Benton County, Indiana - Chapter 6: Trustees and School Boards, 1906

The school trustees of the cities, towns find townships are the master workmen of Indiana's great school system. More than all things else their able and patriot!:- management has developed our school system to its present high standard, and to the faithful performance of their sacred trusts must the future generations of Indiana look for that royal heritage which makes every self-reliant boy or girl worthy of a throne - a good education.

The passing of the old system abolished the congressional township and district control of school affairs, but left the civil township with its three trustees. The new law committed to the township trustees the charge of all educational affairs of the township. It gave them the control and disbursement of all the school funds ; it left with them the power to determine the number and location of all the schoolhouses necessary for the accommodation of the children of the township; it left to them the making of all contracts for building, repairing and furnishing schoolhouses ; the purchasing of fuel ; the employment of teachers, and, lastly, they were to determine the time of commencing and the period of the continuance of the schools. There was much opposition to this law for some time, as it was thought that it placed too much power in the hands of three men, but care was taken to select good men as trustees and the change grew in public favor.

The first duty of the Board of Trustees was to establish and conveniently locate a sufficient number of schools for the education of all the children of their township. Referring to this matter in his annual report of 1853, State Superintendent Larrabee made these remarks : "But the schoolhouses. where are they, and what are they? In some townships there is not a single schoolhouse of any kind to be found. In other town- ships there are a few old, leaky, dilapidated log cabins, wholly unfit for use even in summer, and in winter worse than nothing. Before the people can be tolerably accommodated with schools there must be erected in this State at least three thousand five hundred school houses." The schoolhouses that had been built by the districts became the property of the township, and new houses were to be built by the township. Here serious trouble arose. The new law said trustees must take charge of school matters, furnish houses, and emplo^y teachers, but gave them no authority to levy taxes. Township school taxes could be levied only on approval of the majority of the township voters. When so levied taxpayers who were opposed to local school taxes refused to pay their assessments, thereby not only retarding the progress of the schools, but causing an unusual delinquency in the collection of taxes for general purposes. Contracts for building schoolhouses were thrown up, houses half finished were abandoned, and all operations were suspended in many townships.

The public school fund available in 1854 consisted of the Congressional Township fund, the Surplus Revenue fund, the Saline fund, the Bank Tax fund, and miscellaneous funds, amounting in all to |2,460,600, The money was distributed to the different counties of the State, loaned, and the interest distributed to the townships, towns, and cities of the State in proportion to the number of children therein. A law passed in 1859 reduced the trustees in each township from three to one, declared each township a separate school corporation, and directed that the accounts of school funds be kept separately, the tuition and special school each to be a separate, itemized account. Opposition to public schools continued until 1873. By that time the township trustee was clothed with most of the powers he now has, and about that time the school conditions throughout the State began to improve very rapidly. The township trustee is now elected on "presidential election" day, takes office the first of January following, and serves four years. He can not be re-elected to succeed himself, but may be re-elected after having been out of office for one term. In case of death or resignation, the vacancy is filled by the county auditor unless commissioner's court is in regular session, in which case the appointment is made by that body. The amount of pay received by each trustee is fixed by his Township Advisory Board.

The law directs the trustee to take charge of the educational affairs of his township, to employ teachers, to establish and locate conveniently a sufficient number of schools for the education of the children in his township; and to build and otherwise provide suitable houses, furniture, apparatus, and other educational appliances for the tliorouj^h organization and efficient management of said schools. Though required to furnish a sufficient number of schools, he may refuse to re-open a school in which tlie average daily attendance during the last term did not exceed twelve, and may close any school on petition of a majority of the legal voters of the district. He may -sell school property that has been abandoned in accordance with the law, but can not change the site of a school without presenting a petition signed by himself and a majority of the patrons of the district to the county superintendent and securing his consent to the change. When a township has twentyfive common school graduates within school age the trustee may establish and maintain a township graded high school. Townships may join in establishing and maintaining graded high schools and have joint control over such schools, or a township may join Avith a toAvn in establishing and maintaining such a school.

