Show SCHOOL DISTRICT consolidation to person Perso not interested A week seldom passes without requests coming to this office for anfor mation regarding the consolidation of school districts those requests como come from persons both in and out ot tho the state to mi wet et thoo thoom requests with a min minimum linum ot of tune and effort ve linder undertake take in this brief paper to toll tell somo something thing of consolidation an ab it bills been brought about and anti as tt it operates in a number of the counties of utah our statutes provide a county having a population of more than two thousand ch children ildrem i 3 1 school ago age out tilde of cities of tho the first 1 lind second class may become a consolidated die brict to bo be known as a county school district of the first 1 class if any ally such county has more pian one high sell school district in it then each cach of such high school districts may become a district of the first class tho the board of county commissioners is authorized by law to mate tho tile necessary order to organize county school districts of tho the first r ass ivilyn petitioned so to do by oters eaters of the county or high district depre seating in number a majority of the votes cast at the last preceding gen cral election the board of county commissioners is required to divide the duly consolidated district into not fever fewer than five live nor more than nino nine representative precincts and to a P point a of the board of education from each precinct to a serve erve until the election of their successors elections take place every two years tho the law states that on the first in december and every four years thereafter there shall bo be elected aap on member of the board from each odd numbered sell schoot oot representative precinct for a it term terin of four years and that oh on the first wed in december 1912 and ever every y four years thereafter one member of the board from each oven even numbered school representative precinct for ft term of four years the law confers on the board the authority to levy an on annual tax of from ten ton to fifteen mills on an the dollar on the assessable property of the county or districts according to the amount ot or assessable prop orty within the district the law confers broad powers on the board aside from specifying the tax levies it leaves the board bourd quite tree free to do brae all things needful for the wel fare maintenance and prosperity of the schools in this way ay a county or high school district with the required population becomes a consolidated school district of the first class in this way too provision is made for its perpetuity as well as for its establishment lish liah ment the county or new district assumes assume all outstanding indebtedness u which belonged to the several small dis tricks it often happens that one or two or even more than two districts are under bonds for improvements other localities which were not bond bon d ed now share in raising f funds with which to meet the indebtedness but they recene value for the aid given such districts are usually the first to have money expended on them for buildings and other improvements for it Is the tho purpose of consolidation to give in every way possible similar educational adan advantages to all sec see tiona of the consolidated area the nov nev school district in its a unit for all school our purposes poses one board of trustees consisting of 11 five e at six seven eight or nine members aoi the ase se may be acts for the consolidated di brict just as did a board of trustees consisting of ahrea members act for one of the former nde dependent pendent dis tracts the same school tax levy pro pr valla vala throughout the county this changed condition at once equalizes the burden of taxation as well as educational cat ional opportunities equal advantages are rarely it if ever enjoyed by all children living in a county with small independent school districts it Is uncommon for the wealth or corporate property of any county to be equally distributed it is lumwon for a it largo large part of suan property to be found in one or two to districts such favored districts need levy only n few mills of a tax to support their schools even eien with the best of teach c ars rs and with all all n necessary ec essary equipment the less fortunate districts distracts outside out sidel find it U necessary to levy v much higher tax in order to secure sufficient funds with which to maintain their schools at all wo we all know that each such a condition Is not in accord with the spirit and purposes of the free public school system consolidation makes it quite poh sible to have haie necessary and effective supervision the board appoint appoints Us its superintendent and holds him very largely responsible for the success of the schools the superintendent with the approval of tie board appoints supervisors per visors such as et primary prImAr 7 supervisor su of art of music manual training etc the himself outlines the plans of work for tor the grammar grades and the primary iary supervisor tor for the lower loer grades the special supervisor outline the other Pip special ecial worl now taught id fa the schools itt which work can be done neither economic illy nor well ell id bythe the teacher without skill artil 1 supervision from direct cb serva urn ven f from rom his supervisors the leapes came the standing of their strong points and h a la in a position to apply the nee Z fab casary 8 remedy to bring thorn them all up to standard etan dard tho tile beald members moot weekly cokly or monthly as the case may bo be and with alth tho the superintendent discuss ways nays and means for tho the operation and anti the improvement of tho the schools frequent meeting meetings of all school trustees with the superintendent in an unconsolidated county to discuss wavis and meane means for the bet hot torment of tho tile schools school is almost un known yot yet that such meetings oro arc necessary noce seary to tho the beet beat interests of the school trustees true with the superintend to consolidation as well as every one else will readily admit the economic expenditure of money in the purchase distribution and carts of school SuP supplied pilet calls for consolidation not only Is it pro probable bablo that from tho tile enlarged district there will be placed on th tha board able business men aa as well as able school men but it la in also true that with men of equal business buei nesa ability supplies will bo be purchased at a lower price when they are purchased in largo large quantities especially in carload lots A body df business men w will 1 see that methods are employed not only for purchasing of supplies at the lowest 10 est competitive prices but also that each chool will be held to a proper accounting for the supplies hi it receives A clerk or business manager as he be may bo b called is employed by the board he lie keeps accounts properly records ac curA cu