The San Francisco call., 1905-01-04
NEARLY ONE-HALF
OF STATES INCOME
GOES TO SCHOOLS

Looking toward this end, California
has been very liberal toward educa-
ton. Last year she spent from the
State fund So. 715, 706 on the primary
and grammar schools. To the high
schools she contributed s232,3S6 To
the five normal schools she gave $685.
1893. The institution for the deaf, dumb
and blind received S6S,52S of State
money. And to the university was
given $621,363 Even the Farmers In
stitutes received $4,000 to educate their
members. So that it will be seen that,
first and last, the State paid out of it's
treasury, last year, the very respect
able sum of $4,930,781 for education.
And when it is remembered that the
average yearly income of the State
from all sources is about 10000 600, it
VIII be seen that nearly one-half there
OF was spent last year for education.
The law provides that there shall
De raised by taxation 81 for every
child of school age. Last year this re-
CURED a tax levy of 17.S cents per 500
or assessed valuation throughout the
State. On account of this law the
State tax must be increased by $780,
799 this year over what it was last
year, because there were 17,257 more
children of school age last year than
there were the year before. This will
compel an increase of about one cent
in the tax levy automatically fixed by
law; providing the assessed valuation
of State property shows no great in
crease. The university also receives,
under the law, 2 cents on every S10u
OF assessed valuation: and the high
SCHOOLS receive 1h cents on the S10O
making in all 1913 cents on the s100 re-
quired for education out of a. total
State tax rate averaging something
over 60 cents on the 500.
1t requires nearly 5000 teachers to
carry on the primary and grammar
schools or the State. And it is only with
great difficulty that Boards of Educa-
tlon and School Trustees are able to
nnd enough teachers to supply their
wants. There appear to be at least two
reasons for this dearth of available
teachers. In the first place, we REQUIRE
more preparation from teachers than
we did few years ago. This is a good
thing, because, like doctors and law
yers our school teachers should be well
educated in their profession The other
reason for the dearth of teachers is
tnat the pay offered them is not suff1-
clent to induce very many persons to
devote their lives to teaching. We can
not expect that men and women will
spend years of time and large sums of
money to prepare themselves for a pro-
fession in which it is possible for them
TO receive only meager salaries without
the possibility of increased pay, as ex-
per1ence and devotion in other walks of
life provide. Therefore our young men
especially do not become teachers and
our young women in too many in
stances look upon teaching as an expe-
dent which will enable them to live
until something more alluring calls
them from the schoolroom.
dn line with this there is a wide
spread discussion among the teachers
ana those who are non- professionally
interested in education looking toward
an increase in teachers salaries. To do
this 1t is proposed by some to raise
the State school census per capita from
~ to 81. AS there were last year, as be-
fore stated, 407, 1893 census children in
the State, this raise of So per child
would call for an increase in the State
taxes of $S14,796 per annum for the
next two years Qnvolving an increase
of about cents in the annual tax levy)
"a sum altogether too great to raise
by State taxation under present condi-
tions, and the demand for which would
not be so pressing IL the State school
fund were distributed in such a man
ner as to do the greatest possible good.
This brings me to another matter
Connected with the salaries Of our
Scnool leacners TO which, during the
past year, I have given considerable
attention. And that is the manner in
which. under our present law, the State
money Is distributed to the teachers
I find. for instance, that last year the
teachers of Alpine County each re-
ceived $249 of the States money, and
that the teachers Of San Francisco each
received $7S3 from the State treasury;
while, between these two limits, the
States money was distributed in
varying amounts to the teachers in