Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1909-12-31
aiserllanroas 8saains.
STATE SCHOOL LAWS.
Sho-Id Be Revised BY Competent
Commission.

pOtntment OF an eQucaIlOHdi coinIlis-
sion whose duty 1t would be to go over
the school laws and straighten out the
kinks. This bill was killed.
At the last meeting Of the state
board of education a resolution was
passed favoring the appointment Of a
commission. The following is the res
olution:
Resolved, That the state board OF
education respectfully recommends to
the general assembly the appointment
of an educational commission with
full authority to revise, correct and
amend the existing school laws Of the
state, and to make a report OF such
recommendations at the session OF
|1sl1-such commission to be COM
posed of one representative of state
colleges, one representative Of private
denominational colleges. one repre-
sentative Of city superintendents from
special school districts, one represen-
tative of county superintendent OF
education, one woman, one senator,
two members Of the house Of repre-
sentatives and three members at large,
to be appointed by the governor.
THAT a sufficient amount be appro-
priated to provide secretary for such
commission and to pay the actual ex-
penses Of its members"
Mr.. Swearingen, the state superin-
tendent of education, is strong ad-
vocate for the appointment Of an edu-
cational commission and in his forth
coming report to the legislature he
will give some reasons and compari-
sons as to why this commission should
be appointed. He has the following to
say:
Every recommendation made In
this report might be used appropriate
ly in arguing for the, appointment OF
an educational commission. The re-
vision of our school law has long been
urged by the friends Of education.
The body Of that law was framed In
1878 and has served its purpose well.
Under 1t, taxation for schools be-
come a fixed principle in South Caro-
lima. School expenditures have in
creased from sS1s,03o.12 to $685.
S85.67. An enrolment Of 1929 has
given place to an enrolment Of 1884,
902. Forty-two counties today en-
braced within the territory which had
only 80. One thousand and eight
hundred and thirty-three school dis
tricts are reported instead of AT.
More than 5000 school officers and
trustees do the work today that was
then done by 1,400. The constitution
of 1895, has supplanted the constitu-
ton Of 1868, but the body Of our
school law stands almost as 1t stood
81 years ago. The parings and accre-
tions Of three decades bear witness to
the siftings in public opinion; but the
arms of the educational guide post set
up in 1878 can still be traced. Then
the free public school was an expert
ment; today that school is the most
important concern Of the state.
"This catalogue Of contrasts might
be heightened indefinitely for educa-
tional conditions change with social,
economic and industrial conditions.
Though our problems may be the
same, our facilities for solving them
are different. Any student Of our gen.
eral school law can recognize its weak
ness, its omissions and Implications,
its confusions and contradictions, its
localisms and archaisms.
This condition is nowhere better
illustrated than in the status Of school
trustees. This is the largest body Of
officers in the state. They have abso-
lutte discretion in the disbursement Of
school revenues, yet the law govern
ing their appointment has been chang
ed three times since 1902. In some
districts they are elected, in some they
are a self perpetuating board, in some
they are appointed by county boards
Of education and in some the active
trustees discharge their duties without
themselves knowing the source OF
their authority. There is in some To-
calities a motley board made up Of
special trustees and high school trus-
tees. The law fixes the day on which
the trustees shall be appointed but the
conflict between the various statutes
has misled many county boards Of
education by whom such appointments
are made.
'Trusteeship has been construed to
be a public office. Since section q,
article 2, of the constitution forbids a
mans holding two offices, the schools
are deprived of the services Of many
of our most public spirited citizens. A
man can not be district trustee and
a township assessor, although the
school districts are at present the units
Of taxation. This constitutional in
hibition is disregarded in the selec-
ton Of many educational boards, and
since it has been violated so frequent
ly why should 1t be continued? A
slight constitutional amendment would
readily relieve the situation. The ten
ure of trustees is now two years.
Since the board has to be appointed
every second year it is impossible in
appointive years for school boards to
make legal contracts before late in
the summer. An easy remedy would
be the appointment Of trustees for a
term Of three years in such a manner
that a majority of the board would al
ways be in office.
The school districts Of the state
are generally unsurveyed. The null
tiplication of new districts proceeds
every year in plain violation Of Sec
ton 5. article II, Of the constitution.
County superintendents are re-
quired to secure reports from trustees
and teachers, but possess no means of
enforcing the law. Trustees may be-
gin or end the session at will, without
giving notice to county school officers,
or occurring the renorts uDOn which