The Birmingham age-herald., 1910-07-24
WANT CLOSER STUDY
 OF SCHOOL MATTERS
Favorable Light Would Be
 Cast on Situation
PROGRESS IS STEADY
General Education Fund for the Last Fiscal Year Showed an Increase of S1,0OO,OO0-New High
 School System
BY HERvEY W. LAIRD

BY HERvEY w. LAIRD
 Montgomery, July 2s.-(special.)-Fol
 lowing more or less publicity about tn, educational and school advancement O
 the state for the past few years, some Q
 which has not been of nature to arous,
 pride, men who have had to do with thi, department of the public service are ask
 Ing that closer study than some hay,
 made Of the question be made. They be lieve that if this is done much nor, | favorable light will be cast upon the sit uation.
 From records in the office of the stat, superintendent in the capitol 1t Is found taking four-year periods to go by, itha each quadriennial term has shown mucf advance over its predecessor, and tha for the time between 1906 and 1910, there has been marked progress in every de partment. The per capita has grown, tn, public fund has increased in great meas ure, the special taxes have added new funds, and the poll taxes have made better showing. Other than in the mat ter of income there has been great good especially In the establishment of a higf school system and the plan by which tn, state can render aid to the country dis tricts in erecting new school houses.
 Some Notes of Progress
 The ehrollment of children of schoo age in 1so4-5 was 357ss3; 1so5-s, S7s, Al; fl 1907-S( 3S6, 478; in 19OS-9, 405, ,226, showing gradual increase every year. In like man ner the four years is an increase over tn, previous four years, thus keeping up tn, policy of improvement. The figures fo 190s-10 have not been made up.
 In this 1t may be seen that in 19O4-5, fo every hundred children of school age il Alabama, 52 were in school some time il the year. For 19O5-6, 55; for 19OS-9 perioc the ratio had risen to 50. The averag, attendance on the public schools of tn, state for the years 19o5-6 was 246,541, ant for 190S-9, 264, AS.
 1 Appropriations for the maintenance O institutions of higher education were, il 19o5-6 $241, ,S32. 50, while in 1909-1O they hat grown to s421, ,6425O, the increase bens s179 61O.
 For general education, there was 1T 1905-6 $1,02O 107.S1; poll taxes, s117 6SS. 95 | HPSSioi Scdhty toA, |lciBSJu.-J iiiohili6 total of $1, 325, 79305. In this period there were 679,O70 children of school age, ant the apportioned general fund per capita was $15o. If the poll tax and specia county tax be regarded as state funds the actual per capita would have beer s1.96 (estimated).
 Million Increase l Eor tha fiaca1 vaar andad Cepta,,har 2 last, the general education fund was $1 7ss,26e2 26 poll tax, s254, ,713.34 special taxe' in counties, 492,1S999; total $253O, AT. .01 This increase of over a million dollars il accounted for in an excessive payment o | poll taxes, greater values of property ano the special appropriation of $350,000 Fol this year. with 6Ss,374 children of schoo 1 age reported in the census, the per capits has grown to $261
 | Discussing this situation, w. F. Feagin chief clerk to the state superintendent | says: "The county fund and specia | county tax are not used in making III l this per capita appropriation, and the ap- | portionment is based altogether on the | general educational fund for 19O9-10, which amounted to S1, ,793, ,26626 Presuming as was done for 1905-6 that the poll tax and | special county funds were state funds, the per capita apportionment for 1909-10 was S3.6S."
 Greater Per Capita | With the supplemental funds which are given by practically every city and | town, and in many of the rural sec tions, MT Feagn estimates that this per capita will run to $426. He also notes that only since the passage of the census bill by the legislature of 1907 has 1t been possible to secure anything like an ac- curate enumeration. Prior to that time nearly every city and town had a way of its own, and the children were num- bered in most any way and at irregular intervals, making padding possible and error common. AS an example. under the new law, nearly 5000 were knocked off, it being shown that there were that many less children than the original rolls indi- cated
 The four years prior to 1905-6 were lnon-building years so far as the higher institutions go, while for the current quadrennial almost s1,0O0,00O have been practically spent In this way, to be exact, s9S2 00O This does not include what was provided by local people, but is the legis- lative appropriation, going to institu- tions at University. Auburn, Montevallo Mobile. East Lake, Talladega, Wetumpka and Athens.
 New High Schools | Educators believe that the establish ment of a new high school system Is ont | of the most important onward steps made | in many years. giving, as 1t does, com plete and we'll articulated school plar l from the primary to the university grad uation. Thirty-threo of these are now 1T operation, the buildings and lands being donated The estimated cost of these buildings is s495, ,0O0 The structures ant at least five acres of ground for eacf one are deeded In fee simple to the state.
 | To these may be added the values oi many fine school buildings in all parts of the state, erected by cities and towns of which there are no reports. | Under a rural school house law passed | in March, 1907, there have been erected 557 school houses outside of incorporated | towns and cities, and 311 of this class re- paired In order to get money from tht state for this purpose. 1t Is necessary tt raise locally an amount equal to that given by the state, the maximum which the state may give being $2co. Not a cent of this can be used in incorporated | city or town. To this cause since March; 19O7 the state has given $143.- 599. AS. which shows the expenditure ot s45O 900 ,(estimated) in erecting and re- pairing these S6S school houses in the needy rural sections.
 l This data is prepared by w. F. Feagin | chief clerk, as aforesaid, and it is tho desire of the department that it be widely circulated. the belief being that