New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1910-05-05
EDUCATION a STATE FUNCTION

To the Editor of The Tribune.
Sir. Last spring, at the hearing at Al
bany. that eminent publicist J, Hsmpden
Dougherty. author of ;he educational chap
ter Of the WINS charter. stated in the pub
lie press april / 1907 Nobody. with the
single exception of DR. Shumway. uttered a
word in behalf of the retention of the Board
(of Education) as 4 separate corporation"
At that hearing. representing the united
civic orga uization of Brooklyn. some fit
teen thousand taxpayers. I Combate the
proposed destruction of the corporate entity
of the board, The Hammond charter. now
before the Legislature. and apparently
about TO pass also would destroy that cor
porate entity. 1t contains, the following
words: The board shall not possess the
powers or privileges of q corporation
PARAGRAPH 658. last sentence. This is in
direct violation of Paragraph 22o, Consofi-
dated Education Law. whereby the Board
of Education of every union free school
district city is created a body corporate
Now, Attorney General O'Malley. in
two-coumn opinion, establishes conclusive
ly the correctness of my contention. citing
the action of both houses of the Legislature
in denying the claim that an officer of public
instruction is ineligible to be member OF
the Legislature, as If holding office under
a city government. He does not, however,
note the fact that. in the first cited case,
the city involved, Albany, specifically In
cIudes in it's charter the Board of Educa-
ton as a city department-by a piece of
legal bungling precisely such as Mr. Dough
erty proposed for this city, and now the
Hammond committee proposes.
Mr. Attorney General O'Malley further
cites Donovan agt. Board of Education G5
n. Y, III. 12D: Purpose to rebut
an inference of any power in city govern
ment to control the schools
TT has been repeatedly held" he says,
.Tby the Court of Appeals that Boards Of
Education in cities are entirely independent
of the city government
In Ham agt. Mayor 90 n. Y, 459): They
are not servants or agents of the corpora
ton, but public or state officers.
In Gunnison agt. Board O76 N Y, 1D
the court says OF the opposite view. the
view of Mr.. Dougherty and of the HAM
mond committee: Public education then
becomes a city function, exposed TO the
faint of current municipal politics and any
and every general Acknowledgement that
may prevail in city departments" quite
similar language on my part last year Mr..
Dougherty called a ''jeremiad ,
The Attorney 6eneTdl diSO CItSS b''ii''eA
agt Mayor 70 Hun. So: Specific powers and
duties to perform a public service not pc
culiarly local or corporate, but as part Of
a general system.
He further quotes the unmistakable Ian
guage of Judge Gaynor CRldenour agt-
Board IS Misc, AIS. 400: 1T is state and
not a city agency, doing state and not
city work and functions. Education Is not
city, village, county or town business 1t
is a matter belonging TO the state govern
ment."
| 1t would appear that my contention teven
II 1 then seemed to Mr.. Dougherty to be
quite alone was justified. and that Mr..
Dougherty, the WINS Commission and the
Hammond committee are wrong
1t would further appear that Governor
Hughes was right when he vetoed the
equal pay bill for this city on the ground
that the principle. If made mandatory.
should apply throughout the educational
system of the state
EDGAR S. SHUMWAY.
| Brooklyn, May 4, 1910.