The trustee fixes the length of the terms of school taught in his township, provided that no term shall be for less than six months. He fixes the salary of each teacher, provided. "The daily w^ages of teachers shall not be less in the case of beginning teachers than an amount determined by multiplying two and one-fourth cents by the scholarship given said teacher on his highest grade of license at the time of contracting; and after the first term of any teacher, said teacher's daily Avages shall not be less than an amount determined by multiplying tAvo and one-half cents by the general average of scholarship and success given the teacher on his highest grade of license at the time of contracting ; and after three years of teaching said wages shall not be less than an amount determined by multiplying two and three-fourth cents by the general average of scholarship and success given the teacher on his highest grade of license at the time of contracting: Provided. That tAvo per cent, shall be added to a teacher's general average of scholarship and success for attending the county institute the full number of days, and said two per cent, shall be added to the scholarship of beginning teachers." A trustee may dismiss a teacher for violation of contract, or on the petition and lawfully sustained complaint of a majority of the patrons of a school, but he can not Avithhold any part of the salary of a teacher for loss of time during the term unless the teacher causes such loss. If the majority of the patrons in a district petition a trustee not to hire the teacher named in such petition to teach in the specified district, and present their petition to the trustee before he has entered into a written contract with said teacher, the trustee can not place the teacher petitioned against in said school, but patrons can not name whom he shall employ to teach any school, unless he requests them to^ do so.

If a child residing in any township may be better accommodated in the schools of another school corporation, the parent, guardian or custodian of such child may at any time ask the trustee for an order of transfer, which, if lawfully granted, shall entitle such child to attend the schools of the corporation to which transfer is made. A trustee has no right to grant a transfer until he is requested to do so by the proper person and lawful reasons for the request are given. A transfer may be applied for at any time. Each child should receive a separate transfer certificate. If a child lives one-half of a mile nearer a schoolhouse in an adjoining corporation than he does to the nearest school in his township, he is entitled to a transfer unless free transportation to school is provided. In other words, if a transfer will save a child one mile's walk each day he is entitled to it. This helps to make clear why the courts have interpreted the words ''better accommodated" to refer more especially to the child's physical w^elfare. Better schools, better teachers, longer terms, more branches taught, and better school a])pliances are not sufficient reasons for granting a transfer, but better roads, better transportation, fewer railroads or dangerous streams to cross, nearer schools, and crowded schools are all matters for consideration in makings transfers. If no high school is maintained within the corporation, the common school graduates of a townsliip are all entitled to annual transfers to such school corporations as they may select in which to attend high school for an^' length of time not exceeding four years; but such transfers need not be made by a trustee maintaining a higli scliool course until such course has been fully corn[)Ieted. A tranHf(;r carries with it the right to free tuition for the child transferred. Applicants for transfer may appeal from the trustee to the county 8uj>erintendent whose decision is final, ft is the duty of the trustee to furnish the necessary school books for childr^'n who are unable to buy them, so they may attend the common schools.

Each year the trustee, between the tenth day of April and the thirtieth day of the same month, takes or causes to be taken an enumeration of all the unmarried persons between the ages of six and twenty-one years, resident within his township, giving the date and place of birth, and the age of each person enumerated. The first of May the enumeration is reported to the county superintendent for his future use. The first Monday in August each year a financial and statistical report, showing the receipts and expenditures of school funds for the year preceding and giving full information in reference to the school affairs of the township, is made to the superintendent.