roly tely and makes reports of a trust dorthy sort his ills methods alid expression pre in all of the business of the district while other schools are and of necessity Ices sity must continue to be conservative institution institutions they must nevertheless respond to the necessities ana anti to tho tile changing conditions of the peo pie PIC As there have been in the past so there will bo be in the future changes in ili life alich h will make it necessary for the schools to assume new responsibilities ties it has commonly happened that the schools have been required to teach new subjects before the normal schools had opportunity to produce a sufficient t number of teachers capable of handling han hand Ting the new subjects fortunate have been the schools which secured expert supervisory help in the teaching of such subjects subject a the supervisor working with the teachers lias has enabled the latter itter to impart the now instructions to the understanding der standing and to the of tho the pupils schools unable to provide the necessary aid have of course been deprived of the ben benefits eilts of uie the new and the needed wor work k kigais aln the teaching of music art and und some ome other desirable subjects will doubtless always require the guidance of specialists ia fa lists the small independent district dietrict cannot afford to pay for such special service unconsolidated counties containing hibb Is arp now operating ng under what Is commonly called a doublehead double head system the high school board consists of the county superintendent and one ono member of all common school boards within the high school district two boards tend to keel hoep v a marked dividing line between the elementary and the high school there should be nothing to cause a separation of interests between tv een tho the elementary and the high schools in some places the seventh and eighth grades aro are placed in high school for departmental and industrial teaching arrangements between elementary school boards and high school boards f for dr such work as well as arrangements for many other things which aich the schools should have in cimmon r often of ten result in a and dissatisfaction n not 0 only n ly onion amoni board mein bes but also among te beaher teu aher herb and students ts the board of education i in n a consolidated district has charge both ox ot the high schools and of the schools of ec grade consolidation dispenses the services service S of unnecessary school officials in one consolidated county where there aro are now only five school board members there were once one hundred and twenty consolidation been most strenuously opposed by local trustees they seem to feel that school board members residing outside of the town in which the school Is situated will necessarily lIv give less core care to the home school that such Is not the case is a fact well known to both the teachers and the patrons living within the consolidated areas experience shows that too often the local trustee has given much less attention to the school than has bag been ghen gien to it later by the board of education of the larger unit of or it Is to a pitiful to see standing only a few miles away aay from a beautiful school building a little uninviting and unsanitary school house controlled by persons who oppose consolidation on the ground that it interferes Interfere iL with ith their fundamental rights of citizenship in such cases would it not be well ell rather to remember the fundamental und rights of the child consolidation soon does away with such conditions as it provides similar and invariably adequate school facilities for all the fact tha thai a child resides on the other side of or a given school district line should not constitute a valid reason chy by he should be permitted 0 to o attend school only orly of six or seen months of uio year iu in a building poorly equipped while his boy acquaintance on the other side of tho the line attends a school for nino nine months in a ledern I 1 lull ull ding splendid in all of 0 lie its appointment in our present stale state of 0 civilization it is 1 generally conceded that the individual prospers pretty much in the ratio as via the community prospers A person cannot live apart from people 1 and enjoy a big broad life one or two towns in fit a county aunty cannot prosper wall while tho the othe communities muni ties are working under serious d disadvantages it ft should not be in fit fact it cannot of right he be a matter of indifference to one district that the schools of another district are of low grade the best interests of the community will be secured only when the greatest good is received by the great cst cat number of individuals that con soli dation gives the tile best beat available school privileges to the greatest num ber Is 1 a fact which has been amply demonstrated tho the foremost authorities throughout the country on school declare thai that tile little independent school district admirably as it has met the needs of its time timo has not outlined its usefulness and that if the rural school is to march along on the line ot of progress it must do so by becoming a part of a larger administrative unit unil it is of course not a difficult matter to bring forth arguments for or against any proposed plan but proof of its efficiency is to convincing when experience places practically everything in its favor it in the beginning consolidation nas wa not generally nor enthusiastically welcomed in any of our eight counties now operating under the plan in fact in many cases it was vigorously opposed it Is said that in one coun court tv v not less than ninety per cent of ahe the citizens opposed the change it is to stated however hoover on equally reliable authority that today in this same county at least ninety per cent of tho the people are heartily in favor of consolidation the voice and tho the verdict of or the people who have lived under both systems should have much to do at least with placing us in an utti attitude tude to give the question careful I 1 and unbiased consideration it is a truth of which we ue are all happily conscious that there is no institution ution outside of the homo home itself which aich Is quite so dear to all the peo pie as is the public school there Is no agency which has quite so much to do with transforming children of all kinds and classes into soung people of similar and high ideals in the school they learn to live together in harmony and peace this I 1 influence luence nf while less direct and inte intense Is nevertheless felt by the parents when the school interests do not center altogether tn in the home village but extend to a neighboring settlement the problem of solvi solving fig local strife and jealousies which too often exist between nearby towns is la largely gely solved the people then live in a bigger a and nd better nt way ay respects respectfully ully A C MA MATHESON state supt bupt of public ins instruction truc tion |