Evening star., 1916-01-21
School Legislation.

D0cn SHOWN 1OI dDOilSllillS thc uooi u
OF education and for overturning our
whole existing system of public edu-
cation.
To abolish the present highly ca
pabie board would not only unde-
servedly slur the board, but the Dis
trict Supreme Court, which appointed
it. The resulting chaos-producing
revolution in the school system would
greatly injure the schools themselves
and the efficiency and thoroughness
OF the teaching OF our children. The
force of teachers, now in a measure
protected against political and par
tisan ofice-seeking pressure by the
barrier of an unpaid non-partisan
board of citizens interested only in
the efficiency and welfare of the
schools, would, if the citizens board
were destroyed, become exposed, as
direct or indirect appointments of the
Commissioners, to the powerful po-
litical ofice-seeking pressure to which
the Commissioners appointments, un-
protected by the civil service laws,
are subjected. The Commissioners
have never concealed the fact of this
pressure; on the contrary, they have
felt themselves entitled to receive and
have received the commentator of
the community for the firmness with
which they have in many cases re-
sisted it. Finally, the destruction of
the school board would be the fore
runner OF the abolition of the other
citizens boards, through which the
community participates with certain
powers and responsibilities in the
handling of its own municipal con-
Germs. This indirect participation in
municipal government promotes local
interest in local concerns, arouses and
keeps alive unselhsh public spirit. and
inspires a more enthusiastic and self
sacrificing civic loyalty. To eliminate
the Washingtonian from all represen-
tation, even indirect, in his important
municipal affairs that so closely
touch the home is to injure the COM
munity unjustly and beyond calcula-
ton.
The overturning of the present sys-
tenn should not be accomplished
either directly or indirectly. No evils
have been disclosed which cali for
any change in the personnel Or the
powers of the board of education.
There should, consequently, be no i'm
mediate transfer of the power of ap-
pointing and removing members of
the board, either to Commissioners or
the vote of the community or the
President of the United States.
If the principle is established that
the present system, utilizing citizens
boards, is to be retained, and that
the sppointees of the court on the
present board of education are to
serve out their terms, the question of
the wisest method of appointing fu-
tuTc boards of education can be phil
osophically discussed. Clearly, if
change in the appointing power is to
be made its exercise should be post
poned far enough into the future to
prevent the possibility that the pro-
vision may be construed as An indi-
rect condemnation of the present
board of education. resulting in an
early and systematic change in the
boards personnel.
If study of the experiences of
Philadelphia and Pittsburgh leads to
the conclusion that the appointing
power will wisely be left with the
court, statutory power of removal can
as easily be given to the court as to
any new appointing power. The
court does not wish this power and
duty, and never has, but will, of
course, continue, publie-spiritedly, to
exercise it if the public welfare de-
mands.
II the appointing power to be ex-
ercised at some future date on ex-
pirations of terms of present mem
bers of the board OF education is
transferred to the Commits issioners,
there should in the interim be enacted
an amendment to the law requiring
the civilian Commissioners to be
Washingtonians, which will enable
taxpayers to test in the courts
whether this eligibility requirement
has been obeyed. The practical ef-
feet OF the recent decision of the
United States Supreme Court is to
prevent the community from bringing
this issue before the courts.
The President of the United States
should not be called upon to appoint
our municipal citizens boards, unless
there is some special reason for so
doing, like that which existed in re-
spect to the board of charities. for
instance. The dignity and honor OF
appointment by the President, and
responsibility to him alone, would, it
was thought, give that board the per-
sonnel necessary to the performance
OF its important and controversy
provoking task. The President should
retain the power of appointing that