The Telegraph-courier. [volume] (Kenosha, Wis.) 1888-1946, 1915-12-23
Playing With Fire.

Inc members or the DOaru OF educa-
ton are playing with fire. The So
called stand pat resolution which
has for it's purpose forcing the members
of the common council TO provide GER
tain sum of money for the school board
is dangerous resolution. 1t might
have the effect of forcing the council
to provide for the board of education
the $4,000 that was taken off the bud
get this year but at the same time it
might cut deeper and have a wide eff
feet on budgets of the school board in
other years. 1t is resolution which
should be looked at from a great many
angles before it is adopted.
Way back in the ante-bellum days
when the city charter of Kenosha was
written, Kenosha was the leader of ed
vocational work in Wisconsin. Pioneers
of the city had led in the building up
of the school system of the territory
and the state and when they came to
write charter they decided that the
schools should be given some assur-
ance of future support. Many people
believed that they wisely placed in the
hands of the board of education the
right to demand" from the council
certain funds for school work and they
just as wisely wrote "the council
shall' meet these demands in the tax
levy. The wisdom of this expression
of the pioneers has been reflected in a
wonderful upbuilding Of the schools.
Kenosha is one of the two cities in the
state where the school board "de-
mands" and the council has no re-
course but to respond to the demand.
By court the school board can enforce
this demand but by an ordinance the
city council can amend the city char
ter and adopt certain sections of the
general charter law and take away the
right of the school board to demand
A wise look into what might happen
in the future might be helpful. Sup
pose the school board gets writ of
mandamus and forces the council to
turn over an added eight thousand dol
lars for the school fund. The turning
over is only going to take place after
a bitter struggle and this struggle is
certain to leave marks behind which
will bring undesirable relations be-
tween the school board and the council.
Several times the council has been on
the very verge of taking from the
board of education the right of making
the tax levy for schools and vesting it
entirely in the hands Of the council.
Any movement to "stand patti and
force the council will bring such a
change in the charter nearer.
A majority of the people of the city,
we believe, think that the board of ed
ucation is best able to make the school
budget. These people believe that men
in actual touch with the schools know
more about the demands of the school
than members of the council. These
same people believe that the school
board should ask in reason and be
willing to accept the suggestion of the
CUuuCL vi AnduCAdl lHdbOClc III sumo
degree, be it ever SO small. If there
was perfect cooperation between the
two boards there would be no reason
for mandamus writ.
The school board in the present in
stance has little to gain and much to
lose. If the council wills to take from
the board the control of the budget
the schools of the city might be serious
ly embarrassed. 1t is possible that the
councils named in the future would be
just as liberal in providing for the
schools as in the past but there is a
big chance to be taken.
Let the school board and the council
get closer together. Let the economy
slogan Of one be reflected by the other
Just now it seems that the idea of the
school board should be to "rather bear
the ills we have than to fly to others
which we know not of. y
There is no denying the fact that any
squabble in court between the board
and the council is going to bring a
charter amendment which would make
such squabble impossible in the flu
ture and by so doing the council would
probably largely reduce to a figure
head membership in the school board
AS we said before the school board
is playing with fire and someone may
get burned.