The Lancaster news. [volume] (Lancaster, S.C.) 1905-current, 1919-05-16
Boards of Education Getting
Ready to Enforce Attend
ance Regulations.
EFFECTIVE ON JUNE FIRST
County Boards Must Appoint
Attendance Officer Whose
Duties Are Defined BY the
New Law.

| columbia, 5. c., May 15-The
initial steps looking to the enforce
ment of the Compulsory Attendance
| Act Will be taken by the several
county boards of education this
week. In each county the attend
| ance officer must be selected by the
| county board of education, and his
name must be reported to the state
superintendent of education by Nav
Is. About one-fourth of the conn.
| ties have already reported their Sc
| lection to superintendent Swearin.
| gen.
The state board Of Education has
ordered that in every county the at.
tendance officer shall be ready to en-
ter upon his duties June l. Both
men and women are eligible for this
service. Several county boards have
selected women for the work. In
cities having "A pOulation of 1000
or more, according to the census of
1910 the local board of district trus-
tees has the option of appointing a
| district attendance officer for the
| schools of the city in their discre.
tion. There are in the state some
| twenty-eight such Incorporated
each of these cities have been re.
nuested to make their choice promp-
| tly between the county attendance
| officer and the district attendance
| officer. The decision OF the local
trustees should be reported to the
county boards OF education in timc
for the decision to be acted upon be.
fore May | 3. Wherever no city at
tendance officer is appointed the
schools of the municipality will be
attendance officer. Every special
city attendance officer will be re.
quired to perform in his municipal
ity all the duties required of the
| county attendance officer. In Char
lesion the city trustees and the city
superintendent prefer special dis
trict attendance officer and have Sc
lected woman for this work
Without Delay.
The state superintendent hopes
that the school authorities of eyery
county and every municipality hav-
ing population of 1000 will at
tend to this important matter with
out delay. The salaries of attend
ance officers for city districts must
be paid from the special tax funds
OF the district
The attendance officers have beer
allotted to each of the following
large counties: Anderson, Green
VILE, Spartanburg, York, Aiken.
Orangeburg, Florence, Horny and
Lexington. In making the allot
ment the state board of education
considered area school population.
the number Of schools and the diff
culties of travel. In every county
the salary OF the attendance officer
will be 500 per month. beginning
June l.
The first duty OF each attendance
officer will be TO acquaint himself
fully and accurately with his terri
tory. This knowledge will be abso-
lutely necessary TO the taking OF a
correct school census of all children
between six and fourteen years OF
age during the calendar months OF
July and August. This census must
be taken by school districts. The
meets and bounds OF each school dis
trict are determined by the county
board OF education. Wherever these
boundaries have not been definitely
marked out the limits should be set
tied promptly. If this is not done
confusion and controversy will inva.
riably result
Blank forms for the taking OF the
census will be sent out from the
state superintendents Office by or
der OF the state board OF education.
| These forms will require a mass OF
printed material, bur the legislative
Tintirg committee will secure the
| delivery Of the blanks on time.
What the Law Requires.
The compulsory attendance law
requires that all children between