The Ocala evening star. [volume] (Ocala, Fla.) 1895-1943, 1912-04-15
TWO NEWS TASKS
Volume of Work In the Office Of
Superintendent of Public
Instruction

The law makes the superintendent
OF public instruction not only superin-
tendent of the schools but secretary
to the board Of public instruction. It
is a double office carrying the work
of two good men in a county like Ma
rion. The county board meets in reg
ular session once each month and it is
a absolutely impossible for the superin-
tendent to get away from the office
on that week. Then he is supposed
10 be in the office on each Monday and
Saturday so as TO confer with the
trustees, supervisors, patrons etc
This condition is found in all large
and populous counties and has been
recognized by the state department
and rural and high school inspectors
have been appointed to travel the state
so as to help out in the supervision.
In former years there was purely
county system with special tax
districts; now there are thirty-five of
these districts and will soon be an
other at Summerfeld Each Of these
districts has three trustees and the
district system adds al least one
third to the work of the superintend
ent's office. A few years ago the an
nual expenditures in the county for
school purposes were less than 100000
now they are about $4,000. The sys-
tenn of accounting in the office is
more complete than at any time here
tofore and of course requires more
time for the work.
Our negro schools run but five
months and there are now forty-five
| of them. Our regular county term for
whites is six months and in the spe-
| cial tax districts some run seven and
some run eight months. 1t is about
| fair to assume that the term will
average six months in length which
means 120 school days. The board
meets in regular session once each
month, which takes out 80 days, leav-
! ing 80. The superintendent is suppos-
ed to be at the office each Monday
which takes out eighteen more days,
which would leave ~ days and we
take out Thanksgiving day and we
shall have left II days in which to
visit ia schools. Any reasonable per-
! sons sees that If there is no bad
weather, are no special meetings Of
the board, no accidents, no sickness,
no anything to interfere with the reg
ular round of visiting, that with all
these conditions favorable, it would
be almost impossible for a superin-
tendent to visit every school in the
county during the running time of the
school. With all of these conditions
there have been but very few schools
missed in my tours of inspection.
| I have kept in the closest touch
| with every school in the county by
reports and inquiry and have always
gone where the need seemed most
pressing. If it has happened that
have not gotten to your school dur
ing the term it was because | was
needed worse at some other place. If
lit were possible l would be in the
county visiting schools all the time as
that is the most interesting and pleas
ant part of the work, but the office
work MUST be done and the work OF
inspection should be done
There is an attempt being made to
make political capital of the fact that
ia very few schools have been missed
in getting around This is in keeping
with the other small criticisms and
political rot that are being circulat-
ed over the county by certain parties
There is not single feature of my
administration that I am not prepared
to defend and / appeal to the reasona-
BILE people of the county in the name
of common justice and common sense
port in the primary.
Very respectfully yours,
J. IT. Brinson.