Sacramento daily record-union. [volume] (Sacramento [Calif.]) 1875-1891, 1886-08-27
Latest from the Front.
State Textbooks.


Hon. w. 7. Welcker, Superintendent of
Public Instruction, has prepared a circular,
of which the following is a copy, for the
guidance of Boards of Supervisorsin pro-
viding revolving fund " for the purchase
of textbooks
Under An Act to provide for compiling,
illustrating electrotyping, printing, binding,
copyrghting and distributing State series
of school textbooks, and appropriating
money therefor" approved February &c
1885, the State Board OF Education has
caused to be compiled series of three
Readers, one Speller and one Arithmetic.
now, therefore, call your attention to
Section of the Act referred TO, which pre-
scribes tive duties of the Boards Of Super
visors, AM which reads as follows:
Section :. It shall be the duty of the Boards
of Supervisors of the counties, or cities and
counties, in this State, to provide revolving
fund, for the purpose of enabling the County
Supcrintendents to purchase the State text
books; all moneys to be taken therefiom to be
replaced by the moneys received from the teach
ers OF the common schools in the several coun-
ties for the books furnished by them to the
scholars.
The present years levy for this purpose
should provide fund sufficient for the
purchase of the books named above,
namely Three Readers, one Speller, and
one Arithmetic. Of this list the Speller
and Third Reader are manufactured, the
First Reader nearly through the press. and
the Second Reader and the Arithmetic so
far advanced as to warrant the conclusion
that they will be ready for distribution as
soon as the funds for their Purchase can be
made available under Section quoted
above. In estimating the amount which
1 id ~ sod to g.,
with the County Superintendent ofSchools,
who are hereby requested to render such
assistance as their knowledge Of the wants
of the schools of the county may enable
them to do. | further call your attention
and that of the County Superintendent TO
Section 5 of the Act under consideration,
which reads as follows:
Section D. Whenever any one or more of the
State series of school textbooks shall have been
compiled and adopted. the State Board of Edu-
cation shall issue an order requiring the uniform
use of said book or books in the common schools
OF the State but said order for the uniform use
of said book or books shall not take effect till
the expiration OF at least one year from the time
of the completion of the electrotype plates of
said book or books. Nothing in this Act shall
be construed TO prevent any county or school
district from adopting any one or more of the
State series of school textbooks whenever said
book or books shall have been published
am not able now to give the cost prices
of the several books. The State Board of
Education have not as yet the data to fix
the same But for the purpose of creating
the revolving fund, it will probably be
safe to estimate the speller (which replaces
the common speller and word analysis) at
three-fourths the price of the speller in use
the arithmetic at one-half the cost of Gram
mar school arithmetics and the series of
three readers at one-third the cost of the
series in use.