The Forrest City times., 1903-10-16
MSMAuSCHO(QS
State Superintendent Hine m n Makes Strong Plea For
 Consolidation.
snAtlATTERDAMCe MEANS POOR TEACHERS
What Some of the Other Southern States Have Accomplished By Wise legisIation-Questions That Should Be Wisely Considered.

The state department Of pubic in- struction is asking the people to cease the multiplication of school dis tricts and is urging the consolidation of the small districts which are now sapping the life blood out of the school system. It is much better for child to go two or three miles to good school than to have a poor one only few yards away. The attempt to put school at every mans door has resulted in a large number of poor, weak schools, many of them taught by young persons who are not fitted by age, experience, scholastic attachments or otherwise for the deli young. The reports for the last schol astic year show that there are over five hundred districts in the state, with an attendance of less than fifteen children. and quite number of them have less than five pupils in daily at- tendance. When we consider that the expenditure for teachers salaries in the public schools of Arkansas was less than $3.50 per pupil for the en- tire scholastic year ending June 30. we can readily see the condition in these small, weak districts. Many of the states have passed wholesome and remedial legislation on this sub- tect within the last two years. Sev- eral states, including Florida and North Carolina, have passed laws per mitting the employing of teams to transport the children who live too far away, thereby enabling the people to organize and equip good, strong schools with full graded course and to employ several teachers of first class ability. Governor McMilan of Tennessee, in his last message to the legislature of that state, expressed himself on this subject as follows:
 ''I am persuaded that one of the ills affecting our public schools is dlvid- ing the counties into too many small school districts. Dividing the dis tricts and thereby diminishing the fund to each school may quadruple in efficiency. By wisdom and sacrifice we may bring education to every youth in the state; but we cannot car ry on a successful school within a stones throw of every house. An ef- fort to do so will decrease efficiency and increase ignorance. We should resist the unnecessary division of school districts as we would the pes graded and maintained and a greater number of days taught annually than in small districts. It were better for the student to go a little further to a good school than attend one at his front door that is worthless and in- different. You should not hesitate to correct, by appropriate legislation the destructive chopping up of school dis tricts.'
 Florida has recently passed a law authorizing school boards to consoli- date their schools and provide for transportation of pupils who live too far away for them to walk to school.
 Tn Georgia much has been done to- ward consolidation. Superintendent Smith of Greene county says "Napop fromac and horraS uora D,,r chased by the county. and a con. tract was made for the transporta- tion of the children to school at five cents per head per day. Previous to consolidation the cost of maintain ing the schools was IT 1-2 cents per ing that of carrying the children. is F 12 cents per day"
 Superintendent Rogers of Washing ton county abolished two little schools with great success, transporting the children to a stronger one. He says:
 ''The school four years ago had twenty pupils and paid the teacher a salary of $30 a month; today it has 100 pupils with one teacher at $90 a month, a second at s70 and a third at $30. the school being carefully graded Twenty-six of these pupils are transported at a cost of s per term for each pupil. By the use of wagons children were reached who lived near the swamps and rivers, and who would not otherwise have been able to attend school"
 In North Carolina active steps have been taken toward consolidation, as shown by the following from a spe- cial bulletin issued by State Superin- tendent Joyner:
 Where the number of districts has been reduced from 65 to 49. still