SCHOOL-HOUSES AND APPARATUS.

There is a general improvement in the school-houses of the State. The log houses are fast disappearing, and neat, commodious buildings are taking their places. The surroundings of many of our schoolhouses might be improved; the places where the children and youth of the State meet should be made pleasant and attractive. Ventilation is almost entirely overlooked in the construction of our school-houses, to the great injury of the health and comfort of the children. Many of our districts are wasting the money invested in apparatus, because the directors do not provide a place for safe keeping.

ORGANIZATION OF DISTRICTS.

Our system of organization, as established in 1858, contemplated the township as the unit, with the division into sub-districts. Exceptions to this general arrangement were made in favor of cities and towns, which were supposed to have special wants, that could be provided for only by a special organization, under the title of independent districts. The school law arranged for these two kinds of organizations, recognizing their agreement in many things, and providing for their differ

ences.

The sub-district system has proven objectionable in several ways.

In the first place, the board of directors goes out of existence once a year and an entirely new board comes into power. This leads to a constant change of plans and teachers, in many instances. In the next place, these sub-districts are now frequently formed according to the amount of territory, and frequently without much regard to the number of people to be accommodated. In a congressional township divided into nine sub-districts, each of four sections, it quite frequently happens that a majority of the sub-districts have but a small number of scholars and that the populous sub-districts, being in a minority in the board, are oppressed. They do not receive a fair proportion of the taxes to support their schools. We have had repeated complaints that little towns, too small to organize as independent districts, are supplied with only one teacher, at a salary the same as is paid for the small schools, while he has from 75 to 100 scholars of all grades and ages to instruct and manage.

These objections led to the law passed by the 14th General Assembly allowing the electors of a township to vote whether they would make

their sub-districts independent districts. Many availed themselves of this opportunity and the number of our independent districts increased from 400 in 1872 to 3,138 in 1877. Of course, the former objections were removed, no majority of small sub-districts could now tyrannize over the large sub-districts; but other, and it seems to us, worse features developed under this system. Many small sub-districts were now unable, as independent districts, to carry on their schools for the period of six months as required by law. The expense of paying secretaries' and treasurers' salaries was greatly increased, while at the same time the efficiency of these officers was diminished. There are many of our rural independent districts that have no competent person to manage the finances. In many places where the treasurers are honest men, the districts lose money on account of the incompetency of their officers. The law unfortunately provided that in an independent district having but three directors, the treasurer and secretary might be chosen from the board. This has been an additional injury to the honest and successful management of the affairs of the district. It has been the belief of all my predecessors and it is mine, that the township should be the unit of our educational system, and that the township district should be managed the same as an independent district without division into sub-districts. This would give us a continuous board, of which only one-third changed every year, it would provide school facilities for neighborhoods instead of for sections of land. We might reasonably expect that the people would elect the best and most competent persons, only one or at most two annually, to serve them for this purpose. I am not now advocating a radical change in the school law to effect this; but if in a few years a new Code should be adopted, or a general arrangement of the school law provided for, these matters should receive consideration.

One of the objections to the organization of these rural independent districts has been that it has seriously confused our law, which was calculated to provide only for cities and towns, when speaking of independent districts. Those rural districts being also named independent, of course claimed all the privileges of the towns and cities as far as they applied. The intention of our law-givers was undoubtedly to have rural communities pay for their school-houses as they built them; but under Sec. 1822 of the Code of 1873, these rural independent districts have in many instances contracted a bonded indebtedness.

INSPECTION.

In all our larger cities and towns we employ superintendents of schools who devote a portion or the whole of their time to overseeing and inspecting the schools, and who aid the teachers in carrying on their schools according to some well developed plan or system. This same work is expected to be done by the county superintendent for our country schools; but the great distances and the large number of schools, sometimes nearly two hundred, renders this work of comparatively little value, and it is not strange that many people declare the work to be utterly useless. This is a great mistake; for without this small amount of inspection our country schools would be less efficient than they are now. A good county superintendent can aid and does aid young teachers very much by his visits, advice and criticism. Besides, he becomes acquainted with the real ability of the teachers to instruct and manage, which is an aid to him in protecting the people against incompetent persons.

We need, however, additional inspection if we desire to elevate our country schools. We ought to have, as assistants to the county superintendents, township inspectors, who have the ability to aid teachers in their work and to judge of their success or failure. Whether we are ready to introduce this feature is a question which I am not prepared to answer.

