St. Johnsbury Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1867-1919, 1917-01-03
MORE MONEY
FOR EDUCATION
State Board Of Education Asks 1t
In Its First Biennial Report
Pupil Transp ,rtation Is Given
Great Attention
ITS RECOMMENDATIONS
Would Continue State Pay For Teach
crs-Increase Normal School and
Junior High School Appropria-
tions-WouId Not Change
Transportation Law


Transportation Law
Montpclier, Jan. 1.-The first bien-
cation was made public today. The
members of the commission are James
Iartness of Springfield, t. III. Brooks
If st. Johnsbury, Wallace II. Gilp;n of
Barton, ,Marvellc c. Weber OF Rut-
land, l.. B. Johnson of Randolph and
A. w. Hewitt of Plainfield. The Board
has prepared summary of the report
and recommendation for publication
which is given below.
For the sake OF convenience a sum-
mary of conclusions and recomm enia-
tions is here presented. The topics
treated thus in brief form will be
| found in detail in the body of the
| report.
During the past year attention in
school matters has centered in the
| operation Of the school laws enacted
| by the legislature of 1915. The ad-
| ministration of these laws has not
| exposed any serious defects.
| The feature of the law which has
received greatest consideration is that
| which deals with transportation. Each
| child who lives Il mile and a half OF
more from school is now entitled to
transportation if this is feasible;
! otherwise the town is required TO
| board him near q school. Some par
ents misunderstanding the purpose of
| this law demanded and received ex-
orbitant prices for conveying their
own children to school. The abuses
of the law have quite naturally re-
l4ceivcd greatest attention. 1t should
| not be forgotten, however, that by
far the larger number of parents are
acting in accordance with the spirit
OF the law and are making positive
sacrifices in order that their children
may attend school with reasona bic
comfort. In every case the provisions
of the law are adequate to prevent
abuses. School officials are now gen
orally aware of this fact and the law
is better administered. The total
cost Of transportation and board for
the Year ending June 80, 1916, was
$167, 7,6S5.36. OF this amount the
state paid $SS,163.36. The difference
in cost between carrying every child
! who is entitled to transportation un-
| der the present law and the cost of
partial transportation such as existed
under the previous law is less than
$4,000. The average daily cost per
child for transportation in 1915-16
was Is cents. Reports from various
superintendent and school directors
Indicate that the cost of transporta-
ton for the present school year will
be somewhat less than it was during 8
1915-16. The present law is as just
and effective as any that could now
be devised. The state board of edu-
cation, therefore, recommends that it
be retained until adequate experience
and careful study Of its working shall
indicate the particulars requiring
amendment.
Payment OF Teachers.
The act which authorized the state
board of education to pay the sums of
50, $3 or 81 per week to towns en-
p1oying teachers of requisite training
in their rural schools has had most
beneficial effects upon the schools
These rebates cost the state $9S, 312.-
80. In few towns the rebate was
used to lessen taxes and teachers and
schools were not benefited. That this
was not of common occurrence is
shown by the fact that the increase
in teachers salaries between the
school years 1914-15 and 1915-16 was
more than II per cent while the rate
Of increase. for the several preceding
years was about six per cent. In ad-
dtion to the amount that the state
gave, the towns themselves incrca sed
the teachers salaries by $4,000. The
increased salaries are attracting
teachers with improved training. The
number Of permits has decreased
from 60 in 1914 to three in the pres
ent fall term.
The boards recommends that this
provision of the law remain un-
changed
District Supervision.
In conformity with law the state
board of education divided the state
into convenient districts and ap.
pointed the requisite number of SUI
perintendents. During the years tha
supervision was optional IS per cen
of the towns having SO per cent O1
| the schools and Sc per cent of tho
school children of the state adopted
. supervision. In 1915, the last veal
that supervision was optional, it COS
$99,O1479 Of this amount the state
paid $6S,S90.6S The total cost il
1916 was $129,S65.54. and the state
share was $11O,993.16. 1t appears
therefore that to place all of ou
schools under supervision has IN
creased the total cost by only $30,
S5O.75. The board recommends tha
the provisions of the law dealing Will
SUPERVISION remain unaltercd.
Junior High Schoo:s.
During the school year ending Jun
80, 1916, six junior high schools wer
f maintained in village and rural com
lnunities Several of these were 10
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