Evening star., 1920-05-26
Recommend Body
of Six Replace
Present System.
AGAINST FURTHER
CHANGE ONCE
For Survey, Business
Manager and More
Facilities.

Facilities.
| " nile recommending the abolition
OF the board of education Of the
District of Columbia as il now ex-
| ISIS, the Senate select committee ON
| schools. in its report to the Senate
today. made no attempt TO pass final
| ~ upon the controversy which haa
Wased between DIR. John Van Schaick,
Jr-' president of the board and other
members and Supt. Ernest L. Thura-
| ton.
In proposing the abolition of the
| poard the committee recommends thar
t%h % appoIhtinR power be placed in
the hands of the President, and that
tne members of the board so ap-
pointed shall be confirmed by the
Senate
The board membership is to be re-
ouced under the plan proposed from nine
members to six.
against Furtser Changes Now
| The report of the committee urges
! that no change in the office of sunerin-
| tehoent De made at present but that
! tne stafus quo of the school oreaniza
tioh continue unchanged until the pro
posed new board of education shall have
/ had an opportunity to determine vhether
not WI VI
A member Of the committee explained
To-Day that 1t was not the purpose of the
committee in its report to give its in
dorsement to Supt. Thursion, or TO
pass finally upon whether he should
| be retained
To take such action" in our opin-
| ion" said the senator. would be
! lantamount to giving Supt Thurston
, q NE tenure of the job. For no other
board of education would ever feel in
the face of such action that it could
remove Mr.. Thurston- or elect some
one in his place"
Favors Business Manager.
The committee recommends the an
pointment of a business manager for
the school system. and that a thor.
ough survey of the schools be made
| by experts. Until such q survey ID
made 1t is the contention OF the COM
mittee that 1t would be unable to
| uation.
The committee recommend. that
Congress be liberal with the schools.
The report was signed by all mem
bers Of the select committee-Senator
sherman, chairman. and Senators Dii-
| sas, Harrison of Mississippi and
Walsh OF Massachusetts.
Ihe committee conducted hearings
which extended over six weeks, COW
ered every angle Of the school situa-
ton. and heard witnesses on all sides
OF the controversies which have ragged
IN the schools during recent years
Mr.. Hnrrison to ADDRESS Senate.
! Senator Harrison Of Mississippi the
author OF the resolution adopted by
the Senate calling for the school in
vestisation. who conducted the exam
ination of the witnesses in large part.
plans to address the Senate ON the
schools at a session to be held tonight.
He viii express his views more fully
than they are contained in the report
Report of Committee.
The report of the committee fol-
lows:
"A crisis has been reached in the
school system of Washington. The
education of more than $4,000 chill
dren is involved. Conditions are dis
closed on the hearings before your
committee which can be remedied
only by radical changes in the au-
| thority governing the administration
of the school system.
One OF the unfortunate differences
now found to exist on the board Of
education and between it and q con-
siderable portion of the population
OF the District was the consideration
of bill presented to Congress as far
back as 1915. whihc sought to place the
control of the District schools in the
Commissioners hands
"A controversy Immediately arose,
which ended in the defeat Of the bill.
Following this the members of the
board of education as then consti-
tuted who opposed the transfer of the
control of the schools to the District
Commissioners gradually became
eliminated from the board. Whether
this was in pursuance OF a common
purpose by those who promoted the
attempted legislation, your committee
does not find it necessary to decide.
It does, however, find that at different
intervals such members failed of ap-
pointment and disappeared from the
board following that controversy.
Other differences. resulting from an
element which desired to retire the
present superintendent Of schools and
which il may be admitted in good
faith believed such retirement to be
for the welfare of the schools, con-
tributed to the present situation
Divided Into Factions.
About the same time the members
of the board OF education divided in
factional controversy which has con-
tfnued to the present day. II is DIM
cult to resist the conclusion therefore
upon all the facts disclosed in the
hearings that one of the causes was
the defeat Of the legislation sought by
which the control Of the schools would
have been absorbed by the District
Commissioners. Notwithstanding this
rejection there is some ground for In
ferring that the elements supporting IL
undertook to do indirectly what they
failed to accomplish directly by legfs-
lation in Congress. The resxi.G have
been most unfortunate for the Distrie.
schools. So long as this spirit is found
in the board concord cannot be had.
and the harmony so indispensable to
the successful control of the schools
will be conspicuously absent
THE officials of the educational sys-
tenn as now constituted is apparently
impotent to correct manifest evils.
which. II not arrested, will bring the
schools Of Washfn gton to a deplorabls
level OF deterioration. Instead of CIV
ing to our country an example to
emulate, the schools of the nations
capital have shown a tendency to de-
cline under the destructive friction
between members of the board Of edu-
between the board and the
OF schools, and be-
tween the superintendent and other
school officials. The board and other.
school officials Eave exhibited in the
the humiliating spectacle
of often devoting themselves to petty
squabbleS and personal controversies
instead OF applying themseivAs
to meeting the requiremea0
of the public schools.
Sees No Remedy In Changes.
"The members composing the domi-
nant faction of the board are proceed
ing to make such changes in the man
agement of the schools in the near fu-
tNrs al lueyitahlx viii 1aA 70 napadx ~