The aegis & intelligencer. [volume] (Bel Air, Md.) 1864-1923, 1894-05-25

MEETING OF THE SCHOOL COMMISSIONERS
The School Commissioners were in session
last Monday.
Mr.. ID. G. Wharton Smith appeared before
the board with numerously signed petition
to change the hours for holding the sessions
of Darlington school, 1876 After careful
consideration the board declined to grant the
request.
| The old list of trustees was adopted for the
ensuing year, with the following changes
| Perryman, ) Nathan Swift, Clinton c.
Cronin and James w. Malcolm
| Boothby Hill, 42-John p Mitchell and
VIM E. Nichols, vice w. B. Baker and John
II. Cole, resigned
Mechanicsville, 7-3-Joseph T. Hopes, vice
| Darlington Hopes, resigned.
VanBibber, Hillary A. Wroth, vice w.
G. Ford, resigned
Sara Furnace, 224-B. F. Daughton, vice
James NJ. Scarf, left neighborhood.
| Union Cross Roads, 12-5-Dr. j. j. HeaIy,
vice Fred. Scarborough, left neighborhood.
The board adopted the following memorial
to the County Commissioners with reference
to their needs for running the schools during
Utlc COL0lilS year, anu went Ill Il DOuy
the County Commissioners where they ex-
planned it:
Office Board School Com. Hartford Co.
Bel Air, Md, May 81, 1894.
| To the County Com. Of Hartford County:
GENTLEMEN: Article IL, section g of the By
Laws of the Public School Law directs that
| this board shall on each May submit an esti-
| mate to your board of the money needed to
run the public schools of the county during
the coming year, for repairing the school
houses and for building new ones.
mitted, the board desires to say that it has been
their custom in the past, and always will be in
the future, to lay before the County Commits
sonerS as far as possible, all data which will
help them to make an intelligent levy for the
schools, such as they may fairly expect the
public to endorse.
There are interesting facts in connection with
this subject which we would be glad for you to
consider.
1st. During the ten years between the census
of 1850 and that of 1890, the population of
this county increased less than three per cent,
while the enrolment in the schools increased
fourteen per cent. and has been increasing
steadily ever since, up to this year, when the
increase in average attendance has been al
most phenomenal.
ID Unlike most counties of the State, Har-
ford has within her borders almost no schools
other than public schools. 1t can easily be
demonstrated that there are not fifty pupils in
the county paying tuition for their education,
thus when your board levieS for the support of
the public schools it provides for the education
of all the children of the county who are seek
Sd. While the shifting of the school popua-
ton will necessarily bring ups and downs in
the attendance at certain schools from year to
year, this board has steadily striven to keep
down the number of small schools, which are
always more expensive and less effective than
fairly large ores. There are no schools in the
county which can be classed as small ones, ex-
cept in the lower part of the Second district,
where they must be kept open owing to the
conformation of the country there, or the chill
dren will be deprived of educational facilities.
It may be well to state here, that while Har-
ford had four schools last year which averaged
less than leleven pupils for some one term,
Cecil had nine.
4th. While the fruits of the schools the
youth of our land) are better evidence of what
they doing than any word or ours, the
board does not seek but still less does it shun
an investigation for the purpose OF comparison
with other counties; out stands prepared TO
prove that in efficiency of grading, thorough
ness of work, intelligence and high standing OF
its corps of teachers (16 out of the 1O2 being
strictly PROFESSIONAL and hearty popular sup
port, the schools of our county are second to
none in the State. The best surface indication
of this is given when our people in convention
assembled speak their approval of them and
pledge their hearty support.
5th. 1t is the desire of the School Board to
lay before you, for your most careful scrutiny,
their system of accounts, and to receive from
you any suggestions you can give which will
lead to wiser and more economical expend-
ture of the monies placed annually i'll their
hands for disbursement. We will call your at
tention in this connection to the fact that the
average cost per pupil for the whole State last
year for ten months was S13.lO, i'll Cecil coun-
ty it was SI2.20, in Baltimore county it was
S14.44, while in Hartford county it was S11-04.
9Th. AS before limited, the average attend
ance (and on it alone are salaries paid during
the present year has been unprecedented.
During the three terms ending April Is last
it amounted to SIG pupils above the preced-
ing year, which was itself above the average
one. At SO per pupil. the cost to us per term,
this amounts to S2,44S.
In addition to this it has been necessary to
employ four assistant teachers not required
before. mt a cost of S354.47. Add to these
items 81 ,403.32 paid for new buildings above
what was levied for the purpose, and we
have an increase in these two amounts alone
of 81 ,205.19 over last year. All the other
accounts combined show an increase of only
S205.O4 over the same period last year.
1t can then be easily seen that with no bal
ance over from last year (really debt of
$1,000 to start the present one, with Il failure
on the part of the County Commissioners last
year to levy by one cent what we showed
would be necessary, with the increased eX-
penses caused by an unlocked for increase in
attendance, and with inst twice as much put
into necessary outbuildings rs was levied for
the purpose, the board now finds itself unable
to run the schools for ten full months as it has
for the past ten years,
Trusting that your board will verify the fol-
lowing estimate and, if found correct, provide
for the amount set forth we beg leave to show: