The age-herald., 1898-10-23
SCHOOLS IN NEXT
 LEGISLATURE Seven Bills Will Be Presented Tor Bet ter Laws IN BEHALF OF EDUCATION Were Prepared at Instance of the State
 Association. CUNNINGHAM DISCUSSES THEM The Bills Will Offer Immediate Relief Both Financial and in the Matter ofManagement-S State Board
 ofEducation Proposed.
CUNNINGHAM DISCUSSES THEM

The Alabama Educational association at its annual meeting in 1897 appointed com mittee of thirty-three educators in the state to thoroughly discuss the educational status of the state of Alabama, and to pre- pare a bill to be presented to the general assembly of 1898-99, which will offer all the improvements possible at the present time to the public schools of the state, and to educational institutions in general.
 This committee went actively to work soon after its appointment In order to facilitate the work, it was divided into number of sub-committees, and each of them given a separate branch of educa- tiona work to consider. They held several meetings during the winter and finally formulated a report which was presented to the educational association at its meet ing in Tuscaloosa last June. few changes were made in the report as the committee presented 1t, and In It's amend ed form it will be presented to the legisla- ture The complete report was published in The Age-Herald at the time It is in the form of seven bills, each of which is to be presented to the legislature separate ly.
 Professor J. B. Cunningham, principal of the f1lBn SCHOOL anu cHuirlndi ol lhe Sofh- mittee of thirty-three which prepared the bill, talked very interestingly on the sub ject yesterday.
 "It is doubtful if the citizens of the state fully appreciate the nature and scope or the report made to the Alabama Educatfon- al association at it's last session by the committee of thirty-three," said he
 The Twenty-Five Cent fax
 odo ponaigtq of seven ~bflls. The first bill proposes to inn pose a tax of 25 cents on each $100 of tax able property-the money to be applied to schools only. This tax, with the $loO'OoO that the constitution fixes as an annual appropriation, together with the funds de- rived from other sources, will make an annual school fund of Sl,o00,000 The ad- yantages of this are, that the state would be relieved of an appropriation beyond the amount set in the constitution, the schools would have a stable source of in- come and the taxpaper would know definitely for what purpose the tax Is paid.
 County Tax for Schools
 .'The second bill allows each county the option of levying a minimum school tax or one-half mill, the maximum, combined with the other county taxes. not to exceed the constitutional limit. This could be taken advantage of by all counties having e tax rate not exceeding 4b cents on the $loo, ana 
 omize in other departments so as to benefit the schools.
 Separating School Moneys
 "The third bill would separate the school moneys from all other moneys of the state, and is wise departure.
 Organization of County Schools
 '"The fourth bill would leave the munich pal and special school districts unchanged, but would vitally affect the organization of the county schools. It provides that all the county schools shall be one system, un- der the control and direction of the county superintendent, who shall be aided by the township trustees. This means uniform school regulations for the entire county. Under such law county schools may be- come just as efficient and as thoroughly organized as are the city schools.
 County Superintendent to Be Appointed
 "The fifth bill would make the office of county superintendent appontive not cleo tive This change Is recommended because under the state constitution qualifca- tions can be set for an elective officer. An inefficient superintendent under the opera tion of bill four would be worse than no superintendent
 State Board of Education
 "Bis six and seven would provide county