Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1907-06-03
State University Department OF
Education Complies Inter-
esting Figures
|cREsToN LEVY is THE HIGHEST
Fort Dodge Pays Highest Average Sal
aries - Different Methods Of Fig.
urins Valuations Sometimes Cause
Differences to Appear When None
Exists.
Special to rimes-Republican.

lGf education Of the University OF Iowa
Has been engaged in collecting data
leoncerning the cost Of education In
various states, particularly In Iowa,
and a curious fuctuation is shown.
Data has been collected from practi-
cally all the cities of any size in the
state, and 1t shows an immense varia-
ton In the millage levy and in the SAL
aries Of teachers, the two items IN,
many places apparently bearing nc, re-
lationito each other. Different bases Of
fixing the taxable valuation of prop
erty is probably responsible for some
Of the apparent discrepancies.
The department has not yet en-
deavored to determine the cause OF the
difference in the cost Of education, and
1t is only partly explained by the vary
ing amounts OF building bonds OUT
standing against the different cities.
Fort Dodge pays the highest salaries
to Its teachers of any city In Iowa, yet
| the assessment for school purposes is
only 1872 mills, Dubuque has the
smallest assessment, Is mills, but the
| assessment Is levied against property
| whose valuation Is three times as great
as In Fort Dodge, and the amount spent
for teachers is only twice Ss great.
Only two other cities have as small
levy as Fort Dodge, while the balance
OF the state varies from Is mills to 43.1
mills In the case OF Creston. There Isl
q large difference In the levy in East
and West Des Moines 1873 mills In the
former place, compared to 225 mills
In the latter. The taxable valuation OF
West Des Moines property, on which
the levy Of 22.5 mills is assessed. is
i've times as great as that of East Des
Molnes. due, presumably, to difference
IN population, location of banks and
other heavily assessed institutions. The
total amount Of funds available for
school purposes in West Des Moines is
about three and half times as great
as In East Des Moines, while the cost
of teachers is a little over twice as
great The contingent fund expendi-
lures are in the ratio Of three to one,
and West Des Moines has much
larger building fund, partially account
ing for the extra expenditures.
Creston, which has the highest levy
of any place In the state, has taxable
valuation OF less than $4,000. consid-
,erably less than such place as Mt.
Pleasant, with hardly more than one
third the population of Creston.
Such circumstances tend to equalize
the cost of our schools, but there are
many differences which can not be ex-,
planned except by differences in man
agement. s
A large amount Of statistical MATER
ial has been collected and compiled by
Mr. p. e. McClenahan Of the Cedar
Falls Globe, who was formerly super
intendent OF schools at Winterset and
pursued graduate work In the depart
ment Of education in Iowa university
last year. The department hopes soon
to make am investigation into the
causes of the great variation brought
to light by the research already at
tempted
The following data, collected from
city superintendent thruout the state,
shows the taxable valuation Of various
cities, the levy for school purposes
and the amount spent for teachers dur
ing the year ending Dec. 81, 1906:
Taxable Mills ,Teachera,