New Mexico state record. (Santa Fe, N.M.) 1914-19??, 1919-03-28
CAUSE OF EDUCATION IN NEW
MEXICO HAS SCORED
A BIG GAIN.

Adoption by both houses of tn,
legislature Of the provisions .
House Bill No. 90 marks a big gail
for the cause of education in New
Mexico. The bill embodies nearl,
everything that the Herald has ad
vocated and that educational au
thorities have regarded as essentia
for the more rapid progress'o of tn,
common schools of our state. Tn,
new law will be found especially ef'
~fective in improving conditions in tn,
rural schools.
Under this law teachers salarie.
are advanced to 500 a month for
third grade teachers, and $50 a month
for second grade teachers, and $lU
a month for first grade teachers
This will permit progressive educa.
tional authorities to employ and hold
the services of competent teachers
Eventually these salaries will be
further advanced, but that will be
when we have done away with the
third grade standard in New Mexico.
That time will come sooner than is
generally believed.
The new law requires that only
teachers holding first grade certifi.
Gates may be employed in kinder
garten and primary grades and that
requirement marks a nos important
forward step in our educational sys.
tenn. 1t indicates that we have final
ly come to see that the primary work
is the most important of all our
school work; that the initial work
demands the best trained men and
women, the most enthusiastic work
ers, the best directed effort.
There is another forward move
ment in this new school maintenance
law that is of equal importance with
the advance in teachers salaries. II
is the provision which removes from
the counties the limitation upon
growth from year to year. Many
people did not know, perhaps, that
our schools were working under such
a limitation. Such was the case.
Prior to the passage of this law no
school district could increase its ex.
p%enditures for any specific purpose
more than five per cent over the pre-
ceding year. A total of 500 spent
tor equipment in a given yea you'll
be increased to Sl05 in the succeed
ing year. Thus school growth was
limited 10 5 per cent a year. A large
majority OF our cities, towns and
villages, and also our rural districts,
are accomplishing better than a 5
per cent growth each year. The mere
presence of the limitation tended to
advancement.
The law fixes the maximum county
levy for school purposes at IS mills.
That is high; much higher than is
required. The average Of all coun-
ties last year was only 4 IL mills.
But under the S per cent advance
many counties which had
need Of much money for school pur-
poses, could not levy the tax to get
It. 1t is not expected that any of the
counties will seek to levy the maxi
mum allowed. Under the excellent
for appointment of county
OF education it is not at all
likely that there will be undue ex-
Iravagance. But there is now pro-
for growth and expansion as
the counties are ready to move for
ward.
There is still plenty of room for
in our educational sys-
tenn. The Herald has no doubt that
the time will come when the State
superintendent of Education, instead
Of being an elective officer and sub
Iected to a limited period Of service
and to the vagaries of partisan poll
heal movements and storms in no
way related to educational admins
will be appointed by the
Board of Education and ap-
pointed for a term limited only by the
of his service and the results
re achieves. When that time comes
superintendent perhaps will
chosen in the same way. We will
choosing II educational ad-
illustrators on the basis of vote
powers and select them solely
,ecause of educational ability and
administrative efficiency. Under
he present system this state has
been singularly fortunate in securing
not only a competent state superinten-
lent who cares little for politics and
much for education and his work, but
llso in choosing able county super
ntendents. But the system of choos-
ng these educational administrators
S wrong and sooner or later will
cad to losses in efficiency.
The city of Chicago recently en-
a school superintendent at a
ialary of $4,000 a year. He probably
not have been elected to the
position in Is years Of effort.
We are getting our educational
bearings in New Mexico. We have
III the theory we need; our system
S sufficiently complex. Our main
reeds are for efficient a~dministra-
ion and ample school funds spent
literally, but without duplication or
That is the way we are
acknowledgements Herald.