Newark post. (Newark, Del.) 1910-1969, 1921-05-04
Du POINT NOT TO SERVE.
ON STATE BOARD

Continued from Page Four.)
tricts vote for improved schools and
raise money therefor separately.
These schools will be built through
the whim of local prejudice without
regard to the needs of adjoining dis
tricts, or the development of the
school system of the State as whole.
1t would seem most unwise to spend
public money in such an extravagant
and unsystematic manner. Even the
proposed high schools cannot proceed
with their planned buildings, for they
can no longer rely upon receiving
high school pupils from distant points
on account of lack of transportation
facilities. This practice of building
development is so at variance with
established practice that it would be
most unWise to proceed under the new
law until the latter had been thor
oughly tested over a period of several
years.
My two years contact with school
affairs in Delaware has led me to the
conclusion that the taxpayers, parents
and pupils all suffer from lack of suf-
ficient administration expenditure.
Good schools cannot be had without
proper supervision of teachers and
pupils through the efforts of super
visors and attendance officers and
school affairs in many districts cam
not be conducted without proper ex-
penditure for clerical and statistical
work in order that there may be rec
ord of accomplishment and study for
improvement.
The above comments are based up
on comparatively short experience
in school affairs. The people of Della
ware are entitled to the fairest trial
OF the new law. Possibly it may be
made successful and economical. To
this end urge you to appoint as
members of the State Board of Edu-
cation the men who are responsible
for and who approve the provisions of
the new law. All citizens of the State
should support the Board of Educa-
ton and allow time sufficient to prove
conclusively the merits of the choice
that has been made. The law of 1919
was not bettered by the notifications
of 1920 and two years. trial was
insufficient to prove it's merit. The
new law should be given at least two
years, or sufficient time for the .peo-
pie of Delaware to conclusively deter
mine which one of the two plans is the
better.
AS stated in the fore part of this
letter, have not yet had opportunity
to read or to study the details of the
new law, and if you so wish l shall not
give final decision until l have had
opportunity to do so. However, if it
is your desire to have from me an
immediate answer, I write with regret
that this answer must be "no."
Sincerely yours,
\ P. S. DU POINT.
His refusal to accept a reappoint-
ment was sent to the Governor in the
following letter:
Wilmington, Del, April 10th, 1921.
Hon. William d. Denney,
Governor of Delaware,
Dover, Delaware.
Dear Governor. l talked with Mr..
George B. Miller this morning and re-
ceived from him your verbal message,
requesting that he and l defer our de-
cision as to membership on the State
Board of Education until May 9th,
when it is hoped that the action of the
Legislature with respect to finances of
the schools may make the situation
for the year 1921-1922 more certain.
| regret that it seems to me unwise to
permit this delay, as there is crying
need for a definite appointment of
State Board members, in order that
many questions concerning the COM
ing school year may be settled.
| have already written that l be-
lieve elimination of certain mandatory
provisions of the old law was intend
ed as notice to the coming Switchboard
of Education that the latter should
exercise its discretion by modifying