The daily morning journal and courier., 1907-10-03
THE SCHOOL PROBLEM.

THE SCHOOL PROBLEM.
 New Haven is not the only town in the State of Connecticut to be bother ed with problems growing out of the administration of the public schools. Here the stubbornness of the Board of Education in delaying action upon the teachers salaries is one problem by itself, while there Is opening before it another which concerns the broader use of the school buildings during hours when the children are at home. Still another problem, which is really Q part of the second, relates to the architecture of the school buildings which shall supply the technical school needs, on the one hand, and the social needs of neighborhoods, on the other hand.
 It is gradually dawning upon the State of Connecticut that it's public school policy while admirable In it's generous use of the money supplied by taxation is sadly lacking In imag- Iination, just as the use of church build- !ings turns upon a sad waste of valuable material There will always be of course the educational problem, which fchanges more or less with each gen eration, but this is insignificant com. pared with the fullest possible use of facilities which are possible of indefl- nite expansion. Nor Is the life of a lschool building Of the slightest import ance compared with the employment of 1t to do everything that neighbor- hood needs and cannot have. The old idea that school and church buildings should be closed the moment they have performed the service which called them into being Is passing. We should like to see it's departure has, tened by the adoption of a rule by school commissioners and church trustees permitting the use of their buildings for certain specified diver sions which are neither scholastic nor religious In their character.
 But while New Haven Is wrestling with its problems some of the other towns of the State are trying to break iaway from an embarrassing alliance lthoughtlessly entered into years ago It is only few days ago that the citl- sens Of Mlddletown voted down a proposition to finance the Roman
 Catholic parochial school there while permitting it's affairs to be administer.
 ed by the local priest. In the town oi
 Derby an injunction has been prayed
 out which If sustained will forbid the Appropriation of public money for tho lsupport of a parochial school there
 which has been receiving aid from thu
 treasury. In the town of Essex a sim lilar confusion has arisen as a conse lquence of the misuse of the public
 funds. The Pratt school, which wa,
 endowed by man Of that name, wa ldirected to be used for the exclusive
 beneflt of the children of parents wht
 were or are members of the Firs
 Congregational church. The court
 have construed the will convenientk to mean that the children referred t,
 can have their education free whil other children could get theirs by pay Ing a nominal fee, Now that nor money is needed to administer tn school than the original fund provide , the question has arisen of the righ , of the town to give to a denomination , l al school.
 It is unnecessary to argue the ques } ton involved again. What the lay , directs must be done is clear enoug , and will be enforced the moment any f body takes the trouble to demand it f enforcement. A more interesting phas f of the general situation is that in on
 way and another the people are awak lening to the importance of the school land the timeliness of developing ther
 to their fullest capabilities. That is k lsplendid sign of the times