The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1901-05-15
NEED To Be ENLARGED
Districts Too Small for Sue
cess of Country Schools.
SAYS SUPT. WILL SENCE
By Larger Districts Schools
Could be Graded.

The county superintendent is able to
furnish some very valuable information
in regard to the public schools of this
city and county. The new county super
intendent, William Sence, has some very
decided opinions in regard to schools.
He says the hindrance to the success
Of the country schools IS the small dis
tricts and with this view the retiring
Superintendent J. V. Colville agrees.
These two men sat in the superlnten-
dent Office yesterday discussing schools,
and from their conversation a reporter
for the Eagle got some interesting facts
about the schools Of this county.
There are les school districts in the
county. District No. l is the city of
Wichita, and it, of course, contains the
most children Of school age, which last
year numbered 1871. am the entire num-
Der outside the city in the county were
s.555. There are ninety teachers en-
ployed in the city and one hundred and
ninety in the county outside of the city.
It may seem little singular bat the rec
ords show that the ninety teachers in
this city were paid more money for sal
aries last year than was given TO the
one hundred and ninety in the country,
and yet the city schools make the best
showing when the total expense is foot
ed up.
In comparing the city schools with
those in the country it must be borne
IN mind that 1871 children in this city
have school nine months in the year,
while the 6,555 in the county only average
about seven months in the year. The
city Of Wichita paid for her public schools
last year the magnificent sum total Of
s6S. OS5S1, while the entire expense OF the
schools in the county outside the city
only cost the people s65. O26.5S. District
paid more for schools than was
paid by the 1s4 districts. 1t should not,
however, be forgotten that District No.
l has two months more of school in the
year and that of it's total expense
S7s6.6s went to the public library and
that fuel and other incidental expenses
made up SIC. 1885 Of the whole cost Of
the city schools.
The Wichita schools are all graded
and then it has the High school. Mr..
Colville and Mr.. Sence both said that
the results in the country schools while
they were as good as they could be IN
der present conditions would not begin
to compare with the city schools. 1t was
all because the districts were too small.
The superintendent said he would like
to have the power to wipe the boundary
lines of every school district IN the
r. -. ~ T,ar
districts.
Mr.. Sence said it would be better to
have one school in a township and pro-
vide conveyance to and from the school
for those on the outside of the town
ship than TO have them as they are. He
turned to his records and said: Here
is District 80, in Rockford township, that
has only twelve children, Of school age.
and that Includes married women under
twenty-one years of age. There are only
about twelve children attending school.
District Nc. 20, in the same township,
has fifteen of school age, and about ten
enrolled in the school. District No. 146
had Just one dozen children Of school
age and ten attending school. I am
speaking of last year. district No. 10, in
Attica township, last year had fifteen
children of school age and ten attending
school. District 100. which is in Waco
township, had seventeen children OF
school age and ten attending school last
year. District 12e. in Eagle township
has only an even dozen children Of school
age. and District 156. in Ohio township
only has sixteen children. Now what
kind Of a school can you expect TO have
in such districts? One Of the largest
districts in the county is 27, which IS
known as the / o. L. W, it is just
southeast of the city and has 106 children
Of school age, but only about fifty at
tended school last year. I presume some
Of them came 10 the city schools and
others attended Mount St Mary school
District 1876, in Waco township, has &
children Of school age and hfty-nine OF
them attended school last year. 1 do not
think it possible TO maintain a good
school IN these very small districts and
there are too many of them in the
county. By having larger districts tbs
schools could De graded and they would
be worth good deal more TO the child
rem than these small districts