Connecticut western news., 1909-07-29
TOWN MANAGEMENT
 OF PUBLIC SCHOOLS
NEW LAW IS NOW EFFECTIVE

Provides That Hereafter Every Town
 Shall Maintain Control of All Its
 Public Schools Is Expected to
 Correct Many Abuses.
 The recently passed act providing for town management of public schools throughout the state went into effect Thursday and as it one that yitally con cerns all persons in those towns which have not already come under such man. agement THE NEWS prints the act in full. It is as follows:
 Every town Tn this state shall, from and after July 15, 1905, assume and maintain the control of all the public schools within it's limits, and for this purpose every town shall be school district, and shall have all the powers and duties of school districts, except in SO far as such powers and duties are inconsistent with the provisions of this act.
 All business concerning the public schools, including all heretofore neces- sary or proper to be transacted in district meetings, shall be transacted in town meetings. The annual town meeting shall be the annual school district meet ing.
 At it's annual town meeting, every town which now has board of school visitors shall elect by ballot three, six, nine, or twelve residents of the town as a school committee, who shall divide themselves into three classes to hold office from the time of their election until the expiration of one, two and three years. respectively, from the day of their election. If the number to be chosen be three, the members thereof shall all be annually elected at the annual town meeting, and no person shall vote for more than two; the three persons receiving the highest votes shall be such town school committee If the number to be chosen be six or twelve, no person shall vote for more than half that num- Der. If the number be nine, no person shall vote for ndore than five. At every subsequent annual town meeting, two. three, or four members, as the case may be, shall be elected by ballot for the term of three years, to begin on the day of election; provided, that if the number of the committee is three the whole number shall be elected as above pre- ,Io,. +1>I I1o oL1 !, two or four, no person shall vote for more than half that number. If the number to be chosen be three, no person shall vote for more than two. Said school committee shall have power to fill vacancies in it's membership until the next annual election, when such vacan- cles shall be filled for the remainder of the term by the town, by ballot. From the fifteenth of July, 1909. until the next annual town meeting, the school visitors and the chairmen of the com mittees of the district within each town shall constitute 8 joint board, having the powers and duties of the school con- mittees created by this act. After the aforesaid date no boards of school visitors shall be elected, and no district com mittees, except in districts organized under special acts, and in districts which retain their organization in the manner hereinafter provided. Any town may, at any time, vote to make the number of its school committee either three, six, nine, or twelve, and at each subsequent election one-third of the new number shall be elected in the manner above provided, but those heretofore elected shall remain in office until the expira- ton of their terms; provided, however, that in every town now constituting a consolidated school district the school committee shall be of the same number and shall be elected in the same manner as at present ..u#
 Said school committee shall. Tn gen. eral, have all the powers and perform the duties both of district committes and boards of school visitors, except in so far as such powers and duties are inconsist- ent with the provisions of this act. They shall maintain in their several towns good common schools, of the different grades, at such places and times as in their judgment shall best subserve the interests of education, and as shall give all the scholars of the town as nearly equal advantages as may be practicable; they shall have charge of schools hereto fore organized or maintained by their respective towns; they shall appoint chairman and secretary, who shall re- spectively perform the duties and exer- else the powers now pertaining to the chairman and secretary of the boards of school visitors; they shall appoint one or more acting visitors or superintendent to exercise, under their discretion, su- peryision over schools they shall