The weekly true Democrat. (Tallahassee, Fla.) 1905-1912, 1905-04-21
SCHOOL CONSOLIDATION.

commended that provision should be
made for their support by direct spec
ial tax for that purpose, but also urged
the Legislature to provide ian efficient
system Of management, control and su-
pervision," contending that there should
be some official or board" that could
be held responsible for the progress
and advancement of the great educa-
tiC1al interests of the State"
With State Superintendent of Pub
lie Instruction who is one Of the admin
istrative officers of the State govern
ment, and State Board Of Education,
consisting of number of such officers,
including the Governor, whose province
it is to supervise and manage all of the
educational institutions of the State, it
appears somewhat strange that the
Governor should regard those agencies
inadequate 10 the accomplishment Of
the purposes he mentions, without CIV
ing some reasons showing why they are
inadequate. Nevertheless, two mem
bers of the Legislature, Hon. JnO. p.
Wall, of Putnam, and Senator Stockton,
Of Duval, appear to have taken the
Governor at his word, and have intro
duced bills providing for the abolish
ment of all of the existing separate
boards Of trustees now in charge Of the
several institutions, and the substitu-
ton therefor of general board of fif-
teen trustees, to whom is assigned the
duty of supervision over them ALL includ-
ing one or two now under the control of
the State Board of Education. The
schools named as intended to be con-
signed to the care of the proposed gen.
eral board are: University of Florida,
at Lake City; Florida State College, at
Tallahassee; East Florida Seminary, at
Gainesville; South Florida Military
College, at Barlow; State Normal
School, (for whites) at DeFuniak
Springs and the Normal and Industrial
School at st. Petersburg.
No reasonable or f4ir-minded person
will deny that the present situation calls
for prompt and radical correction.
Yielding to the persistent opportunities
Of local enthusiasts, previous Legisla-
lures have unwisely been persuaded
into the indiscriminate bestowal Of pub
lie funds to divers small but ambitious
local schools; these funds have been
partly used in the erection of perma-
nent buildings, or the purchase Of sites
therefor, which are made to appear as
investments on the part of the State,
and these have been succeeded by in
cessant appeals to subsequent Legisla-
lures for State funds for additional
buildings, for increased salaries to
teachers, and for general support, until
the protest of the Governor has focused
public attention upon the crying evil
which threatens to swamp the treasury
or, alternatively, require an increase Of
taxation.
While heartily approving the recon-
mendation of the Governor that these
several institutions, if they must be
supported from moneys raised by the
taxation of the people, should be re-
quired to depend upon a fixed sum, to
be produced by special tax in each in
stance, we must dissent from the view
taken Of the Governors other recon-
mendation as to a change in the system
of supervision by the authors of the
above mentioned bills.
We contend that the State Board of
Education, as now constituted, is abund-
antly able to supervise the management
Of ell of these several institutions, and
to that end, the several local boards of
trustees should be abolished and boards
of visitors, with restricted powers, be
substituted therefor. as was for years
the system In successful operation be-
fore the new idea of separate trustees
was invented.
But there is another phase of this inn
portant question which has been much
discussed of late, aud that is the fact
that too much public money is being
frittered away upon weak local schools
which have not yielded results adequate
to justify a continuance of this gener-
GUS but mistaken policy. We cannot
do better at this time in this connection
than to direct public attention to the
very excellent article printed elsewhere
n, thaaa Columns from the DninnellOn Adj