Milford chronicle., 1917-01-12
WHY A CJMMISSION
To Revise The School Laws OF The
State Is Needed

ltsV6e, and this belief Is based on eN-
parience and knowledge and not on
have heard it said statements. tlat
the existing body Of school laws is
laekiag in unity, in consistency. in
harmony and adequacy. To illustrate
the reason for this belief One or two
cases will be cited from the rather
large number OF such instances that
have arisen in the Boards efforts to
see the law sympathetically and in
teligently interpreted and applied
For instance: according to the gem
eFal school act OF 1898. 1T shall be
fhe farther duty Of the said County
Sehc0l Commissions, to act as a San
itRrT Commission over any and all
sshOOl property in the County under
It's supervision: BY the act OF 1911
creating the new State Board Of Ed
ueatioR it is provided that the State
Board shall prescribe rules and regu-
IatiOnR fOr the sanitary equipment and
Inspection of school buildings" No
HaetnOd of procedure is provided to
make the State Boards rules binding
upon the County School Commissions
and no penalty imposed if the Com
missions disregard the rules and reg
ulatiOns of the State Board.
Again, due to the fact that existing
school laws have been enacted at diff
fereRt sessions and under different
auspices, the laws are not a unity.
When the Office of Commissioner of
Education was created it was over
looked that certain duties which ev-
sryWhere and unmistakably belong to
that office had been assigned to some
other state officials The State Treas
urer IL now saddled with administra-
live computations and details in the
matter OF ordering textbooks, in the
computation of appOrtionment OF the
shares of the state dividend, and in
the matter of computing payments
dWe school districts for the attendance
Of nonresident pupils. These duties
were assigned to the State Treasurer
when there was no Commissioner OF
Education. The assignment was pro-
Ber and wise when made, Of course.
Having such an official as COmmis
sioner Of Education. however, the uni
ficatiOn and harmOnizatiOn Of the
school system will demand that these
duties be assigned where they logic
ally and necessarily belong to the
Commissioner of Education. Again.
in the general act Of 1898 it is requir-
ed that School Districts in New Castle
and Kent Counties shall raise by tax
alton the sum of S1O0 for white
schools and $50 for colOred schools;
and In Sussex County the sum Of $50
for white schools and $50 for colOred
schools. In the act of 1901 prescrib-
ing the method of appOrtiOning the
State Dividend among the schools,
these requirements are stated: In
order to entitle any school district to
receive a share of said money so ap-
Dortioned such district shall have
raised by taxation or subscription for
school purposes during the previous
school year, of a white district, at
least one hundred dollars for each
teacher employed. and, II a colored
school district, at least fifty dollars
for each teacher employed. In prac-
tjce. as is everywhere known. the
latter requirement Is obeyed; then in
telligeDce and q desire to guard
against misconceptiOn and misunder-
standing on the part OF the many new
men who are becoming school com
rnissioners, the two provisions should
agree.
These are not by any means all the
cases that could be cited; they are
AAgle instances. Revision of these
and other incongruities soon forces
him who attempts harmOnizatiOn to
tn the realization that what is needed
Is not revision, but reconstruction so
as to exclude contradiction and dis
agreement among the various acts,
and 10 introduce simplicity, harmony
aRd completeness by making the parts
conform to the general principal OF
0rganization of the entire system.
Here, perhaps, we come upon the real
difficulty.
AS constructed, law after law from
1929 to 1911, the ruling idea and pur-
nose was to leave as much power and
authority in the trust Of local school
QOmmittees and to put as little as pos
sible into the trust of any central
board or authority. The Act OF 1871
hy which the State Board was recon
slructed, marks the definite begin
ning OF the policy Of putting into
trained and experienced hands those
duties and offices which should be
performed by some one especlaIly
trained and experienced in that kind
q duty. The act creating the office
Il Commissioner of Education IS
All further application of the princi-
ple OF authority centered and power
pIaced In the hands Of central body
q fix rules and regulations in mat
ters where special knowledge and
skilled Judgment are needed. This
does not mean that all power and
authority shall be taken from the
local districts or from the local
School Committees. All matters
which can and may be decided by the
common sense Of the average citizen
an and should be left to the local
commissioners; all matters recurring
special knowledge, skill, training OF
experience should be put into hands
having this special knowledge train
ing. skill or experience. The harmony
W6ich needs to be worked out, there
fore, Is to bring the laws passed De,
fore 1911 into relation, agreement ana
congruence with the new principe
recognized and established when the
acts Of 1911 and 1918 were made law
and mt over the entire system q CEN