The weekly times-record. (Valley City, N.D.) 1912-1922, 1915-01-14
the report Of that committee to your
consideration.
Education

consideration.
Education
The people of North Dakota are
deeply interested in the education OF
their children and l know Of no state
where the cause of education has been
so uppermost in the minds of the
people
I believe strongly in rural education
and in the consolidated country school.
for where one strong central or con-
solidated school is maintained rather
than several small one-room schools,
there Is an opportunity to employ bet
ter teachers and give the pupils a
much better chance for education,
where they can be divided into fewer
classes and be more closely graded
than is possible where they are d.
vided into many classes under one
teacher in the little country school.
BY doing this I believe that we edu-
cate the children for country life and
help to keep them on the farm.
The consolidated country school also
offers a social center which is a ne
cessity in a state like ours. We have
long winters and the schools give the
people an opportunity to get together
for social recreation and enjoyment.
We have at the present time law
on our statutes that provides for state
aid to high schools and rural schools,
but do not believe that the law as it
stands is all that it should be. The
school that needs help the most is in
the smaller town where they are only
able to have a so-called third class
high school and perhaps no high school
at all. The money for state aid is d.
vided so that high school of the first
class may get $4,000, high school
of the second class $4,000 and high
school of the third class 100000. What
does 100000 mean to city like Far
go or Grand Forks? Nothing. But,
in the small community. where it hard
to finds taxable property sufficient to
maintain and support a high school
and where they probably only have a
high school of the third class, they get
so little assistance in the way of state
aid that it does them very little good
and if the state is to aid the high
schools we should distribute such aid
in a manner that will bring the great
est amount to the weaker districts
where it is impossible to maintain
strong high schools on account of
their financial condition.
That which is true of the high schools
is also true Of the rural schools. In
order for rural school to secure aid
they must come up to a certain stand
ard. It may be right to have the
standard, but unfortunately in prac-
tice l do not think it works out right,
for the rural school that really needs
help does not get it and feel that in
this rural school problem that the aid
that is given should 60 to the little
school which has only
small amount of taxable property and
this school given encouragement rath-
er than the school more fortunately
located which can come up to the
standards and which does not need
the aid.
In connection with this l wish to
say that l do not believe it right for
the state to give aid to high schools
and to rural schools. The state is con-
tinually drawn on from so many
sources that it is impossible to care
for all demands made. What should
be done is this: The law should be
changed and should provide that the
counties shall levy a tax for whatever
aid is given for their rural schools and
their high schools. The counties are
in much better shape to do this than
is the state and it certainly is not fair
for Logan county, for instance, to con-
tribute to high school in Cass coun-
ty, nor for Oliver county to contribute
to Grand Forks county. The children
in rural and high schools are almost
without exception residents of the par
ticular county where the schools they
attend are located and there should be
a bill passed which will provide for
county aid for rural and high schools
and the law calling for state aid should
be repealed.
Board Of Regents.
For a number of years there has
been more or less agitation with refer
ence to the educational institutions
and within the past year this agita-
tion has become more pronounced and
l recommend to this legislature that