Pierre weekly free press. (Pierre, S.D.) 1889-19??, 1910-11-17
our SCHOOL CODE
PROMINENT EDUCATOR OF THE
STATE OUTLINES SOME OF
ITS SALIENT POINTS
RURAL SCHOOL WILL PASS
The District System, of Ccntrc! VIII
Give Place to a Commission
Plan Embracing County
Outside of Cities

Sioux Falls-w NJ. MAR, super;n-
tendent of schools for Mir No aha
county, who has taken an active in
lefest in educational matters in e
state points out much OF interest re-
laslng TO present and plopts d laws
dnectlng the same. He says:
NO one acquainted with the rural
schools of South Dakota will ella m
1hat they are perfect; no one w IL
claim that they are highly eff
80 The high schools of the state have
made much greater progress than The
rural schools, and SO sadly neg5ecte /
are the latter, SO meagerly are they
supported, and so inefficient have they
become that for the last few years
educators have been greatly intere St.
ed in their real condition and inn
provement.
There can be no doubt that the
tlme has arrived for forward move
ment in the rural schools.
They are but little imp owed over
the schools of quarter of century
ago.
Consolidation has been discussed.
State aid has been suggested
The elimination of the election of
county and state superintendent fro m
politics has received some attenti On.
But none of these plans have been
adopted or very seriously considered,
and not until the present hour ha a
really important and selious attempt
been made to take hold of the prob
lem and solve it for all time.
The people of the state proba ly
do not know that the most serious
and important piece OF legislation that
will be proposed to the legislature at
Pierre next January will concern their
schools-yes that little district school
out in the country.
1t should attract attention of every
citizen OF the state and afford them
a topic for discussion for the next
three months. Every citizen sho
read the proposed school code; every
paper should discuss it upon the edi-
torial page.
1t is matter of the gravest i'm
portance, and wish that this fact
could be sufficiently imp essed on the
mind Of every one in the state.
In order that we may have fair
understanding of the purpose of this
possible state it's most salient fea-
tures. 1 shall do this without discuss
ing the merits or Deficiencies of the
plan. What we need at the present
time is fair understanding Of the
code, and this shall now attempt to
give
The new school code is the result of
a years work by committee ap-
pointed by the State Teache asso ia
ton year ago, to cons. der the ru-
raj school problem, and to draw up
plan for the solution of the prob
lem
The committee spent a great deal
of time and money in an effort to COL
lect reliable facts concerning the ru
raj schools. and in the prepa aticn and
publication of the code. AT the meet
ing of the association In Huron last
week, the committee made its report.
For nearly two days the repo was
gone over carefully, nearly every pa a.
graph and section being debated by
the educators. At the conclusion Of
the. debate it was adopted by t EN-,
and will come up before the next ses-
sion of the legislature under the lead
ership of Superintendent Big low of
Lead who is a candidate fer the leg
islature, and who is going to Pierre,
for no other purpose than with the
desire of calling the serious atte7t on
of the legislature to the condit on of
our rural schools, and the imperative
necessity of improving them.
He is an able man, and will make
an impression upon the sess on. There
can be no doubt about this. This much
should be said about the man who
will lead the fight for the new code
He will have strong backing, and
those who think that what he pro-
poses is all joke. will he sadly m s.
taken when they read of what takes
place when he begins operation in
Pierre.
And now after this long introdrc-
ton what is the code? Just this The
code proposes to destroy the 10 a.
school board in the rural districts
making the entire county, outs de
cities of the first and second class, the
school district.
This will make a county district
Over this district there will Re five
commissioners, elected by popular
vote, who will serve a tie m of five
years, one to be elected each year.
This board of five commissions S will
have absolute control of all the
sihools in the country, the power to
levy he school tax, to spend money
for school purposes. to hire tea h re-
and attend to the general work that
would properly belong to all school
matters The local district Will have
one representative who will re"ort TO
the board concerning the cond ton
and needs Of his school. He will BE-
known to the local director" He
will have no vote whatever. This is
perhaps the fundamental difference
between the present system and the
Lead-In order to prevent the fur
LII L iala La.x