The Manitowoc pilot. [volume] (Manitowoc, Wis.) 1859-1932, 1902-07-10
Supt. Harvey is Anxious to
Bring it to Pass.
MANITOW0C FAS AGlTATED FOR
The Method Which the Superintendent
Suggests
THERE IS SOME VERY WISE cONSEL
Contained the Foregoing Article Which
VitalIy Concerns all the School
Districts.

An agitation has been under way Tor
some time in Manitowoc county to
combine the smaller school districts.
In circular issued by Snpt. Harvey he
says on this question;
while improved conditions exist as
to text books, apparatus, and to some
extent in the school buildings, yet on
the whole, the rural school ranks very
much lower, in comparison with other
educational institutions, than it did
thirty years ago Our state in 1901 had
school population of 73l,O63 persons,
of which number 216,S33 were enrolled
in the rural, village and small city
school having no city supervision.
The average daily attendance was l79,
9i3, making the per cent OF attendance
56,7 per cent. This per cent of attend
ance is very low indeed. For the rural
schools of the state the percentage is
materially lower. For the maintain
ance of these schools during the year
1902. So, ,669, 0SS. u was expanded. The
teaching force equipment, apparatus,
and school building were ample to ac-
cord school facilities to the entire en-
rollment of 316, ,S53 pupils every day of
the school year. However the average
attendance was only 179, 9l3. The cap
ital invested was. therefore, not utilized
to its full extent. In fact only 56.7 per
cent of the capital was thus fully util-
ized, because of the lack of regularity
in attendance. This makes loss of
81 1,5SS, 715 Al. or 43. 3 per cent of the cap
ital invested. This large amount was
lost to the cause of education in one
year through irregularity in attendance
This means that the state paid out for
teachers wages, fuel and supplies more
than one and onehalf million dollars
to provide school facilities for pupils
not in school. The loss is sustained
mostly by rural communities because
the irregularity of attendance is greater
there than in villages and cities. This
amount is four times as much as would
be required to furnish all pupils in the
public schools with free text books and
free supplies and it is far more than is
needed for providing for the free trans
portation of the children of the rural
schools to central graded schools.
Consolidation of graded districts and
transportation of pupils is one of the
most important movements in recent
years for bettering the school facilities
of rural communities. Consolidation of
districts always results in better or
ganization of schools, in stronger teach
ing force, and in taking pupils out of
the isolation found in many small
schools. Experience in more than
twenty states Wisconsin included, has
shown that consolidation may be
effected and pupils transported with
out material increase of the expenses
for school purposes in the territory COW
cred. This experience is strongly in
favor of consolidation. The state sup
erintendent will be pleased to give ad-
dirional information on any phase of
this question to interested parties, and
to cooperate with any community that
may desire to adopt this plan, FOR the
promotion of its educational interests.