Audubon Republican. [volume] (Audubon, Iowa) 1894-1925, 1907-11-07
DES MONIES LETTER
Items Of Interest From Our Correspondent
at the State Capital.
~
D go &
Teaching Force Is Adequate.

Teaching Force Is Adequate.
Des Moines.-Oficial reports from
fiinety-four county superintendent
to State Superintendent Riggs
show that 421 schools In
those counties were closed
on Oct. /, 1907, for want of teachers,
while 1873 were closed for like rea.
son one year ago when county super.
intendents had full licensing power.
The inference as well as the report
OF the county superintendent Is that
the new state certification law is not
responsible for the shortage of teach
ers. For in addition to the fact
that only about twice as many schools
are closed aldSthe number of teach
ers wanted is very small, com,
paratively, 1t is also known that the
county superintendent know OF 412
unemployed teachers, 1T OF whom
will accept schools at fair salaries
and where suitable boarding accom-
modations can be provided. This
would supply all the schools which
now need teachers.
Superintendent Riggs says in his
review of the reports of the superin-
tendents in counties on the subject
of shortage of teachers:
"The county superintendent, who
are better able than any other class
to state the reasons for the prevalent
shortage in teachers, uo not ascrlDe
the shortage in any important sense
to the new certificate law. Seven
county superintendent express the
opinion that the false and misleading
reports that have been widely cir
culated concerning the examination
and the granting of certificates have
had the effect to brighten some com
petent persons away from the ex-
aminations, and in this way their
services have been lost to the schools.
But all recognize that the difficulty of
securing teachers has been growing
more and more acute for the past five
years. After every effort to secure
teachers year ago, when the licens-
ing power was in the hands of the
superintendent, there were 1Sj
schools untitled for lack of teachers. y
1t was in response to a series OF
questions sent out to county superin.
tendents on the effect of year I'M
der the state certification law that
this specific information was received
by State Superintendent Riggs and
has been compiled by him, being
given out from his office in an official
circular.
Relative to the question of salaries
Of teachers, Superintendent Riggs
says:
For the past five years teachers
salaries in this state have been gra.
dually rising, but not in proportion to
the constantly increasing cost of liv,
ing. Taking the state over, the ad.
vance In salaries within the past six
months has been more general and
more marked than for any previous
year. From county superin'
tendents' reports just made ii
is shown that not less than SO per
cent of the schools CT the state are
paying teachers higher wages this
year than last, the increase ranging
from So to $40 per month, with an
average of SIS per month.
"The old custom, almost universal
in rural districts, of contracting with
teachers for term of two, three OF
four months, is giving place to a
more rational policy. Yearly con
tracts with rural teachers have been
made this year in many of the dis
tricts in at least fifty-six counties and
in nearly every instance the county
superintendent reports this number
greater than ever before"