education. This attitude is illustrated in a rule passed by the school board in Long Branch, N. J., after the opening of a new building: It shall be open to all meetings of citizens for the discussion of public questions intended to benefit the city; for meetings of civic clubs; for meetings of associations of unrestricted membership, whose object is improvement or public welfare, as woman's clubs, choral societies, etc.; for entertainments and lectures to which the public are admitted free or of which, if admission is charged, the proceeds are for the benefit of the general public. The difficulty inherent in applying such a hospitable rule is that of making certain that public motives predominate over private motives in the purposes of the group desiring to use the buildings. A solution of this problem, which is widely favored, is the requirement of unrestricted membership already mentioned in the Long Branch rule. Wisconsin, California, Indiana, and Maryland have made it obligatory, by legislative enactment, upon school boards to grant the privileges of school edifices to all nonpartisan, nonsectarian, and nonexclusive organizations without cost. Of course every evening opening of a schoolhouse does cause additional expense to somebody. The janitor's good nature will cover a slight margin of extra work, but its limits are very quickly found. The contingent fund or some margin in the general maintenance appropriation ordinarily gives a school board a certain amount of leeway in supplies of gas, electricity, or coal. Within this leeway a certain number of extra demands can be made upon these supplies. When, however, the evening occasions exceed that number, some definite provision has to be made for the extra cost. In the majority of cases now it is assessed, as accurately as it can be estimated, upon the organizations which enjoy the use of the buildings. A clear formulation of this principle, together with some experience gained in applying it and a recognition of the wisdom of appropriating funds definitely for the defrayal of the expenses incidental to the opening of school auditoriums for public purposes, is to be found in the following statement (dated Dec. 13, 1913) by Supt. Henry Snyder, of the policy pursued by the Jersey City Board of Education: In the spring of 1912 the board of education began the practice of allowing recog'nized political parties, or local divisions of them, to use any of the schools that might be desired for political meetings. It is very interesting to note that on May 22, 23, 24, and 25, 1912, Senator La Follette, ex-President Roosevelt, President Taft, and Gov. Wilson, candidates for the Presidency of the United States, successively appeared and delivered addresses in the order named in the auditorium of the William L. Dickinson High School. Political meetings were held in the schools in the spring and fall of 1912 and in the spring and fall of 1913. As has been stated, the board of education pays the cost of maintaining community centers. For the present school year the board has also assumed the cost of operation in the case of the People's Institute. In the cases of other activities, however, no provision has been made for defraying the cost of operation out of public funds. The In respect to the political use of school buildings, however, there are evidences of a growing liberality. During the spring election of 1914 in Chicago, 142 school buildings were used for political meetings, four-fifths of which were under partisan auspices. At the same election 75 school buildings were used as polling places. Reference has already been made to the political meetings in Jersey City school buildings, and the reports from the country as a whole show a notable increase in such occasions. In practically all of these instances, especially in the case of meetings under partisan auspices, a fee is charged, generally somewhat in excess of the actual cost for opening the building. The letting of school buildings at a fee which involves a profit for all sorts of occasions is very general throughout the United States. The more significant changes in school board policy are those in the direction of greater hospitality to outside organizations as outlined above. TYPES OF SCHOOL EXTENSION ADMINISTRATION. In the evolution of administrative machinery the earliest form is probably represented by the passive letting of school accommodations to outside groups. Even within this stage there are degrees of effectiveness. Some school boards which have not yet taken an aggressive attitude have nevertheless encouraged wider use through simplification of the letting procedure and thus really have brought about considerable use of school property outside of class hours. In Cleveland, Ohio, during the school year 1913-14, 298 organizations used the gymnasiums and auditoriums of 74 buildings a total of 1,932 times, for which privilege they paid custodians' fees amounting to $1,729.81. The records of many other cities would show an extended use of a similarly spontaneous character. School extension administration does not, however, assume a positive form until there is some body, or specialized part of some body, whose specific purpose it is to initiate and carry on extension activities. At first this new function is ordinarily assumed by some body outside of the school or municipal government. As it grows in size and importance, it passes from the voluntary body to some branch of the municipal government-in its ultimate phase, to the board of education. Examples illustrating the different steps in this evolutionary process may be briefly mentioned. 1. Voluntary initiative and support.-In Allentown, Pa., Wheeling, W. Va., and Youngstown, Ohio, the local playground association provides a supervisor and supports social centers in public schools. The voluntary organization may also be a woman's club or some other association. In Trenton, N. J., it is the Social Center League, whose work has the assistance of principals and teachers. |