The Newtown bee., 1906-11-02
CONSOLIDATION

4AOAvAAA N@
 CONSOLIDATION
 OF MIDDLE AND NORTH CENTER DIS. TRICTs.
 To the Editor of THE VIEWPOINT BEE: I desire to be not only entirely fair with MT Corbett, but also to be patient, even at the risk of permitting this discussion to go on to the Weari- ness of your readers. have no wish to triumph in argument, but only to show that there is way to better our school facilities so simple that child can understand it., so readily and easily carried out that no one would be hurt by it, and involving the ex. himself profeSses to be friend of such improvement. He has told me that he would like it in his own school; "fOr with so many classes" to quote his words, "I can keep school, but l cannot teach school"
 The trouble with him seems to be that he is suspicious of some plot, and must do my best to show that these ghosts which he raises are only in his imagination: The High school, the School board. the politicians, the law
  going to hurt anybody. They are not going to hurt him or his work. There Is no Clark lantern" This matter has been handled, so far as it's friends are concerned, in broad daylight, and he ought not to impute evil motives. He makes very broad claims as to the universal opposition to this plan: If he thinks this to be the case, l ask him if it is not his duty, as'one who ought to be interested in the cause of education, to help enlighten those this consolidation and not try to frighten them If he has a better way to Improve conditions, shall be glad, as have repeatedly said, to know of it, and would do all in my power to help 1t. If he thinks "the time is not ripe for consolidation of Middle and North Center districts" will he not give us some sunlight to help ripen it.
 MT Corbett professeS to be ignorant of the plan proposed, yet he goes on to discuss it and raise objections to 1t. His real objections I know; for he told them to me after town meeting, and as he disclaims being a politician, I suppose I may believe him. I want him to state them in his own words. If he does not I shall state them for him. That the secretary of the board of school visitors has no official knOWl- edge of plan which could not reach the board until the town had consoli- dated the districts and the consOli- dated district had voted t0 establish graded school and had decided which room should be used for primary and which for intermediate is not strange. upon SO intelligent gentleman as is that official by saying that he would not know what to do after such pre- liminary action had been taken. So far every ything has been done accord ing to law, and the method of further procedure is SO plain and is so common in all the towns of the state that it is not likely our school board would lose their way when the time came for them to act! To divide the children of a district into two grades is not so that these six estfmable gentlemen should be obliged to sit continuously for 40 weeks at SIS per day to make 1t come out we'll. Or does he think that our school board is not as capable and honest as the school boards of other towns in the state who attend to this duty? And what is this mysterious s'Supervisor" that else we must have? Why, he is nothing more than. aneact- ing school visitor appointed by the board, except that he is not member of the board. He has no more power than any member of the board who by the board. The acting school vis- itor of the district could do the work at his regular visits and it would not cost 8 cent more than it does now. The school board and supervisor ghost ought to vanish.
 Ghost Number Two, Endless Litiga- tion, dawns upon the imagination. We are told that "in case of union of this kind, if consummated, it could not be undone except by petition to the Superior court upon some trregu- larity in the consummation. There fore. to go ahead in this matter with out the sanction of both districts would be irregular and subject to re. vision by judge. If found unsatis- factory, it would plunge one or both districts into the chaos of legal strife. " A more accurate quoting of the law will diSpel the darkness which makes this spectre so terrible.
 First, the law does not require the town to have the sanction of either district. When warning is properly given the town has the right to con- sOlidate, so there can be no irregular ity in that respect. Second, any district-not any in' dividual-feeling itself aggrieved can appeal to the court. A district would have to feel pretty sore about it to initiate litigation. | Third, the appeal to the court is not the only way in which such consolfda. tion could be undone. The town has a right to divide as we'll as to consOli. date; and if the plan did not work
 we'll, could put the diftricts back
 where they were before. Has MT Cor
 beut ever found case where districts which have tried such a plan were
 willing to go back to the antiQuatec
 plan which they had left? That ghost
 I hope, has gone.
 The last ghost is the politicians
 Why should we worry about the poll.
 ticians? We are all politicians in
 sense, or ought to be. They are men
 but they are not all selfshly seeking
 an office. They have some interest il
 the town and in the community: The!
 want this to be a good town to live in
 Sometimes they have property, ano
 sometimes they have children to b' leducated. At any rate they knov
 when the majority of the community
 want good thing and they are apt t'
 favor it. This was very large ghos raised At the time the High school wa