The Montgomery advertiser., 1908-08-20
RURAL SCHOOLS
 ARE ACTIVE Summary of Work For Sixteen Months. SUM cF sz7O,oOO IS SPENT Of This Amount State Gave $56,- O75.4o Fertilizer Taxes. q. the Credit of Counties There stands in Treasury sai'soo4e AvaiIabIe when Conditions
 Are Met.

rh.4 not less than s22o,0oo has been .nsrt ,n the past sixteen months TOT the purpose of repairing and erecting rurai school houses was learned yes terday from the Department or Eouca- tion by e summary of igures on ne. Of this amount the state itseii contributed $5S.075.40.
 The States aid was authorized py an act of the last regular Legislature which went Into effect March 2, lsVI. finder the terms of this law every county is equally entitled to $1,0OO an- nuaily for building and repairing ru- raj school houses. There are conol- lions to be met. Local subscrlpuohs must be raised in the school districts, ana not more than $200 can be set aside for a single district during any one year. S,.
 Yesterday's summary. compiled by Chief Clerk w F. Feagin, of the De- partment, shows that there has been in the majority of the counties notable county school enterprise. Slnce the law went into effect zzV new achooI houses have been erected and 1as new school houses have been re-
 During the past year six counties have drawn their full quota from the State Treasury. while several other counties have drawn handsomely from
  counties in the State that have drawn nothing from the Treasury of the State are Clark, Lee and Mobile.
 The Treasury balance in favor or sixty-one counties in various amounts was found yesterday to be S4l,e0O 4s' The money may accumulate to the credit of the counties from year 70 year, being always available when the county or counties see fit to comply with the conditions of the State.
 The following history of the law ana its operations is given out for the in- formation of the public;
 Workings of the Law.
 The law governing the appropria- kion for rural school houses went into erect on March 2, 1907 Under this act e1 900 Is appropriated annually to each of the sixty-seven counties of the State for the purpose of erecting and repairing school houses. This fund is derived from what is common ly known as the tag tax or the reg uiar tax on fertilizers.
 Tn order to secure aid from the State the trustees of the district must raise in bona flde donations and sub scriptions not less than $f00. The State can not allow more than $200 to a district during any one year and can not give more than the amount raised by the local authorities for erecI1nE or TtpAlTthB n sSAAOoA hOA1S. All plans and specifications must be approved by the State Superintendent.
 The applications for aid in repairing and erecting school house must be made by the trustees to the county board of education. This application properly approved by the county board. together with e deed properly record ed to not less than two acres of land. must be sent to the Department Of Education. ff
 The annual appropriations under the rural school house act are available on October 1st of each year. As the law did not go into effect until March 2, 1907 and the year ended Sep- Eember S0th of that year. and on &C., count of other laws at that time re- uuiring certain appropriations to be taken from the tag tax fund, only S32,71A.16 was available. For the be- ginning October 1, 1907 and ending September 30, 1908. $67,00 was avail able and e1,o00 was appropriated to each county.
 During the past year six counties have drawn from the State Treasury All of the funds placed to their credit for the purpose of repairing and erect ing school houses, and these are Geneva Jackson, Lauderdale, Marion, Pike and Randolph. Several other counties have nearly exhausted the funds appropriated to them. but there remains a balance of $41, 1850. 49 still to the credit of sixty-one counties in the State, which fund may be used by these counties immediately or between now and October 1st next, provided