The weekly soliphone., 1915-02-19
GAIN OF ONE SCHOOL
MONTH IN ARKANSAS
Supt Cook Completes Interesting
Series of Tables-ShOwing for
Three Years.

Cldl oSIOOl ulotliSto Ill eiiC otoitS' INV
set of tables shows the 50 school dis
tricts in towns and cities of Arkan
sas which according to the census
of 1910 have population of 1000
or more. Another series of tables
shows the special districts in small
towns and villages, rural special dis
tricts and consolidated districts. The
total of the two series of special dis
tricts, when subtracted from the COR
responding items for the entire
state, shows the condition and
growth in the common school dis
tricts. These tables begin with the
year ending June 80, 1911, which
was the year before state aid to high
schools went into operation.
For 1911 the tables show $50 spe-
cial districts and 4,796 common
school districts, with an average
daily attendance of $4,000 pupils in
the special districts and $4,000 in
the common school districts. The
average value of school buildings
and equipment in the special school
districts was $9,743 and in the COM
mon school districts 1852, and an
average value of school buildings for
the entire state of $1,24S. During
this year the special school districts
spent $1,70S,0O0 and the common
school districts $1,S02,000. The bal
ance to the credit of the special
school districts amounted to $27S,-
600 and the balances to the credit of
the common school districts amount
ed to $1,162,000.
The average length of the school
1873 days; the average length of
school term in the special districts
districts 1913 days, that is to say,
in 1911 the average length of school
JtIll III luc COllllliOI StIiOOl uioti w
was almost five months.
For the year ending June 80, 1912
(the first year during which state aid
to high schools was in Operation),
the average length of the school
term for the entire state, was 117.9
days and the average term in the
special districts was 1892 days. The
average length of term in the COM
mon school districts was 1881 days,
or an increase of 3.3 days for the
common school districts.
For the year ending June 80,
1913, the average length of school
term for the entire state was 127.1
days. The average length of school
term for the special districts was
1863 days. The average length of
school term for the common school
district was 114.4 days, or gain for
previous year of 11.3 days, or more
than half of a school month,
For the year ending June 80,
1914, the average length of school
term for the entire state was 1897
days. The average length of school
term for the special districts was
1856 days, and for the common dis
tricts -1195 days. This indicates
gain of one school month in the av-
erage length of the school term for
the common school districts from
1911 to 1914.
The shortening of the school term
for the special school districts can
be very readily accounted for from
the fact that the number of these
districts increased from $50 in 1911
to 497 in 1914, bringing 167 smaller
schools to be added to this list,
whereas the so schools in the larger
towns and cities and number of the
other strong schools which already
had school terms of nine months
each year did, of course, increase the
length of their term.
1T is interesting to note that the
average value of school buildings
and equipment in towns and cities
having a population of 1000 or more
is $20,500, while the average value
in the special districts in smaller
communities is $4,000. The average
value of buildings and equipment in
common school districts has increas-
ed to 1929 from an average value
of 1882 in 1911, and the average
value of buildings and equipment for
the entire state has increased from
$1,24S to $1,S59 during the same
period.
From 1911 to 1914 the annual ex-
penditures for public schools in the
roon;ol ecbooI 1ictTinfc has inoraasad