The Birmingham age-herald., 1911-03-27
EDUCATORS WANT
 RECONSIDERATION Hope Senate Will Pass the 2 Local Tax Matter BILLS ARE PENDING Willingham Makes Statement on Mat ters Which He Considers of Vital
 Importance to Education
 in the. State

senate on next Wednesday, The resou- tion providing for constitutional amend
 ment so that counties might levy an | additional tax for the purpose of the 1 public schools in the various counties Of | the state lacked one of receiving a two thirds vote, the number required for a | constitutional amendment
 Some weeks ago a district taxation bill passed In the house with scarcely | any opposition. In this bill the district
 was made the unit and not the county. | whereas the Sherrod bill seeks to make I the county the unit.
 The educational department is very | anxious to have the resolution adopted | by the senate, as the officials of the de- I partment believe that local county tax | ation will do more for the cause of ed ucation in the state than anything else. | Superintendent Willingham is particular | ly interested in the county taxation this having been one of his most pronounced l policies.
 The superintendent of education Is also 1 interested in a number of other impor- | tant education bills on the senate cal l endar. Three of these bills seek to give l to the various counties throughout. the state a better supervision of the public l schools, and they are regarded as of paramount importance to the best edu-
 
 Resume by Willingham | Superintendent Wilingham has pre- | pared a brief resume of the three house | bills now on the senate calendar which the educational department would like | to see made law of the state. Super | intendent Wilingham's synopsis of these bills is as follows:
 Willingham's Resume "The three house bills now on the senate calendar and having for their
 purpose the securing of more and bet ter supervision of the public schools,
 were prepared by a committee appoint ed by the Alabama Educational asso- citation at it's last annual session. This committee consists of T. W McAdory of Jefferson county, Perry B. Hughes of Tuscaloosa county, ". H. Storey of
 Pickens county. w. H. Mcclellan or Limestone county, A w. Hayes of Bibb county, A. M. Spossard of Uniontown, | ]. J. Doster of the University, with l Fl. J. Willingham as chairman. The first | five named are among the most pro- gressve, most practicalgan most suc- cessful county supeyintendents in Ala bama, MT. McAdory. for example, hav- | ing served about 20 years.
 l "All the provisions of these bills
 were carefully worked out by this leg islative committee, every proposition l being simple and practical The addi- ton of one more member on the county
 board, taking the place of the county superintendent, will allow the five members of the county board to have control of the business matters relat ing to the public schools somewhat in the same manner as that which obtains with all boards of education through out every state and territory in the union.
 The county board Is authorized In these bills to select a county deposi- tary of school funds. These depositares
 are to give bond for the faithful keep ing of the funds and for the faithful discharge of the duty of paying to the teachers their monthly salaries. These depositaries make their own bonds in indemnity companies and serve with
 out any pay whatever. The privilege
 of keeping these valuable accounts will be sought after by bankers who now
 and for years past in all the counties of the state have shown a very earn est desire to secure the accounts of the several county superintendents in a large number of counties making for the county superintendent his bond in order to secure these accounts. This plan has worked with great success through years past in the counties of the state of Texas. Furthermore, this plan enables the state to have a sys- tenn which allows the pay rolls pre- pared and kept by the county super intendent to be checked and compared
 with the vouchers in this depostary of school funds, making a double check
 on all expenditures substantially In the same way as is provided at the state capitol where the books In the auditors s office check in every detail with tn e
 books in the treasurer's office "The bills provide that the county board
 may, if the board desires to do so fix the salary of the county superintendent and receive monthly reports from him showing that he is spending his entire time in the supervision of the public schools Since the county board fix the salary of the county superintendent just as all city boards fix the salary of city superintendents, no argument is needed to
 show that the county superintendent him. self ought not to be voting member of the board.
 Tt could not well be argued that these five practical, patriotic men selected by the people for the purpose of managing a system of public schools, would disre-
 gard the public interest by wasting the public money in the unnecessary pay
 ment of salaries. The county boards have fixed all salaries during years past and no one has ever charged them with fix ing the salary of teachers at figures which were excessive.
 That feature of the bills authorizing the county boards to consolidate two or more small districts into one central school and pay some one to convey in wagons some of the children who may live too far to walk to this larger school Twill be almost imperative for years to I come, because it will doubtless be long | time before horse hire in Alabama will be cheaper than the hire of school l teachers.
 These bills are conservative. even all
 lowing the county board of education m any county the privilege of accepting the
 new provisions thus provided or con
 tjnuing under the methods which now | obtain if they do not see fit to avail them
 selves of the privilege of employing the
 county superintendent for his full time
 In a large number of the counties how
 ever. especially the counties known as the white counties, realize the importance of raying somo attention to School admin istration in order that they may ind out what they are securing and what the 1 children are receiving in return for the
 large amount of public money which the
 state is annually paying to school teach CTS.
 ..The manner of eecting the county sup
 erintendent is not changed by these bilIs the people continue to elect