The relative efficiency of the Louisiana and the Texas types of county school organization
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Date
1940
Authors
LeMay, Sonley Robert
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Many of the leaders in the field of educational administration maintain that the strong county unit type of school administration has advantages over the weak type of county organization. It is further generally conceded by these authorities that a larger administrative unit is the pressing need in most of the states of the Union today. The small district administrative unit that accompanies the weak type of county organization has been condemned as wasteful, inefficient and completely incapable of meeting the educational needs of the modern complex civilization such as now exists. One administrator has even gone so far as to say that there is one and only one location in the United States of America where the quaint, little, one-room school can be justifiably located and that is the Smithsonian Institute at Washington, D. C. These assertions made by educational leaders are frequently made without supporting, objective evidence. So far as it was possible to ascertain, very little effort has been made in the past to prove in an objective, concrete way that one type of county school organization is superior to another. Does the "strong" type of county organization in fact tend to develop a more efficient school program than does the so-called "weak" type of county organization? Does the "strong" type of organization secure the services of a better-trained and a more capable chief executive officer and supervisory staff? Does it foster the organization of a more economical and efficient administrative and attendance unit? Are the business affairs of the schools managed more efficiently under one type of county school organization than under the other type? Are the school buildings, the teaching personnel, the transportation program, and, finally, the educational results obtained superior under a given type of county school organization? These are the questions that this investigation will attempt to answer. This study further purposes to formulate and apply objective measures of efficiency for these types of school organization and to ascertain from an analysis of the results of these investigations in what particular respects the strong type of organization is superior to the weak type. It is generally conceded by educators who have studied the problem that the Louisiana parishes are the outstanding examples of the strong type of county-unit organization; and that the counties of Texas are excellent examples of the weak type of organization. Five typical Texas counties and a like number of typical Louisiana parishes with conditions as similar as possible to those of the counties were selected for this investigation. By applying objective measures of efficiency to these parishes and counties an attempt is made to ascertain which of these types of county organization is the more efficient
LCSH Subject Headings
Public schools--Texas--Administration--Case studies, Public schools--Louisiana--Administration--Case studies, County school systems--Texas--Administration--Case studies, County school systems--Louisiana--Administration--Case studies, School districts--Texas--Administration--Case studies, School districts--Louisiana--Administration--Case studies