Chapter III. GENERAL ADMINISTRATION. Colorado's greatest need in public education is a type of centralized organization, now wholly lacking, which would furnish the leadership and guidance necessary to insure State-wide progress. To establish this organization there will be needed: (1) A constitutional amendment to abolish the present ex efficio State board of education. In its place there should be a board of persons especially fitted for the work, selected and appointed by the governor with the approval of the State senate, or elected as are the members of the board of regents of the State university. (2) A constitutional amendment to convert the offices of the State superintendent of public instruction and of the county superintendents of schools from political elective offices to appointive ones, to be filled by persons especially equipped for educational work. (3) Legislation to make more effective the State department of education by conferring on the State board of education and the State superintendent of public instruction enlarged and clearly defined functions and power to perform them. (4) Legislation to adopt the county as the unit of support and of management of schools outside of the cities, and to create county boards of education clothed with authority to provide at least a reasonable minimum amount of education to all children in the county. (1) THE STATE BOARD. The recommendation regarding this board is made because the need of a board which may be the actual head of the school system is realized. The State superintendent of public instruction should not be a member of it, but should be its executive officer, selected and appointed by it. A board constituted as the present one is can not be in fact an effective head of an educational system. It has legal authority enough, for it is charged by the constitution "with the general supervision of the public schools of the State." However, no board has ever attempted to assume any supervision, general or otherwise, or authority of any kind over the schools. An examination of the minutes of the meetings for the past four years shows that the board has met 28 times, but has transacted no business except (1) the formal approval of teachers' certificates recommended by the State board of examiners, and (2) consideration of appeals from decisions of the county superintendents, usually relating to boundary disputes or to the refusal of teaching certificates.1 Criticism of the board for failure to assume the functions conferred by the constitution is not altogether deserved. The members of the board are elected to other State offices for which they are supposed to be fitted, the duties of which require their full time. Other States have tried the same plan, and none has found it successful except as an expedient in pioneer conditions, when the number of schools was small, when little was attempted in education beyond the three R's, and when the regular duties of State officers required comparatively little time. Its failure is indicated by the action of the number of States which have now substituted a more effective board. A State board of education is recommended, composed of seven members who shall be men and women of affairs, scholarship, and business ability, but not necessarily engaged in education. They should be from various parts of the State, selected and appointed by the governor, with the approval of the senate, or elected by popular vote. The term of office should be at least eight years, with not more than two terms expiring each biennium. Such a method of appointment would insure a continuity of service and freedom from political interference. The members should serve without pay, but should receive their actual traveling and other necessary expenses and probably also a reasonable per diem for time actually given. The State board of education should have power and it should be its duty: (1) To assume general charge of the educational interests of the State; to determine educational policies and scope of the public school system, particularly those concerned with organization and administration. (2) To appoint and to fix the salary of the State superintendent of public instruction, and to appoint assistants on his recommendation and to fix their salaries. (3) To assist the State superintendent of public instruction in the duties conferred upon him by the constitution or laws. (4) To apportion the State school funds to the counties and to enforce State laws and regulations by withholding from any county a portion of the school funds if schools within the county are not maintained in accordance with the State laws. (5) To have complete control of the certification of the teaching force, including the exercise of the functions now conferred upon the State board of examiners; to fix grades of certificates and qualifications required, and to recommend to the State superintendent the issuance of certificates. (6) To maintain as a division of the State department of education a State teachers' employment bureau which would serve to assist local authorities in finding qualified teachers. 1 During 1915-16 the board met eight times, confirmed 225 certificates, and heard two appeals for certificates and six concerning boundaries. 74891°-Bull. 5-17-2 (7) To approve the State course of study prepared by the State department of education. (8) To approve the charters of all higher education institutions that may be established in the State and to determine standards for conferring collegiate degrees under general regulations fixed by law. (9) To have general supervision of vocational or other special schools or departments of schools receiving special State aid or Federal or other financial aid given through the State (higher institutions excepted), whether established by the State or established by local authorities and under immediate local control. (10) To control and manage: (a) State Home for Dependent and Neglected Children; (b) State Industrial School for Boys; (c) State Industrial School for Girls; (d) State Home and Training School for Mental Defectives; and to exercise general supervision over similar institutions receiving special State aid established by local communities and under immediate local control. The State superintendent should be the executive agent of the State board of education. The board should not attempt to handle the details of the work of the State school organization. It should confine its attention to the larger features of administrative problems. These are well stated in the report of the survey of Denver: These larger features relate, first and most important, to the selection, from time to time, of the executive officer or officers upon whom the board is to depend for advice, and for the execution of its policies; to the determination, after listening to the recommendations and the advice of its executive officers, of the educational and business policies for the expansion of the school system; the inspection of the results obtained by their executive officers in the management of the business; presentation