Americus times-recorder. [volume] (Americus, Ga.) 1891-current, 1915-12-12
The Public
Safety Value
Editor Times-Recorder::

Editor Times-Recorder:
On Wednesday, December 18th next
in the general election of the City of
Americas, the voters of Americas are
to determine by their votes whether or
lot an amendment, recently enacted By
the Georgia Legislature at its regular
session, to an Act approved Feb IS,
1878 Incorporating the Board of Pub
lie Education for the City of Americas
shall go into effect. For information
and benefit of the voters of Americas,
copy of this Act which they are vot-
ing on, is published in todays paper.
that is, the sections of the Act, elimin-
ating the caption, referendum and re-
pealing clauses.
In section one, it will be noticed that
authority is given the Board of Educa-
ton to enact such rules as may be
necessary to require members of the
Board to attend to their duties, and If
Lot to vacate their Office Hereto
fore, the Board has had no ouch right,
when a member is once elected to this
Board, he may never attend a meeting,
and may fail or refuse to perform any
duty required of him, and yet he is still
a member of the Board of Education,
and neither the present elective power,
Eor the Board itself has any right or
authority to get rid of such a mem
Der.
In section two, 1t will be noticed,
that provision is made for the eligibil-
ity of Board members. If this law is
ratified, this section provides, that to
be a member of the Board of Educa-
ton, a person must be resident of
the City of Americas; be tax payer.
and he must not be related to any
teacher on the faculty, provision being
made that this shall not apply to the
present membership. Unless this law
is passed, a man living outside of the
City of Americas, or even outside of
the State, is just as much eligible to
membership on the Board as one re-
siding in the City, SO far as the law Is
concerned. If a Board member moves
outside of the State and does not re-
sign his position as such member,
neither the present elective power nor
the Board itself has any right to re-
move him. The Board has suffered
heretofore because of this condition
Section three, you will notice, ap-
plies only to the manner of electing
Board members. Attention is espec-
tally called to every voter to carefully
read and study this Section 8, for the
reason that Madam Rumor, and her
faithful friend, Gossiper, has made
much time to inform the people of
Americas about this particular section
of this Act. They have been told that
it means a self-perpetuating Board Of
Education. Every person who has
made this statement, either spoke it
as hearsay, or under a misapprehens-
len of what this section really is.
There is absolutely nothing in this
section that gives the Board the right
In elect it's own members, without a
confirmation of that selection on the
Part of the Mayor and City Council Of
Americus. In other words, under this
section, the Mayor and Council has to
approve any selection made by mem
bers of the Board, and if they refuse to
confirm such selection, the Board has
got to send other names to them, and
continue to do so until every person
who could be a qualified member OF
the Board in the City of Americas, has
been sent in to them. The parties
above mentioned, have also busted
themselves in talking on the streets,
that certain members of the Board,
whose terms are soon to expire, are
especially interested in this feature OF
Il, in order to keep themselves in Of
fee. In reply to this, the Board 81
| Eduan finn has pnnhaticallV stated