals found at the end
OF the columns, and in no place is the work sum
married
Turning to the report of the board similar criti-
cisms may be made. THE tables given are lengthy
enumerations Of items for which expenditures were
made. but at no point is there a table that will
permit an easy comparison of the several boroughs
reader in examining the report only by ex-
eessive labor determine whether expenditures are
Increasing in a certain line or diminishing.