Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1908-10-23
School Code Commission Favors
Making County Superin-
tendent Appointive
WANT COUNTY AS A UNIT
Commission Favors One Board as
Against the Present Township sys-
tem-selection of superintendent
Under System in Vogue in the Cities
Other Changes Recommended.
Special to Times-Republican.


Iowa City, Oct. 2S.-School govern
ment will be far removed from politics
if the recommendations about to be
submitted by the school code commits
sion provided for by the last general
assembly are enacted into law. Profess
sor F. e. Bolton, of this city, is chair
man of the commission, and w II.
Bailey, corporation counsel of the city
of Des Moines, and Arthur Springer,
of Wapello, are the other two mem
bers who have spent some very busy
months in getting data as basis for
the recommendations they have made.
The chairman of the commission
February to meet with convention Of
state superintendent, while from cor
respondence and discussion with the
most widely known educators of the
state the commission CLEANED whatever
seemed to them needed to make the
school laws Of the state thoroughly
up-to-date.
The most striking thing about the
report is the emphasis laid upon the
separation OF school management from
politics. The office of the county sup
erintendent would be made appointive
and one of his required qualifications
would he that he hold a state certii-
cate. He need not necessarily come
from the county over which he eN-
ercises supervision.
For County Unit.
The abolishing of the township as
a unit Of school organization and the
substitution therefor of the county, is
the next recommendation which is
strongly urged. The school district
would then be co-extensive with the
present county lines except where
streams or hills make such lines I'M
desirable.
The commission has rewritten a
great many of the present sections of
the law. This was done as the COM
mission found that the existing laws
were so inconsistent in many respects
that 1t would be impossible to merely
revise sections here and there and get
a systematic and consistent code.
II is provided, in the recommends
lions of the commission, that the coun-
BY board of from three to six mem
bers, according to the size of the
county, elected at the time of the an
nual school election. 1t is believed
that board selected at this time in
stead of at the time of the political
election would remove the matter from
politics and result in securing per-
sons most interested in education. The
method of choice would be exactly
similar to the method of choosing city
boards at the present time.
The duties of this board would be
most important. They would have the
power Of districting the county, levy
ing taxes, selecting text books and
the selection of the county supernten-
dent. The city and village Independent
districts would remain substantially the
same but for convenience three classes
Of districts are spoken Of, first towns
of over $4,000, second between 1000
and $4,000 and third smaller indepen-
dent districts. The law would require
Of these four year and three year high
schools and graded schools with two or
more teachers, respectively. The COM
munities are left much discretion in
deciding what is best for them in the
educational line except that the dis
tricts must maintain school at least
eight months of the year.
State Educational Board.
The present state board of examin- /.
ers would be made into a board known
as the state board Of education and
would be made up as at present, except
that the president Of the State College
at Ames is added to the board and its
membership increased from five to
seven members while of the three
members appointed by the governor
for the board there must be city and
g county superintendent. This boards
principal duty would be the classified |
ton and inspection Of all the schools I
of the state.
AS to the issuance Of certificates the
commission would see but little to
change from the present plan. There |
are various details suggested and two
classes of state certificates are men |
toned, limited and unlimited which |
are described by their names, the ex- |
animation for the former including
more varied and higher branches than
the latter.
Alec the commission will recommend |