FINANCES, TAXATION, AND TREASURERS.

No one can question the desire of the people of this State to secure an education for their children. More than one-half of the taxes levied annually are for school purposes. Of course, a large amount is needed to build the school-houses required by our communities; still about four millions is paid annually for the current expenditures of our schools. My study of the figures presented to us in the reports of the district treasurers, has led me to think that there are extravagancies which should be avoided, and that in many districts the taxes are levied in a very careless manner. The fact that an amount almost equal to 50 per cent of the amount expended annually is in the hands of the treasurers at the close of the fiscal year, requires some investigation. As my reports for 1879 are not completed at this time, I shall use the report of 1878 as a basis. We spent $5,103,401 for all school purposes, and there were in the hands of the treasurers, on the 15th of September, 1878, $2,486,482.. Of this sum $389,456 were left in the school

house fund. It is my belief that one-half of this sum might profitably be transferred by the electors, at their March meeting, to the contingent or teachers' fund, for it is not needed for building school-houses. Sec. 1717 gives authority for such transfer by the electors at their annual meeting.

While many districts have not a dollar on hand to pay teachers with, the aggregate amount on hand in teachers' fund is $1,616,410; more than 50 per cent of what is paid teachers during the year. This, it seems to me, is at least $800,000 in excess of the necessities of the districts, if properly distributed. Districts which have money enough on hand to pay their teachers one year in advance will continue to levy taxes enough to provide sufficient money to pay another year's salary for teachers. There should be a check to such extravagance and carelessness. The defalcations of our district treasurers, which are too frequent to speak well for our State, are caused partly by the ignorance of the treasurers, and partly by the temptations of handling, for private purposes and speculation, public money for which there is no immediate demand.

Some of our best county superintendents and our wisest school-men as well as citizens, have repeatedly urged, that all our school funds belonging to rural districts should be disbursed by the county treasurer directly to the parties who are to receive their pay from the districts. Whether this is wise should be determined by the legislature. It certainly is true, that no greater difficulty would arise to the parties to be paid than they have now to meet. A teacher receives his order or warrant, properly signed by the president and secretary, and tries to find the treasurer; he is away from home or in a distant field; when he is found he has not the money with him, but must go to town to get it from the bank. If the order or warrant was drawn on the county treasurer, with the indorsement that the district has money there, the order will be as readily cashed at any country store as a check on a bank for the same amount.

SCHOOL LAWS-CODIFICATION, PUBLICATION, AND CHANGES.

Our school laws have been amended, changed, altered and modified, until they are very difficult to interpret. It seems almost an absolute necessity that they should be codified, and rearranged. This work can be done without any expense to the State, outside of the usual clerkhire in the office.

The Seventeenth General Assembly gave us no authority for publishing the school laws, and the officers of the districts are now nearly all of them without the laws by which the schools are governed. If it is not desirable that the State should meet the expense of publishing, the boards might be authorized to buy them for the districts and pay for them out of the contingent fund. The cost should cover only the

expense.

In my report of 1876-77, I suggested the enactment of a law for granting State certificates, which I again urge upon the legislature as a matter of justice to the teachers' profession.

I hope that the legislature may devise some measures to protect the school-finances better than they are now protected. If it is thought best to let the county treasurer disburse all the school funds for rural districts, we shall not only save the expense of treasurers' salaries, but also prevent the waste which is now so frequently found. If these treasurers are to continue to act as the receiving and disbursing agents of the districts, they should be at liberty to deposit in banks which will give security bonds to the districts whose money they guard.

A bill introduced by the Hon. Edward Taylor to secure the compulsory attendance at school of persons between the ages of eight and fourteen, failed to pass the Senate.

The more I have studied this question, especially in the light of facts as developed by the reports of State superintendents, where such laws exist, the more do I come to the conclusion that compulsory attendance at school cannot be enforced.

All that we wish to secure is the education of the children in elementary branches, and I believe that a law might be made effective which required the examination of children at the age of twelve, whenever a suspicion exists in the mind of the proper officers that their education is entirely neglected. If this fact is established by the examination, the child should be removed from the care and control of parents or guardians and placed under the care and control of parties who should give security for the proper education and training of such child. This is no more interference with parental rights than to remove to the reform school a child whose moral training has been neglected.

One law passed by the Seventeenth General Assembly, Chap. CXIII, referring to the vote of the president in town independent districts having six directors, has been the cause of a great deal of annoyance.