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function of public education within a des-
ignated geographical boundary.
Thus, the school system or district should
be subject to the complete control of the
State. It follows from this concept, if you
would accept it, that education as a state
function that school board members then
are state officers as distinguished from
local government officers. This is true re-
gardless of how the school board members
are to be selected.
School system and education are state
functions. I believe that by adopting this
amendment, you are diluting the state
function which probably rests with the Gen-
eral Assembly and turning the control of
the state schools over to local county
governments.
THE PRESIDENT: Does any other del-
egate desire to speak in favor?
Delegate Clagett.
DELEGATE CLAGETT: Mr. President,
I rise to state that I am in favor of the
amendment and would be the eleventh mem-
ber of the Local Government Committee
to favor this amendment. I shall not, how-
ever, go into further detail.
THE PRESIDENT: Delegate Wheatley.
DELEGATE WHEATLEY: Mr. Chair-
man and ladies and gentlemen of the Con-
vention, I had quite a bit of discussion on
this amendment. I was not sure, frankly,
whether it was a good thing or a bad thing
to carry out the intent of the Education
Committee. I have done a little bit of home-
work over the night, and I think that the
best that can be said for the amendment
is that it would perhaps create new areas
of doubt as has been suggested.
Certainly, in these times of great tumult
in the field of education it is not for us to
add further confusion or doubt. If you look
at the list of sponsors, a great point must
be made of those on the Local Government
Committee. I fail to see the names of any
that were in General Provisions who con-
sidered the topic of education. It would
seem that those considered this for twenty-
three days of hearings a difficult area
where the balance between state and local
is little understood, should be given the
benefit of the doubt as to telling what the
intention was of the majority and minority.
There is no other agency in which local
governments have contributed forty per
cent of their budget.
Forty per cent of the budget of local
school budgets is submitted by the State.
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It is tenuous to state that the State must
take choice and say either all of you do it
or we cannot make any of you do it. This
is the real crux. Must the State say either
all of you do it or none of you have to do
it unless you want to. This takes away the
whole argument of flexibility that I heard
so many times in this Convention. For this
reason and for the other reasons so aptly
expressed by those who opposed the amend-
ment, I certainly hope that this Convention
will not create further areas of doubt
where there is presently no doubt and that
we will not have to devise some artificial
means in the future by classification or
some other vague term were we set up
artificial classes to allow for them. We
should leave it as amended by Style and
Drafting and the Committee on General
Provisions which dealt with education. I
hope you will support these two commit-
tees and strike out this attempt to strike
out what has been a workable provision. I
urge your rejection of the amendment.
THE PRESIDENT: Does any other del-
egate desire to speak in favor of the
amendment?
DELEGATE HOPKINS: Mr. President,
I move the previous question.
(Whereupon, the motion was duly sec-
onded.)
THE PRESIDENT: The question arises
on the motion to move the previous ques-
tion on the adoption of Amendment No. 21.
All those in favor say Aye; contrary,
No. The Ayes have it. It is so ordered.
The Clerk will ring the quorum bell.
The question arises on the adoption of
Amendment No. 21. A vote Aye is a vote
in favor of the adoption of the amendment
which would delete the phrase. A vote No is
a vote against the amendment.
Cast your votes.
Has every delegate voted? Does any dele-
gate desire to change his vote?
(There was no response.)
The Clerk will record the vote.
There being 40 votes in the affirmative
and 77 in the negative, the motion fails
and the amendment is rejected.
The earlier amendment which was not
printed when discussed, Amendment No.
19, is now available. Will the pages please
distribute the amendment marked Amend-
ment No. 19. Amendment LL is Amendment
No. 19. You have already acted on it.
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