The citizen. [volume] (Berea, Ky.) 1899-1958, 1906-03-01
eacherS'
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II If(h FoR PUBLICATION TO !
.NluO Z. d. LEWIS, BEREA, XVI

The Kentucky Legislature has been
quite busy during the present session
aud il one bill which has already
passed the house becomes a law, we
will have a completely revolutionized
school system.
The provisions Of this bill, briefly
stated, are as follows: The county
Judge, county attorney, and county
school superintendent Of each county
will meet during next September and
divide their county into four districts.
At the November election following,
one member OF the county school
board is 10 be elected from each dist
riot by the vote of the whole county.
These four elected members and
the superintendent will compose the
county board Of education, This
board will have power TO employ all
teachers, levy all taxes, hold all
school property, buy all new supplies
aud equipment, and finally 10 appoint
a school visitor, whose duty Il will
be to supervise all schools, visit each
school once each month, sign all re-
ports aud take the enumeration Of the
pupils whose homes are in the dist
trict. For this service he receives
five cents per pupil. The board may
also make regulations governing the
schools, which the teachers must
obey or be liable 10 dismissal by the
superintendent.
Regular meetings will be held on
the first Monday in each month, and
each member shall receive $500 per
day for his service. Extra sessions
may be called, but the total number
Of days for meetings in year cannot
exceed twenty.
II seems 10 the writer that a worse
system, under present conditions,
could not have been devised, although
this has the approval Of Superinten.
dent Fuqus. My reasons for this
opinion are as follows:
First: The school board, being
elected by vote Of the whole coun i
ty, and not by the district in which
the intended members reside, makes
il certain that the board will be
wholly Of one political party, and
composed Of men who are elected,
not because Of fitness, but because
their names are ON the ticket Of the
party in power IL each district
voted for is own member, men would
be more apt 10 be elected because Of
special fitness.
Second; After being elected, four
men are too few 10 hold the respon-
sibility Of electing the teachers Of
a county. In my native county this
would mean that each member would
choose the teachers for forty schools.
A fine opportunity for Graft is it
notY
Third; The office of supervisor
will be merely farce. II will mean
that some man is paid five cents per
pupil for taking the enumeration and
signing reports. In the county re-
ferred 10 above, (Pulaski) think
there are about 5000 pupils and 100
schools. This means that for 800
some man must not only take the
census, but visit forty schools each
month. Will not the visiting he does
be OF great value, and will he not
bring great professional advice to the
teachersS In no county will the Wis
itor have less than ten or fifteen
schools tovisit. Ask any one who
has done such work what that means
and see IL the visitor will be OF any
use TO the schools.
Fourth; Every teacher must obey
reasonable" rules enacted by this
board. What teacher, who has stud
led out his work aud is teaching con-
scientiously will be willing 30 be
80 dictated toy There are other ob.
jections to this change, but for the
present let us stop and think From
whence cometh help" and il there is
yet chance try to stop this bill
where il is. G. ID. LEWIS.