The Birmingham age-herald., 1919-10-23
For the Good of
 the Community

S CHOOL teachers and educators in O Birmingham few days ago to attend meeting of the executive committee of the Alabama Educational association ex- pressed themselves as delighted with the school code passed by the legislature in September They should be- The legis- lature gave them everything they asked for, except money, and they got more of this than they really expected Some of them said so
 During the past summer a complete survey of the states educational condi- tion was made by experts supplied by the federal government. They made a com prehensive report of conditions, and with this before 1t the legislature made into law the things they asked for It is now up to the educators to do the rest.
 Alabama has long struggled along un- der burden of illiteracy that kept her in the rear ranks of progressive American states True, the illiteracy is not so large among the white population, but even there it is greater than in most of the states
 Alabama is now definitely committed to the education of her children. The ma- chinery has been provided and goodly
 
 to progress smoothly from now on.
 Just how much money is available for the elementary schools of the state is problematical. The 3-mill tax provided for in the constitution for elementary schools will produce about S2,250,0O0 this year; the legislature made an appro- priation of S350,000 out of general funds x for this year, and this sum will be in- creased to S500,000 the next three years; every county in the state has voted a special -3-mill tax and the great majority of school districts have voted an addi- tional 3-mill tax. The cities make further appropriations out of their general funds for their schools
 In addition to all these special taxes and appropriations the state adds $300,- 900 year for high school buildings and bonuses, and an additional S100,000 for extension of terms in rural schools. The sixteenth section fund, federal vocational education fund, federal aid for agricul- tural development, poll taxes special funds and appropriations to higher schools and colleges, and moneys re- ceived from a few other sources, will state approximately S8,O00,OO0 a year,
  ucators who have investigated the matter. ~ Alabama's two big schools, the uiver- sity and the polytechnic school, report larger matriculations than ever before. Only in recent years have they been able to care for the thousands of boys and girls of Alabama who want higher educa- tion and are able to finance their school days
 With the further development of the common schools the demands upon the university and the polytechnic institute will become greater and greater. Some provision for these annual increases must be made. It is the duty of the state to provide for the education of her children, not only in the elementary schools, but in the schools of higher education. It should not be necessary for an Alabama boy or girl to go to another state for his or her education, whether it be in literature, science or the trades. They ought to have these facilities at home, among their own people.
 The educators have big job before them. The experts showed them just how