New York State Education Dept. Assistant Commissioner for District Organization and District Superintendents Subject Files
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Overview of the Records
Repository:
New York State Archives
New York State Education Department
Cultural Education Center
Albany, NY 12230
Summary:
This series consists of subject files of the Assistant Commissioner for District Organization and District Superintendents.
The records include correspondence, reports, memoranda meeting minutes, and addresses relating to the various educational
and legislative committees, councils, and commissions on which the Assistant Commissioner and District Superintentant served
or in which they held an interest.
Creator:
Title:
Subject files
Quantity:
Inclusive Dates:
1970-1979
Series Number:
B0314
Sponsor:
This series' description was enhanced as part of the States' Impact on Federal Education Policy Project (SIFEPP), in June
2010. The New York Community Trust - Wallace Special Projects Fund provided funding for this project.
Arrangement
The Subject files are arranged roughly alphabetically by committee name or by subject.
Administrative History
The legal process of organizing a central school district is described in Chapter 820 of the Laws of 1947 (Article 37, Sections
1801-1808 of the new Education Law which replaced the earlier compilation of 1909). The consolidation of small rural school
districts into larger central school districts was first enacted into law in Chapter 55 of the Laws of 1914, which provided
for the formation of "Central Rural Schools." The first rural central school district was created in 1924. In 1925, the Cole-Rice
Law (Chapter 673 of the Laws of 1925) was enacted, which provided state financial aid for transportation and school construction
in order to encourage rural school districts to consolidate. The pace of centralization increased in the 1930's, but the process
of centralization was criticized as piecemeal by the Regents' Inquiry into the Character and Cost of Public Education in 1938.
In response, the Bureau of Rural Administrative Services was created in 1943 to facilitate the process of school district
centralization, and a master plan for school consolidation was created by the Joint Legislative Committee on the State Education
System in 1947. By 1959, the number of school districts in New York State had fallen to under 2,000, down from around 10,000
in 1925. Overall, the movement toward centralized school districts was reflective of a national trend towards greater involvement
by state governments and state education agencies in the administration and funding of public schools.
The position of district superintendent was created in 1910 through an amendment to Article 14 of the Education Law. It replaced
the position of Commissioner of Schools, which had been an elective office, with a position that was appointed by supervisory
district personnel (currently, the superintendent is appointed by the Board of Cooperative Educational Services in the supervisory
district). The shift to an appointive office was designed to increase the level of professionalism and educational expertise
of district administrators. While the superintendents are selected by local personnel, they are paid by the New York State
Education Department, and answerable to the State Commissioner of Education. District superintendents act as the chief executive
officer of the district BOCES, perform administrative and supervisory activities with districts, and perform special duties
assigned by the Commissioner. In effect, they act as an intermediary between school districts and the State Education Department.
Scope and Content Note
This series consists of subject files of the Assistant Commissioner for District Organization and District Superintendents,
a post abolished in 1982. The files contain correspondence, reports, and memoranda of committees of District Superintendents
of Schools; minutes and agendas of the Planning Council of District Superintendents, of which the Assistant Commissioner was
a member; and related correspondence and memoranda, as well as of committees on reading, school district organization, Project
Redesign, health and pupil services, and information systems for education.
There are also memoranda and correspondence about the Commission on the Quality, Cost and Finance of Elementary and Secondary
Education (Fleischmann Commission); as well as summaries of comments about the recommendations of Chapter 9 in the Fleischmann
Commission report, concerning "Children with Special Needs" (i.e., the mentally or physically handicapped). The commission,
1969-1972, developed recommendations for reforming education, among them a complete state takeover of education financing
through a statewide real property tax.Other files pertain to professional organizations, the Legislative Commission on Expenditure
Review, the Office of Education Performance Review, and district superintendents generally.
Of note in the series are original typescripts ("master copies") of addresses by the Assistant Commissioner, papers by him
concerning regional cooperation among Boards of Cooperative Educational Services (BOCES), memoranda from the Assistant Commissioner
to the District Superintendents of Schools, and a directory of BOCES executive staff (1978). These records were produced or
received by Dr. Leo A. Soucy, who was appointed Assistant Commissioner for School Services in 1970. The title of his position
later became Assistant Commissioner for District Organization, Health Education and Pupil Services, but these files contain
relatively little about health education and pupil services.
Related Material
B0482 County district administration and supervision files, also contains materials produced by the Office of District Organization
and District Superintendents
B0477 Bureau of School District Organization subject and administrative files
15671 Bureau of School District Organization, district superintendent county files relating to appointments and organization orders
Access Restrictions
There are no restrictions regarding access to or use of the material.
Access Terms
Corporate Name(s):
Geographic Name(s):
Subject(s):
Function(s):
Detailed Description
Dates |
Contents |
Box |
Accretion: B0314-83 |
1977 August-September |
Committee - Health & Pupil Services |
1 |
1972 September-1978 May |
Committee - Instructional Support System |
1 |
1975 August-1976 February |
Committee - Liaison for Add. Apportionment on State Aid |
1 |
1972 September-1973 |
Committee - NYSEIS |
1 |
1972 September-1973 February |
Committee - Reading |
1 |
1972 September-1974 March |
Committee - Redesign |
1 |
1970 October-December |
Committee - School District Reorganization |
1 |
1972 Sept1972 September-1974 Septemberember-1974 |
Committee - Staff Development |
1 |
1970 October-1971 February |
Committee Planning Council - 1970-1971 |
1 |
1971 February-October |
Committee Planning Council - 1971 |
1 |
1971 May-1974 October |
Committee Planning Council - 1971-1974 |
1 |
1975 April-1977 August |
Committee Planning Council - 1975-1977 |
1 |
1977 August-October |
Committee Planning Council - 1977 |
1 |
1970 October-1971 November |
Committee Planning Council - Minutes & Agenda - 1970-1971 |
1 |
1971 December-1974 November |
Committee Planning Council - Minutes & Agenda - 1971-1974 |
1 |
1970 December-1972 October |
Committee - Fleischmann (Commission on the Quality, Cost & Financing of Elementary & Secondary Education) |
1 |
1970 December-1972 October |
Committee - Fleischmann (Commission on the Quality, Cost & Financing of Elementary & Secondary Education) |
1 |
1972 October-1974 September |
Committee - Fleischmann |
1 |
1972 October-1974 September |
Committee - Fleischmann |
1 |
1976 January-1979 December |
American Association of School Administrators |
1 |
1975 May-1976 January |
Legislative Committee on Expenditure Review |
1 |
1972 December-1975 October |
District Superintendent - General |
1 |
1976 September-1979 March |
New York State School Boards Association |
2 |
1976 February-1978 February |
New York State Council of School District Administrators |
2 |
1973 June-December |
Office of Educational Performance Review (Klepak) |
2 |
1970 January-1972 July |
Robert H. Schaffer & Associates |
2 |
1971 March-1973 December |
Misc. Master Copies - 1971-1973 |
2 |
1978 February-November |
1978 - Master Copies |
2 |