to the people, through the medium of an annual report, of the needs of the school system; and the prevention of unwise legislation relating to the schools by either the city or the legislature. Proper school organization and management call for a clear separation of the work of school control into legislative, executive, and inspectional functions. All sound theory, and the results of both business and educational adminis trative experience, call for a clear separation of legislative and executive functions. It is the prime business of the board of school control to hear reports, to listen to the advice of its executive officers, and then to legislate; it is the prime business of the executive officers to execute the legislation enacted, and to report the results to the board; and it is the function of the board in turn to judge the results of its policies and the work of its executive officers by inspecting the results obtained. (2) THE STATE SUPERINTENDENT. The powers and duties of the State superintendent of public instruction, other than the execution of the orders of the State board of education, should be definitely fixed by the legislature. A sufficient number of field agents should be employed to enable the department to keep in close touch with schools in all parts of the State. These should serve as inspectors of secondary schools, vocational schools, and special schools receiving State aid, and as advisers and assistants to the State superintendent in the performance of his duties. The State superintendent of public instruction should have power and it should be his duty (1) To supervise all educational work supported in whole or in part by the State (higher educational institutions excepted) and report thereon to the State board of education. (2) To serve ex officio on the boards of control of all educational institutions of the State not under the management and control of the State board of education. (3) To visit different parts of the State in the interest of education and to collect and diffuse information regarding school affairs. (4) To prepare, publish, and distribute matter for the promotion of publicschool work. (5) To collect reports from county and city superintendents and from private institutions, and to prepare and publish biennially a complete report on the status of education. (6) To prepare blank forms for use by county superintendents for keeping records and in collecting data; for the use of county treasurers in keeping account of school receipts and expenditures; and all other forms necessary for the use of school officers. (7) To compile and publish the school laws of the State. (8) To interpret school laws and to aid school officers and teachers in all matters relative to the conduct of the schools. (9) To prepare, subject to the approval of the State beard of education, the courses of study for the public schools and to approve the courses of study in all special schools receiving Staté aid. (10) To enforce State laws and regulations by withholding, pending the action of the State board, a portion of the State fund from counties disregarding them. (11) To hold annual conventions of county and city superintendents. (12) To prepare, or have prepared, questions for examination for teachers' certificates; to issue certificates on recommendation of the State board of education. (13) To prepare or have prepared plans and specifications for school buildings and have the same published. (14) To perform such other duties as may be assigned by law or as the State board may direct. The State superintendent of public instruction should be selected and appointed by the State board of education in a manner similar to the method of selection and appointment of city superintendents by city boards of education and college presidents by college boards of trustees. Selection should be based upon particular fitness for the position to be filled, regardless of political affiliations or of residence within or without the State. The first appointment should be for a specified term, sufficiently long to insure the most efficient service; reappointment might be for an indefinite term, the State board having power to remove the incumbent from office for in efficiency or malfeasance. A State officer so appointed, able to count on continuous tenure during good service, would become the actual: head of the State system, first in responsibility and opportunity, and would be in a position to develop the educational work of the State to the highest point of efficiency. The chief school officers of 15 States no longer are elective political officers, and determined efforts are being made in many other States to change from the elective to the appointive method, so that persons of the best ability may be chosen. A study of the length of terms served by the State superintendents in the United States shows that the terms of elected superintendents were almost universally short when compared with the length of terms served by superintendents appointed in various ways. Colorado, for instance, since 1885-32 years, or 16 terms-has had 11 superintendents. It is noteworthy also that in the States in which the superin-. tendents are elected low salaries are paid; in the other States they are much higher and compare very favorably with those paid to presidents of State universities and to superintendents of schools in cities employing professional officers. If Colorado adopts the appointive method it should provide an adequate salary, at least as great as that paid to the presidents of the State institutions of higher education. In the following States among those with appointive superintendents, chief school officers are selected because of their professional training, educational experience, and fitness for the position. Their salaries are as follows: New York, $10,000; New Jersey, $10,000; Massachusetts, $6,500; Vermont, $5,000; Pennsylvania, $5,000; Rhode Island, $5,000; Minnesota, $4,500; Ohio, $4,000; Maine, $4,000; New Hampshire, $4,000. Among the elected superintendents one receives $7,500, three $5,000, and three $4,000. Eighteen States pay the same salary as Colorado ($3,000 a year) and eight States pay less. The present Colorado law providing for the election of the State superintendent specifies no qualifications of an educational nature, nor of any sort except that he must be at least 30 years of age, a citizen of the United States, and must have lived in Colorado at least two years. The result is that successful experience in educational work has not been and is not regarded as an essential. Probably in no State are State superintendents of public instruction nominated and elected with less regard for professional training and experience in educational work. The principal function of the State department of education should be leadership. To assure this the State superintendent must command the respect of school officers and must be selected with the same care as the president of a State university. The State through the department should also assume enough control and supervision |