Year: 1859

school officers guilty Of any immoral or diser'ceid


conduct such ss shall tend to discredt the office OF


the ,chool system-s provision. the want OF wnlon


hiss hitherto been more than orce felt. The proVi'


sion Of the exciting bylaw of the Bosri OF Educa'


tion forb ddiDg the employment Of teachers withia


four degrees Of relationship to Any Off ,er entitled %


act on the question of their employment. is mide


a part of the bill, with further provision for


the recovery Of all moneys paid to such seschers'


either from the party recovering or from the officer


TO whom such party is related. There are other


provisions neno ed to guard against Converting the


position Of .chool officer into means of personal


or family emclument-,n abuse which is generally


supposed to have been carried to great lengths, aud
one, We may remark, greatly dependent upon the


large lumber Of persons holding the position Of


chool oficers-a provocative of that abuse which


he pre.en. bill does not remove.


In substituting Altermsric Districts in the place


of wsrds IS the local bass for the appointment OF


Sch ool officers, this bill 10, no doubt, an Improve


ment upon the present law but it sp bears to US


very serious question whether the Boardsit proposes
10 constitute could not sdvsntaeeously be reduced
in numbers at lesst one half The more numerous
Board is the more likely are incompetent persons
to seek or accept positions upon il, under the idea
that with so many colleagues they can enjoy their
share of the honors and profits if any, while they
m,nags 10 escape their share of the duties and
lsbors. 1t is pretty well known that the more
numerous commission or CO nmittee is, the less
fit i. is for business while the quaiifc atoms OF
those appointed upon it are sp, TO be the less mar
rowly scrutnised.


Nor do we precisely understand upon what
grounds Of reason the partition is made between
the voters ard the Mayor of appointments to the
various Boards. Whsteyer reasons there may be
for giving to the Mayor the nomination Of the in-
.pectors, would seem to be equsly strong for giving
to him the nomination Of the trustees. Perhaps,
as this is a new experiment it is thought best to
try it st first on a comparatively small scale. The
experiment ms well worth trying. 1t is cer-
tainly reasonable to suppose that Mayor and
B ard Of Education would exhibit greater feeling
of responsibility, and would be guided by wiser
regard for the interests of the schools than has been
exhibited BY the party caucuses by which these Of
fees, under the present system, are substantially
filed.


The idea of reducing numbers, and thereby in
creasipg responsibility and efficiency, seems to
have presided over the proposed reduction of the
Board of Education to twenty members obly.
The election of these members from districts
wholly different from those which elect the local
L -. thna
local boards, would tend to get rid of an evil at
present much complained of-that OF the members
Of the Board of Education, as DOW constituted,
looking too much TO the interests aud wishes of the
local boards, of which they are also members, and
too little TO the school system as q whole. But,
with TIE increase of its capacity for action by re-
ducng the number Of its members and its freedom
from local influence, it's powers and duties have
also been diminished while by the creation Of four
Lew Boards, ole for the management OF the Free
ard three others for the management OF
the colored schools, as well as by the increase
in the humber of trustees and inspectors in each
local Board, the entire body of school officers is
made more numerous than ever. II it is the
Characteristic of the bill reported by the COmmis'
sion TO ceDtrail power in the Board of Education
il appears to be the chara :teristic Of this bill to
& diffuse authority more than ever among various
boards vested with local or special jurisdiction.
Such is the tendency of The new provision BY which
all the inspectors, in addition to the local duties
which they now exercise in their respective dis
rricr,, are to be organized as single Board, 20 a
committee of which is to be intrusted the manage
mt nt of the normal schools and the business iu
conjunction with the city Superintendent, Of licens.
ing teachers and revoking their licenses.


The exiting diffusion of authority is, doubtless,
one leading cause Of the ANNUALLY increasing cost
of the schools. SO far from tending to economy it
tends TO sort of rivalry of expense, AID this bill.
in carrying out still further as i. does the idea Of
the diffusion of authority, does not seem to carry
with il much promise of systemized economy,
extending to all the schools alike. With respect
to the colored schools, if, for any reason, it is
thought necessary to put them under separate
supervision, why should not single Board Of
Trustees ar swer az well as three Boards In fact,
would not single Board be decidedly preferable
to Zee Boards The bill does, indeed, contain
a number of fproyisions intended to enforce economy
and to give an oversight in that particular to the
Board Of Education, but it is not easy, indepen.
IDENTIFY ofexperience to form very definite opinion
of the efficacy Of such restrictions. Ia general,
all provisions of that Sort if not sustained by q
corresponding sentiment in the body authorized to
enforce them, are easily eyaded or nullifed. We
should rely much more upon placing the expendi-
tpre of the school money in capable and judcions
hands, if such thing be possible than upon any