Year: 1879

Consolidation of School Districts.

 LlroHFIELD, Oct 10, 1S79

 Mr. Edttor.-The recent vote passed by our town consolidating the School Districts is one that perhaps requires some explanation. It will be impossible to tell all the various phases of the law without giving the law itself Some of the more important features are as follows:

 The town controls and maintains the schools as town, not merely furnishes money to sup port them, but hires the teachers, repairs the buildings or builds new school houses if neces- sary, and the like, by town vote. The benefit of this is that it costs no more to lay a town tax than it does district tax, and the town tax is laid anyway.

 To manage the schools oommlttee of six, nine or twelve, is to be appointed by ballot at some town meeting. This committee, after first election arc graded In three classes, hold ing the office one two and three years, one third of whom are elected annually, the same as the present board of School Visitors. The committee have the same powers and duties as School District Cammttees and School Visl- tors combined. The old board of School Visitors are retired. The appointment of this new committee is matter of great im- portance. There. should be member from each seotloa of the town, in order that all the schools should have a proper representation. cbo ho nd It should have some good business men in it that can make plain bargains with the tesch- ers-some educated men for the purposes of examining tic applicants qualification, aad they should all be men that take an intcrcs! in the welfare of common school education and are "illing to work without adequate pay for it's s,iee,s s.

 The question Is asked, what advantage has this consolidation over the District system, Of course time and the practical workings of primary idea of it's supporters is to give cur children better schools for less money. All children must have schools provided for their instruction at least thirty week per year. The 

 attend. There are some schools fin town which require good first class winter term and do not have hardly any pupils for the sum- mer term and pirs versa. Now the committee are not obliged to eke out tho pay so as to maintain school 24 or 80 weeks in this dis trict, but can give just such school us they need in snmmer or winter and can for the re- mainder of the time distribute the children to adjoining districts. In another case school during the winter has number of small chil- dren and two or three big boys-a lady coufd best teach it were it not for the large boys the committee can direct these boys to attend an adjoining district where there is 8 man teaching who can teach them the advanced studies they require, Under the old system they could not be sent to other districts with out paying tuition. Local jealousies and feelings will be in part avoided. Teachers will not necessarily be some relative of the com mittee's family, or some former school-mate Old and tried teachers that have always been successful, can be kept employed in some of the schools all of the time, and this will be an inducement to the teachers to do their best work.

 Should the system prove so satisfactory that the town should order the graded school sya- tenn after awhile, it would be perpetual incentive to the scholar to be working to pass to higher grade.

 And here let me speak of what seems to be oh of kl; vote is the entering wedge or n High School for Litchfield Center. No greater mistake can pc made. am not sure but it is the sure death to such project. The vote of the District was all that it required before, now It requires the vote of the Town and so far as the cost is concerned, it would be certainly cheaper in proportion to their taxes for the people of Litchfeld Center to build school building, than for the people of Gilbert District to re- pair thelrs; over one third of the grand list being in the limits of the Center District.

 As an example of the favorable workings of the union system, I give the following ex- tract from the report made by the Stamford School Board, after three years trial (Annual Report of State Board of Education for 1875, pages 116 and 11D: ,....: a.... ...-.. s... 2.

 Last fall the question of abandoning the Union system came before our annual town meeting, and was decided in the negative by an overwhelming vote. The new manage ment had evidently gained many friends and made no enemies, and we think it may now be regarded as the settled policy of the town. Let us briefly state the conclusions to, which we have come in regard to it's practical work ing. First, as to the matter of cost It will be remembered that school expenses are divid- ed into two classes: current expenses, paid by the town with the help of the public money extraordinary expenses, paid-where the schools are not united-by the several districts. As to the first, we are we'll convinced that under l the new system no more money has been spent upon schools than would have been under the old-and that for it's expenditure the town has got far better odla1e The second includes the building of new school houses and repairing and furnishing of old ones Here the town has undoubtedly spent more money than the districts would have done, but the improve nlents made were absolutely necessary; were only made out of appropriations previously voted; and were satisfactory to the town, and eminently so to the districts concerned Second, as to the appointment and service of teachers. Here the good results of the new system are indisputable Offering permanent l employment, with prospect of promotion or increase of salary in case of marked success. we are able to get better class of teachers for the salaries which we can pay than the districts could have done. We have a larger number of applicants to choose from and, knowing the character of different schools, we