Baxter Springs news., 1919-02-28
BILL IMPROVES
RURAL SCHOOL
County Urit Of Taxation Worked
Out and Explained
To Have Special
Teachers

are the three propositions contained
in bill drawn by committee Of edu-
Gators headed by H. M. Cutter, pro-
fessor Of rural education in the Kan
sas State Normal, which has been sub
mitted to the house committee on edu-
cation.
Mr. Cutter has made a thoro ex-
PLANTATION Of the measure, which takes
up present problems Of rural educa-
ton in which the public generally is
interested.
The bill provides for county board
Of education Of five members, four OF
whom are to be elected by the people
with the county superintendent as the
fifth member as ex officio secretary.
This board shall levy county tax on
all the property under the jurisdic-
ton of the county superintendent. The
money thus obtained will be distrib-
uted as follows: $400 for each ele-
mentary teacher: sum equivalent to
500 multiplied by the number of
teachers will be apportioned accord
ing to the average daily attendance
of the several schools High school
teachers are not to be counted as par
ticipants in this distribution.
Rural School Supervisors
The county board of education is
empowered to hire supervisors, num-
ber such that no one will have less
than twenty-five nor more than forty
teachers under his supervision. These
supervisors are under the direction Of
the county superintendent and each
will have certain schools in the coun-
ty which he shall be responsible for
and give his time to the supervision
of the work Of the teachers OF these
schools. He shall hold teachers
meetings and other public educational
gatherings. These supervisors are to
be the club leaders of the boys and
girls during the summer months.
They are to be on the job twelve
months in the year. 1t is provided
that the state shall bear one-half OF
the expenses of these supervisors. If
this law is passed it is quite possible
that the federal government will CO.
operate in the maintenance of these
supervisors in lieu Of maintaining a
county club leader. The law contem-
plates that the employment of the
supervisors shall be optional with the
county board. 1t is expected in this
way that the practice of closer super
vision will gradually be introduced in
to the state.
The law also provides that any rur-
al high school which is organized on
six-year grade and six-year high
school plan, and meets the require
ments provided for in the act, and at
tains the standard set by the state
board of education, shall receive $3.50
each year from the state, so long as
the school maintains this high stand
ard.
Speaking in favor of a county
board of education, Mr.. Cutter says:
1.-THE county commissioners, it may be
claimed, might levy this tax for school
purposes and distribute it, but the
law contemplates that there shall be
other minor duties of the county
board in fostering the educational in
terests' of the county, moreover, the
rural school interests of county are
of SO much Importance that they
should be in the hands of a board
selected because of their interests in
education. The county commissioners
have so many other interests and
duties that in many cases the educa-
tional interests would suffer in their
hands.
Explains County Tax
"Why q county tax rather than a
district tax? The unequal burden of
taxation under the district plan is
quite vividly shown from the figures
received last year from a number Of
county superintendents. In Pawnee
county the highest levy any district
made for school purposes, was 6.5
mills, the lowest levy o mills; in Cher
okee county, the highest levy was IL
mills, the lowest, IL mills; in Mont
gomery county, the highest was 1.36
mills, the lowest, o mills; Chautau-
qua county, the highest was 1919
mills, the lowest 1.3 mills. These ex-
tremes in levies required to support
the schools might be duplicated in al
most any county in the state. The
levies on the average counties, to
raise $500 per elementary teacher,
taking fourteen counties at random,
would range from 2.5 mills to 81
mills. The highest of any county out