The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1909-08-29
PUBLIC SCHOOL SYSTEM
OF GREATER BIRMINGHAM
BY WAITE r HARPER.

/ been recently erected in most all of the
towns affected. Adequate and efficient
| corps of teachers are maintained and the
Birmingham methods have been adopted
to such an extent that the matter of in
cooperating the greater system under one
management will be comparatively sim
pie.
1t Is more than probable that the
schools of the Greater City will be con-
solidated under the one system at the
beginning of the next term, so as to
avoid the complication of reorganization
in the middle of the term.
Population $4,000.
The actual school population of Great
err Birmingham as shown by the census
of July, 1908, is 1886. This does not in
olude a few small sections of rural school
districts that are included in Greater
Birmingham and that were not counted
in the census of last year. This will
increase the school population probably a
few hundred.
DR.. Phillips estimates that the school
population of the Greater City will reach
$4,000 by next spring.
Taking this as basis DR.. Phillips fig
, ures that Greater Birmingham has a to-
tai population of 144,000.
Discussing the Greater Birmingham
school system yesterday DR.. Phillips
said
/, THE organization of the educational
| department of the greater city will prob
| ably prove less difficult than that of
| some of the other departments Most of
| the towns coming in next January have
| excellent men in charge ~of their schools.
In many cases their systems are well or
ganized, and are following closely this
| courses of study and methods used In
the Birmingham schools.
Many of the superintendent, in antici-
patton of the passage of the law, have
been working faithfully to bring their
schools to the Birmingham standard,
and have succeeded In doing so. Many
of them have used the same courses, the
same examination and the same methods.
| In these cases the change will be very
simple. Many of the towns have excel
lent buildings, and splendid equipment
| for their elementary schools. The high
| school problem confronting the greater
| city may prove more serious, as the Biz
mingham High school Is already made
| quate to the demands of the present city.
1.-THE location of additional high schools
| will be one of the first problems to be
| met by the greater city. OF course there
| will be other problems to solve, many
| new elementary schools will have to be
| built for those sections that have no
| school accommodations, principals and
| spirit and method and the interests of all
| will have to be harmonized in the re-
| organization.
Prospects Bright.
| THE prospects for a successful school
| year for the city were never brighter. In
many instances members of boards of
! education and the superintendent of adj
| joining towns have expressed the desire
! that their school should begin the session
| in September as an integral part of the
! Birmingham school system, so that the
| annual records of the schools should be
continuous and unbroken. l have been
exceedingly gratified by the kindly ex-
pressions of good will on the part of the
| school authorities of the suburban cities,
| and feel assured that they will use every
| effort to make this readjustment of school
relations pleasant and frictionless.
1.-THE school enumeration of the several
districts that will compose the greater
| city, as taken over one year ago, Is the
safest basis upon which to form an esti-
mate of the population The figures Of
| the school census found in the office Of
| the County Board Of Education show the
| total school population of these districts
| in July, 1905 to have been approximately
5000 To be exact the number OF chill
dren of educable age were as follows:
| 'In BIRMINGHAM: White, $3.50; colored
| oLzO, lotdl, lo,llO
I'm districts outside of city: White, H.
| 270; colored, 8251 total, 1851.
whole number of educable youth in
greater city July, 1908, 1885.
May Reach $4,000.
| Assuming that the increase during the
| wear will bring this number up to 5000,
| it is safe to multiply this number by
| four to obtain the total population The
| ratio varies from to /, to . to l, accord
| ing to condition. In old, settled COM
! munities. where the school age Is to II,
the ratio is usually fraction more than
| to l. In newer communities, where
| there are q great many transient wage
| earners without their families, the ratio
| is often to /.
| "This condition practically prevails in
| parts of the Greater Birmingham, and
| besides our school age Is to Fl, instead
| of to 81. We are entirely safe, there-
| fore. It seems to me, in placing the ratio
| at 4 to 1, and estimating an actual popu-
| lation at present. of $4,000
1.-THE number of teachers employed III
| birmingham proper during the past year
| was IA. 1S9 white and S. colored. In the
| other districts of Greater Birmingham the
| number was 1914, white 1853, colored 81.
| The total number of teachers In the
| Greater city last year was 49, 1t Is esti-
| mated that the number of teachers next
| year will exceed 5O0
.srhe total school revenues available
| from the state and county funds for the
| greater city are estimated at S175,000 The
| total cost of maintaining the school VIII
| probably roach the sum of $3,0O0,0OO.
1T have not the data before me to form
! any estimate of the total value OF the
.otool property of the greater city,.