It is the duty of the trustee to provide a course of study and rules and regulations for the use of the teachers and pupils in the schools in his township, if such provision has not been made by the County Board of Education. He meets with the other trustees of the countv, on the first Mondav in June in the third year of his term, to elect a county superintendent ; he causes the teachers of the township to meet in institute at least one Saturday in each month while schools are in session, and presides over them, or appoints some one else to do so; he orders, through the county superintendent, such common school text-books as may be needed in the schools of the township, and makes quarterly settlement with the superintendent for such books ; he employs teachers and appoints substitutes to fill the places of teachers unavoidably absent, or absent with his permission ; he closes schools for a part of the term when sickness in the community or other reasons he may deem proper seem to make it best to do so ; he may suspend or expel a pupil from school ; he receives and conveys school lands and houses, has charge of all school property, and decides for what purposes such property may be used.

-director presides at seliool meetings and malces a record of the same. Under direction of the trustee, he has general charge of the school property in his district; and he may visit and inspect the school from time to time, and when necessary may exclude refractory pupils. In cases of exclusion an appeal may be taken to the township trustee whose decision is final.

The trustee meets with the township advisory board on the first Tuesday after the first Monday of each year and presents an "annual and complete report of all the receipts and expenditures of his office for the preceding calendar year, with the balances to the credit of each fund under his charge." The law says : "Each item of expenditure shall be accompanied by the verified receipt of the person to whom the sum evidenced thereby has been paid, stating particularly for what article or service the payment has been made ; that the sum receipted for is the exact sum received, and that no part thereof has been retained by or returned to, or has been agreed, directly or indirectly, to be returned to, the Trustee or to any other person." Good people sometimes find fault with a trustee for asking them to sign such a receipt for a small amount of money justly due them, but all should remember that it is the luw and not the trustee that makes such a receipt. The trustee must prepare and publish an estimate of the taxes he wants to levy and the amounts wanted for the tuition and special school funds during the next calendar year and submit such estimates to the advisory board at its annual September meeting.

The advisory board is composed of three resident freeholders and qaulified voters of the township, elected by the people for a term of four years. The may be called together at any time, but must meet in January to receive the trustee's annual report, and on the first Tuesday of September to consider the estimates of township expenditures as furnished by the trustee for the ensuing year, which estimate it may accept or reject in part or in whole. The meetings are open to taxpayers who may be heard by the board as to the advisability of approving any estimates of expenditures or proposed levy of taxes under consideration. The people have taken pride in placing many reliable and useful citizens on these boards. The remuneration is but five dollars a jear, so that good service is a fine indication of a public-sjtirited citizen.

"Members of scliool hoards uro. eleeted for a term of three years and only one new nicnihcr is elected each year. No qualifications are specified by law, but the people usually select men of intelligence; and culture for members of these boards.

"TIu! school boards have charge of the schools in their respective corporations. They employ the superintendent, who is directed by them to nominate teachers, whom they employ and pay. The school boards, of course, have under their charge the building and protection of the school buildings. They have authority to buy and sell school property, erect buildings, establish libraries, and to do anything that will promote the best interests of the schools so long as the school funds of the town or city permit."

The members of a town school board are elected by the town council, one each year, at the first regular meeting of the council held in June. Annually, some time within five days after August first, the members of a school board must meet and organize by electing one of their number president, one secretary, and the other treasurer. The tax levy of the school board is approved by the town council, and the treasurer of the board makes his annual report to the county commissioners. The laws regulating the school duties of township trustees also regulate the duties of town school boards, so far as they are applicable to town schools. The members of a town school board, with the approval of the town council, select the site for school buildings and contract for and oversee their erection. They elect, contract with, and pay the superintendent, or principal, and teachers; they adopt rules and regulations for the government of and approve courses of study for their schools; they consider and act upon such questions and suggestions as may be placed before them by the superintendent, or principal, if no superintendent is employed, and require such reports as they deem proper from superintendent. princi])al, or teachers. They purchase school furniture, apparatus and appliances; they hire the janitor, and otherwise look after the physical comfort of the members of their schools. They take action in such controversies as may arise between teacher and superintendent, or principal, if no superintendent is employed, and upon properly presented complaints of patrons. School boards establish high schools and may establish kindergarten schools in towns, and manual training, night and kindergarten schools in cities.