Harrisburg telegraph. [volume] (Harrisburg, Pa.) 1879-1948, 1916-05-10

teachers salaries is next to Philadel-
phia, the highest in the State. The
, average salaries paid teachers in Har-
rlsburE is SS42.33. Pittsburgh comes
next with an average of $796.37. In
| Nilkes-Barre the average is $790.32.
In Allentown, S739.49, and so on down
the list. There are 322 teachers on
the payroll
Furthermore, high schools are
much more expensive to operate than
schools OF lower grade, both because
oil the greater cost of teaching and
the greater cost of supplies.
Inc percentage of the total school
enrolment in the High Schools of
Harrisburg is very much in excess of
the average enrolment. And | un-
derstand that our Technical High
school, both in attendance and in the
character OF the equipment and the
scope OF the instruction, is very much
In advance of any school of like char
acter in the State, perhaps outside of
Philadelphia, and the cost of main
tanning that school is particularly eX-
penslve. L have never heard an OBJ
lection to the maintenance. at it's
present standard, of this school If
the Harrisburg schools cost more than
other schools, l am inclined to think
1t is principally because of the high
er standard maintained all along the
line.
- his increase in the tax will be
somewhat more seeming than real.
too. The school population is increas-
ing raster than the real estate assess
mcnt Since 1910 the average tri-
ennial assessment has increased ap-
proNimately ) X per cent. In the
same period the school enrolment has
increased nearly ten per cent. In
other words, the population, and pre-
sumably the actual value of taxable
real estate, have increased about twice
as much as the real estate asses Sment
which, of course, the Board must de-
pend upon for its revenues. If the
assessments had increased in the same
proportion as the school population,
and in the same proportion as actual
values, and of course the number OF
scholars largely determines the cost
of the schools-the Board might not
| have had deficit, or anyway so much
of deficit as it has, and certainly
so much of an increase in the tax
rate would not be required now.
There are lot of new things in
the schools these days that cost
money. In the last fifteen years medi-
cal inspection, open-air schools, do
mesttC science and a dental clinic have
been added. A teachers retirement
| fund to which over $4,000 year is
contributed by the Board, and a con-
/ tribution of $4,000 to the Harrisburg
| Public Library, have been added. on
account of these new items, all added
to the Boards expenses in the last
/ fifteen years, over 100000 was spent
last year. The people seem to want
these things
High School Loan Covered
1T is hoped if the rate shall
now be fixed at 10 mills, that no fur
! ther increase will be required to meet
U iR,fa II, L.
with respect to any loan that may
have been made to build new high
school.
Teachers as Agents
In this connection let me say a
word about the matter of school
teachers acting as school book agents
to which some public reference has
recently been made. There are no
teachers in Harrisburg who sell or
try to sell school books to the Har-
risburg District. | understand there
are two of the 322 teachers i'm the
| Boards employ who are agents for
the sale of the books of the Ameri-
can Book Company in districts out
side of Harrisburg, namely. Mr..
Machen, of the Camp Curtin building
and Mr.. GoetZ, of the Cameron build
ing. If any considerable number of
teachers were engaged in this busi-
ness on the side, | can easily see
that it might he Objectionable. but as
the Superintendent is responsible for
the selection of the books used in the
District and not the teachers, and
with only two out of 322 selling books,
and those two being, ] understand,
good teachers and gentlemen of high
character, it rather seems as though
there is no real ground for exception.
/ | assume that these two gentlemen
| limit their activities to the vacation
season when they are not in the en-
| ploy of the Board. During the school
term the Board is entitled to all of
their time and energies"