Dénes Dienes: History of the Reformed Church Collég in Sárospatak (Sárospatak, 2013)
THE STRUGGLE AGAINST MARGINALIZATION- BEFORE AND AFTER WORLD WAR II. - Zemplén cut into two, the Church District in three parts and a College with one governing body
office in either the church district or church county and the president of the financial committee. The board of directors held meetings four times a year and made decisions in general matters which influenced the school at long term. The establishment of the supervisory body referred to as the ‘board of directors’ meant that the General Assembly of the church district was limited to only a formal and symbolic right to the supervision of the College. The most defining members of the General Assembly, however, not only confirmed their influence, but also made it more direct. This development nudged the management of the school more in the direction of professionalism, especially since the president of the financial committee and the representatives of the College’s three branches could also take part in the work of this relatively small body. The general director and the members of the public school board were the ones who had the most influence on the day-to-day operations of the school. The position of general director was filled on a rotational basis by the director of the secondary school and by the director of the theological academy for a single year term and since both directors had five-year mandates, they could both fill this position more than once. For the most part, the general director prepared and executed the decisions of the public school board which met on a monthly basis. The members of the public school board included the entire staff of both the theological academy and the secondary school. Upon occasion, the members of the financial committee would also attend these meetings. (Later, the teachers of the teacher training school also joined the board.) This board and the general director were responsible to act in all matters relating to current affairs. And, naturally, the decisions of the board of directors had to be enforced at these levels. The third body involved in school management was the financial committee. The responsibilities and jurisdiction of this body had become well-defined by the end of the previous era. The focus of the committee was directed onto four areas: managing the College’s property assets (the selling, buying or leasing of vineyards, forests or houses), managing the movable assets (capital management, credits, buying or selling bonds), ensuring the cultivation of proper lands and the maintenance of the school’s infrastructure - including heating, lighting, maintenance and food supplies. The committee had the right to make proposals and comment on all major investment plans. The president during this era was Dr. József Trócsányi, who was one of the last professors of the shuttered Academy of Law and remained in his position until he retired. He had excellent organizational skills and he had a dozen helpers. The school delegated three teachers to the committee, the students sent one person (the senior) and the supervisors of the printing press and dining-hall together with the treasurer and auditor also were members. Gyula Harsányi, chief executive officer of the Savings Bank in Sárospatak and József Csontos, retired director of the secondary school were well-respected members of this committee. 189 President of the Economic Board, József T rócsányi
