St. Johnsbury Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1867-1919, 1919-01-15
RECOMMENDATIONS
OF STATE BOARD
OF EDUCATION
Transportation Costs the
State 100000 and Law
May Be Changed
THREE-FOLD PROBLEM
BEFORE THE BOARD
Will Recommend the Open
ing of the Rural
Schools


become serious questions in the edu-
cational system of the state according
to recommendation which the State
Board of Education will make to the
coming Legislature in their report. 1t
is costing the towns in the state more
than 100000 annually to transport
children to the schools while the to-
tai cost is over 100000, about one
half being paid by the State and the
other half by the towns. 1t is under
stood that the Legislature will be
asked to change the law governing
the transporting of children.
This problem is threefold: First,
the farmers and parents are not sat
isfed with the present transportation
law. Two cases arc enough to illus
trate this dissatisfaction. In the town
of Barnard a farmer paid well for a
farm because it was near a school,
only to find this year that he must
carry his children to school, the one
that was conducted near his home
having been closed. Another case
is in Tinmouth where a similar con-
dition has developed and the man
having fine farm can not sell it be-
cause it is too far from school. This
TRANSPORTATION plan takes the children
away from home much of the time
and as in Tinmouth they have to be
carried away Monday and brought
back Friday night. The second prob
lem has to do with the towns at
titudc. Transportation is closing al
most go per cent as much as the sal
aries Of elementary teachers and the
directors are finding it extremely diff
ficult to provide transportation at a
price that is within the means Of the
towns. The school directors are be-
tween two fires, on the one side try
ing to keep down expense relative to
transportation and on the other the
insistent demands of those who rc-
gard transportation as means for
securing town money. The third rea-
son for the change is from the State
point of view. The elimination of the
rural school has destroyed an institu-
ton which of old played an import
antant part in the early history of
Vermont. The removing of the
schools has changed the neighbour
hood conditions and the direct influ-
cncc of the schools in rural commune
ties is no longer felt. 1t is fact
that many of the high aspirations of
those who are of influence in our
State can be traced to their training
in the rurs.! school, and many of the
best motives of our own lives trace
back to these school days.
The State Board will recommend
first, that the transportation law be
changed by modifying it, leaving it SO
that the directors may transport sub
jcct to proper appeal if occasion aris-
es; second, that the educational law
be modified toward the restoration of
the rural school. The following fig
ures are interesting along this line.
Preceding 1916, before the present
law became effective, there was gen
eral transportation under the town
system of transportation which did
not carry compulsion. In that year
4,623 children were carried to school.
When the new law went into effect
there was an increase to 5,424 chill
dien in 1916 and there was a like in
crease in expenses from $12S,000 to
$4,000. There was a reduction in
1917 and in the last year 1900 child
rcn were carried and the expense in
creased owing to the fact that the
people find that transporting children
to school costs more than it used to.
The restoration of the rural school
will mean that vacant schoolhouscs
will be used, others repaired and
some new ones built. 1t will prob
ably cost little more than transpor-
tation but the parents will be better
satisfied likewise the farmer and the
State having originally made the
change should help in this expense.
J.. A. kelly.