The watchman and southron. [volume] (Sumter, S.C.) 1881-1930, 1912-08-14
NEEDED: \ BETTER SCHOOL SYS.
TEM-NUMBER u.
By Prot. W. III. Hand. State Inspcc-
tor High schools.


a. district without revenue. In 81 dis
trict without either pupils or revenue
II Is almost hopeless undertaking.
Literally hundreds of districts be-
long To some one OF these categories
IL ought To lie patent TO every think
Ing man that something must he
done in order TO better conditions. To
accomplish such task as is before us
will require careful study OF the whole
State and a reorganization of per-
haps nearly all the counties in the
state. BY this time we ought to be
able TO see the futility of patchwork
In spots. The reorganization should
begin before the State wastes any
more money on an organization that
Is annually growing more disorganz-
ed. To go on building new school
houses under the present district
system Will in the near future dem
onstrate the unwisdom of putting
new wine into old bottles.
The 1901 school districts in the
state are managed by as many sets
Of trustees. There are close to 5000
school trustees In the State. Not only
Is every county In the State law
unto itself. but practically every
board OF district trustees Is a law
unto itself. Except for the restric-
tions made the State Board i'm grant
ing appropriations from the State
building fund. each board of trustees
Is left TO build good school house
or a ramshackle as IL prefers: and
each Is left To elect competent
teacher OF an incompetent one. 10 run
the school for long term or a short
one as suits its whims to spend its
public funds almost as II pleases, and
10 make a report of It's doinss or let
II alone as suits Its convenience. III
any five adjacent districts In any
county happen to be pursuing uni
form policy i'm anything pertaining to
the schools. IL Is more or less an ac-
cident. Whenever any one or more
patrons In a community become dis
gruntled with their school or its man
agement. all these patrons have to do
Is 10 have a new district made for
their convenience.
ha
that report the areas of their districts
are Abbeville. Beaufort. Chester.
Chesterfield. Clarendon. Dillon,
Greenwood. Kershaw. Laurens. Ma
rion. Richland. and saluda-twelve in
all. In some of these counties the
surveys were made years ago and
since that time almost endless
changes have been made In the bound
AIRY lines of the districts. thus rend-
ering the maps almost worthless. In
a number OF the counties the dis
trict boundary lines are mere matters
OF neighborhood tradition and hear
say. No valuable permanent work
can be done toward a state system
OF schools until an accurate survey
has been made in every county.
Perhaps the next step is to consoli-
date In almost every county large
number OF the little starving schools
and TO transport the distant pupils to
the central schools at public ex-
pense. The consolidation and trans
portation will not lessen the total ex-
pense OF schooling these children,
but IL will give the children "a far
betteC school than they could hope
Ia have as matters now stand. To
accomplish this consolidation will ne
cessitate substituting broad patriotism
and community interest for provin-
cialism and the neighborhood jeal-
ousies that are now SO common. The
patriotic majority will be compelled
to assert itself and force the provin-
cial and Jealous minority to submit
To new order Of things aimed at
the betterment OF all. The subject of
consolidation and the transportation
OF pupils would require more leng-
thy discussion than could be entered
into here.
To make a still greater confusion
in what at best Is disorganization. al
most all Of these 5000 school trus-
tees are inducted into office at the
same time and their terms expire sim.
utaneouSiy Under IN an arrange
ment II can hardly be hoped that any
school district will continue "A given
policy longer than two years at a
time. for II IL no uncommon thing
To have an entirely new set OF trus-
tees appointed every two years Thi-