Rensselaer Gazette, Volume 3, Number 38, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 11 January 1860 — INTERESTING TO PARENTS. [ARTICLE]

INTERESTING TO PARENTS.

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Rensselaer, Ind., Dec. 29, 1859. To Samuel L. Rugg, Esq., Super intendenl of Public Instruction: Sir: “A diversity of opinion exists in this county and in this school on the following topics. If you have General Instructions which meet these issues, please forward me a copy, if not, have the goodness to reply at your earliest convenience: 1. Who may vote at school meetings'? 2. Is it lawful for others, beside the Director, to keep the records of the school meetings where he presides? 3. May a house be rented by the quarter, for publicschools, and the rent be paid out of the “building or repairs” fund or tax! 4. Can the “tuition fund” be borrowed by the school district, on time, for building a school house? 5. May it, by vote of a school meeting, be loaned, at interest,prior to its use for tuition! 6. How long, i. e., how many years can a school draw funds without using them? 7. What is meant by a “graded school?’’ How, and in what manner may it be graded? May pupils be assigned to different houses or rooms, without their consent? Who must consent? 8. Are teachers who have “got certificates,” but cannot instruct two-thirds of the scholars, “qualified,” in contemplation of law? 9. Can any portion of the tuition fund be legally appropriated to select or private schools? Retpectfully, yours, &c., R. B. James. Office of Sup. of Pub. Inst. J Indianapolis, Jan. 2, 1860 } Dear Sir: I am in receipt of your letter of the 29th ult., which I answ , r as follows:

1. Sections 10. 13 and 102 of the School Law, indicate-who may hold school meetings, and conduct and determine their proceedings, by vote, or otherwise, from which we conclude, that Ist. They must be inhabitants of the State of Indiana. 2d. They must have charge of children, who have been enumerated for school purposes, for the present year. 3d. They must have lawfully designated the school for which the meeting is held, as the one to which they desire to be attached for school purposes. Such persons, and only such, are entitled to vote at school meetings, or for the designation of a teacher. A majority of such persons, but no other persons,, or less number of persons,have the right to designate the teacher, whom they wish employed, and petition the Director for the dismissal of a teacher. 2. The Director is required to' preside at all meetings of the inhabitants, connected with the schools; and record the proceedings of such meetings. These duties are net required of any other person. The Director has charge of the school house, furniture,&c., subject to the order of the township Trustee. The director has no charge of school funds or moneys. 3. If any of the schools have not got sufficient school houses and room, the Trustee has the right to rent a suitable house, or room, by the quarter, or otherwise, and pay the rent out of the money raised by tax for “building and repairs.” 4. There is no authority given by law, for loaning on time, the money appropriated by the Trustee, to the schools, for tuition. 5. It would not be lawful for a school meeting to vote the money to be loaned at interest. School meetings have no control of the school money, any further than to direct its expenditure for tuition. The money apportioned to each school by the Trustee, from time to time, for the purpose of tuition, becomes the property of the school to which it is apportioned, and cannot lawfully be used for any other purpose than in payment for tuition, and it cannot be forfeited by the school, or so revenrt, as to authorize the Trustee to enter it into a new distribution. 6. I do not think that when school money is apportioned to a school from year to year, that it can lawfully be permitted to accumulate and not be expended for tuition. If the school officers neglect to cause their schools to be opened, and the money apportioned to them promptly expended for tuition, I think the inhabitants aggrieved by such neglect 1 should chose more diligent officers, at the the next chance they have to do so. 7. By a graded school, we usually understand, one in which the pupils are divided off According to their grade of educational atattainments, and placed into separate rooms or departments. A graded school usually consists of four grades or Departments; first, Primary Department; second, Intermediate Department; third, the Grammer School Department, and fourth, the High School Grade or Department. It is important that these grades or departments, should occupy separate rooms, and each department have an appropriate teacher. In large schools, consisting of six hundred to a thousand pupils, it is much more successful to have the school well graded. In smaller schools, modifications of the graded schools may be successfully introduced. A graded school should have a superintendent or principal head, who should classify and grade the school according to the educational advancement of the pupils. Pupils can always make much better progress in their proper department, than they can in the one above or below them, and hence there will be no objection of parents to overcome, or consent to be obtained. 8. The law does not contemplate that a person shall be licensed as a teacher, or employed as such in any school, unless such person is qualified to teach and give instruction in the six branches of learning ennumerated in the 149 ch section of the school law. 9. No part of the public school money can be appropriated, lawfully, to select or private schools. A private school may be adopted by the school trustee, as a public school, and opened to all persons free, as long as the public money will keep it open, and then it can again become a private or select school. This plan has objections and it is best not to resort to it if it can be avoided. I believe I have answered all your questions by writing you a longer letter than you will have patience to read. With much respect, yonr obedient servant, Samuel L. Rugg,

Sup. Pub. Instruction. R. B. James, Esq. NOTES ON THE ABOVE CORRESPONDENCE, First question and reply.— Widows and women “who have charge of children” may vote under this decision, unless there is some law to the contrary. Single men, and persons whose children are less than five, or more than twenty-one years of age, and persons who move into a school association, after the 20th of September, and those who are ennumerated before that time, cannot vote. {Second.— School meetings are not empowered to elect a Clerk or Secretary to keep their records. Hence any records so kept would be illegal. Sirfh — Ativ person agrieved by the ne-

gleet of the Trustcb or Director to open the school and expend the tuition fund, may have his reffibdy against the Trustee under Sec. 19, and against the Director. Eighth.— The Superintendent of Public Instruction (Sec. 125,) and the school examiners (Sec. 147) may either of them license a person to teach common schools. But no person unless “he or she posess a knowledge of orthography, reading, writing, arithmetic,geography and English grammer,” (Sec. 149,) and is competent to give thorough instruction in these brunches has any right to receive a license, or to receive any of the public funds. No examiner has a right to specify in the license, any two, three or five of these branches to the neglect of the rest. It is no excuse for the examiner to say “the Director recommends him,” or, “the school has designated him.” If he is not qualified, the examiner cannot “specify the branches” .which the applicant is qualified to teach, less than the six named. But the language of Sec. 1 18, is intended to include higher branches for higher schools. Nor can such apart of a license be excused on the ground that the school is feeble or the pupils ignorant, and, therefore, they cannot support a competent teacher, and do not need one. For it is the duty of the Trustee to apportion the funds (Sec. 27.) so that the schools may be taught an equal length of time without regard to the diversity in the number of pupils at the several schools. No person who is in the habit of a constant or occasional breach of the laws of the State is “of good moral character” (Sec. 145.) These are laws against profane swearing, Sabbath breaking and drunkenness, and other vices, and persons guilty of these offienses are not of good moral character, nor entitled to certificates, or wages from the school fund. R. B. JaSies.