The Richmond Virginian. (Richmond, Va.) 1910-1920, 1918-01-17
Amendments of Constitution
Urged Making Superintend-
ent of instruction Appoint
i've
COMPILE RESHAPING
DECLARED ESSENTIAL
Journal of Education Declared
to Be Parasite On Depart
ment--Financial Administra-
ton Inefficient

In that part of the report of the
commission on economy and efficiency
devoted to the department of public
instruction. and which WAS prepared
| by Richard Evelyn Byrd as the mem
| Der IT, charge of that branch of the
work OF the commission. the present
system is declared to be utterly in
adequate and incompetent the blame
being placed largely on the defective
constitutional organization or the
state board of education.
The financial system under which
the department is operated Is criti-
cized; summer normals are declared
10 be a severe drain on teachers
already underpaid the Virginia Jour
nal of Education liz charged with be-
ing a parasite upon the department.:
and the State Cooperative Teachers
agency Is declared to be an institu-
ton run for the private profit OF It's
owners, although 1t is said TO draw
srstenance" from the state depart
ment.
| The Virginia Book company comes
| tn for a share OF the generally and
generously distributed criticism. an
well as the superintendent OF public
Instruction. The report declares that
| the superintendent should have a
/ Tho following amendments TO the
provisions az the constitution with
reference 10 the schools are recon-
mended:
For section lso substitute the fol.
lowing:
| Section 100. That the general su-
| peryfsion OF the school system shall
| ba vested in state superintendent OF
public instruction, who shall be. an
al, u
! by the governor for such term and
with such duties and power as may
be provided by law"
| Repeal section 1871. which provides
| for a superintendent elected by the
! people
/ Repeal section 1872. which gives au-
ishority 10 the resent state board of
education.
Substitute for section lss, az fol-
lows:
Section 1879. In addition to pass
| Ing necessary laws to, provide text
books to INDECENT children, the. gem
eral assembly may, in its discretion.
provide that each county or CITY shall
linaagurate free textbook system"
/ Commission Should BE Named.
| The<report concludes with the fol-
| lowing rseomm ndation.
| We realize that the question of the
revision of the Virginia constitution,
which created the present system liz
enormously important. 1t is difficult
, fer any two men to altogether agree
upon the principles involved, but new
ertheless a complete reforming and
reshaping of our educational system
! ic imperatively demanded to meet
modern conditions. This work Is of
great extent and of exceptional dim
Guilty and intricacy. 1t can only be
properly done by men who have the
capacity TO do it and the time TO give
to the work.
We recommend that the general
assembly provide for Il commission to
be appointed by the governor COM
posed OF i've or seven able men, a ma
jority of whom are educators, whose
duty 1t will be to investigate and re-
port to the general assembly of 1890
their conclusions
| Text In Part of Report.
| The rapport. In part. follows.
| A study of the public school system
| indicates that the chief hindrance to
an efficient administration of the public
/ school lies in the constitutional organ
/ tzation of the system contained In
article TX. of the constitution OF 1909
and especially In sections f3o and Iss
of that article,
system shall be controlled by a board
composed of the governor. the attor-
ney-generai, the superintendent OF pub
/ lie instruction, and three educators
elected by the senate every four years
| from list of one each nominated by
the board OF visitors of the University
J of Virginia. the Virginia Military in
| stitute, the Virginia Polytechnic in
/ stitute. the State Normal school at
| Farmville, the School for the Deaf.
/ Dumb and Blind at Staunton. and the
| College of William and Mary
These six--three politicians and three
! professionalism elect one division SUI
perintendent representing a city AMI
one representing a county, and the re-
sulting eight compose the official
board. Perhaps in the history Of this
/ country no governmental agency has
1 ever been selected by a process of such
complicated indirection The COVER
! nor. the attorney general and the SUI
perintendent of public instruction are
responsible to the people. but acting
as they do, with three professors and
two division superintendent. their re-
sponsibility cannot be fixed nor can
their will control as against the three
professors and the Two superinten-
/ dents
1 striking illustration of this may
be found In the fact that the numerous
and. In our opinion largely unnecessary
changes In the primary-school books
Continued on Fifth Page.)