New York State Education Department Bureau of School District Organization Correspondence with District Superintendents

Arranged into two subseries: 1. County files, 2. Correspondence.

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 District Reorganization was created by the Joint Legislative Committee on the State Education System in 1947. The Bureau of Rural Administrative Services was renamed the Bureau of School District Organization in 1964. 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 Education Department has responsibility for supervising all educational institutions in the state and the Commissioner of Education exercises a quasi-judicial authority by which he may review actions of local school boards and officials. Applications for forming central school districts are reviewed by the State Education Department, and the orders laying out such districts are issued by the Commissioner of Education.

This series consists of files related to the supervision of district superintendents by the Bureau of Rural Administrative Services (1943-1964) and its successor, the Bureau of School District Organization. These files contain correspondence with district superintendents about school district boundary alterations requested by the superintendents' school district centralization proposals, and superintendents resignations. Also included are memoranda reporting votes at school district meetings, recommending school district boundary alterations or centralizations, and ordering redistricting of superintendencies; petitions from voters requesting annexation or centralization of school districts; and statistical reports of school districts types, staffing, and student population in each county. Also contained are letters submitted with reports, pamphlets, and other materials sent by request to district superintendents. The files from the 1960's frequently contain correspondence relating to boards of cooperative educational services (BOCES) and letters from private citizens referred by the Commissioner's Office to the Bureau for response, mostly related to centralization issues.

Also included at the beginning of the series is the last part of a subseries of the County District Administrative and Supervision Files (B0482), which consists of correspondence, memoranda, and reports relating to such topics as staff meetings, school buildings and grounds, and the White House Conference on Children and Youth. There is a substantial amount of material on the 1945 White House Conference on Rural Education, advocating full education for rural children, modern facilities and curricula, and enhanced vocational education. This subseries is arranged alphabetically by subject, but only files for S-Z are present.

B0482Series B0482, County district administration and supervision files, contains a considerable amount of correspondence with district superintendents

15671Series 15671, District Superintendent County Files relating to Appointments and Organization Orders, also contains correspondence with district superintendents

B0477Series B0477, Bureau of School District Organization subject and administrative files, documents the overall operation of the Bureau, including its role in overseeing district superintendents

B1104Series B1104, New York State Education Dept. Office of Counsel School District Centralization Files, contains correspondence with district superintendents regarding school district centralization.

11121-12: Transfer list is available at the repository.

11121-12: This accretion includes records from transfer list 375-87.

There are no restrictions regarding access to or use of the material.