The Telegraph-courier. [volume] (Kenosha, Wis.) 1888-1946, 1925-09-24

In connection with the question
which is to be decided next Tuesday
the officials of the Kenosha Civic
council, which is sponsoring the move
ment to bring the people to a proper
understanding of the facts involved,
at the request of the board of educa-
tion, gave out a statement today out
lining the plan which is sought in the
referendum.
A survey made by special COM
mittee of members of the school
board, the statement shows, convinced
the school board that the city of Ke-
nosha was far behind other cities in
its population class insofar as the adj
ministration of public school affairs
was concerned. This committee found
that in ITO cities of the same popula-
tion class as Kenosha, this city had
the largest school board mem bership
of them all with eighteen members.
One city had 16, two had IA, while
eighty-two of these cities had boards
ranging in size from seven to nine
members. They found that a board
of seven school commissioners was the
most popular form of executive body
in nearly one-third of the ITO cities.
1t was unanimous among these cities
that a smaller school board was not
only more efficient in its work, but it
produced more actual good for the
schools of the city through the elimi-
nation of much of the red tape that
accompanies the deliberative efforts
Of larger board.
School Board Favors 1t.
The Kenosha school board itself has
gone on record favoring a change to a
smaller body, and it is recommended
that the best form would be seven
member board with each of the seven
members elected from the city at
large. Such board of commissioners
only requires that a citr desiring to
adopt that form do so through popu-
lar vote.
It was made plain that while there
was no reflection of incompetency of
any kind on the present school board,
the board itself was of the opinion
that it could perform greater service
to the city of Kenosha in administer
ing it's public school affairs with a
smaller board than it can at present.
"You can take any seven members
on, the present board and they will
make as good school board as this
city will ever have" remarked one of
the members of the Civic councils
special committee.
Would Eliminate Future Problems.
1t was also pointed out that there
is plan under discussion at the pres
ent time which, seeks to redistrict the
city into twelve wards instead of the
nine as at present. This would mean
that under the present system the
school board would then be increased
to twenty-four members, and the pres
ent board believes that such an organ
ization2 handling the city's school af-
fairs could not work to the best adj
vantage through it's handicap in num-
bers. For that reason the referendum
as sponsored by the Civic council is
offered to the city of Kenosha as a
means of forever eliminating any
such possibilities as outlined above.
But whether or not the opinion of
the community as a whole is unani-
mously in favor of the proposal sug-
gested in the referendum, the Civic
council is making one urgent request
upon the voting population of the city.
Want Full Vote Out
eve are making every effort to
arouse in the city of Kenosha a
heavier and more dominantly felt re-
sponsibility at the coming election"
declared Oscar H. Theleen, president
of the Kenosha Civic council. Keno
sha had only about three-eights of its
full voting strength out at the pri-
maries week ago. That was a very
poor showing. On election day we
are urging every voter to go to the
polls to express his choice both for the
senatorship and the referendum.
There is only one way to determine
the public pulse and that is to get a
full vote, so that it may be possible
to see whether the results at the polls
indicate the wishes and desires of the
entire city or of only small part of
it. The cry should be Vote as you
please-but VOTE"