The watchman and southron. [volume] (Sumter, S.C.) 1881-1930, 1919-04-23
STATE AID FOR
High SCHOOLS
Warrants Aggregating S94,057
Mailed County Treas
uTerS.
WOMEN TEACHERS TO
GET BETTER PAY
Money to be Credited to School Allies No Humor to Put
Districts for Disbursement.

Columbia, April 17.-State high
school aid was paid today to 119 high
schools in forty-three counties by }.
f. Swearingen, State superintendent,
of education. Warrants agSlr&atins
S94,057 have been nla;.cd to the re-
spective county treasurcrs. The mon
ey will be credited to the proper
school districts for disbursement by
the local boards Of trustees on their
warrant, properly approved by the
county superintendent ofeducation.
The revised and liberalized High
School Act of 1919 carries an appro-
priation of 100000. The State Board
of Education reserved s5.943 to pay
the office and travelling expenses of the
high school inspector and to maintain
the normal classes in approved h"h
schools The University of South Car
olina lends TO the State Board OF Ed
ucation its professor Of secondary ed
ucation TO serve as high school in-
spector. Prof J. \. Stoddard was
elected to this position uponi the res
ignation of Prof. w. II. Hand last fall
Ten normal classes in approved high
schools are authorized under the
present law For the past three Yeas
successful normal classes have been
conducted in the high schools at Wal
halla, Orangeburg and Conway. Each
instructor receives an annual salary
OF $1,000. The State board IS plan
ming TO establish other normal classes
in the fall. If this program is carried
out the reserved balance will be ful-
lv exhausted before Christmas.
The revised high school act Of 1918
provides better salaries for assistant
teachers-practically all Of these ere
women. Heretofore they received
maximum of $55 per month. Under
the new law they may receive as
much as SIS per month. In every IN
stance, the contract between the local
board Of trustees and the teacher was
accepted as the basis Of State high
school aid The salary agreed upon
by the trustees and the teacher con
stitutes the basis for the payment on
this aid. Among the 119 schools
these salaries ranged from $40 per
month TO SO per month. Not q to"
hoarf. of district trustees report sal
aries ranging from SIS to 500. IN
every such case the over-plus is pald
from district funds rather than from
State funds
The salary Of the lowest paid high
school assistant is the basis for al
State aid. The high school law, there
fore. contcmplates minimum hlsh
school salary of s75 per month. In
case the same high school assistant
returns for the session 1919-2O she
may be paid $50 if the board OF dis:
trict trustees considers such salary
appropriate and desirable. If this
same assistant returns for the SESSION
192O-21. the maximum salary may be
SIS per month on the same condluon..
This policy Of recognizing tenure anc
service IN the same classroom Will
tend 20 strengthen and stabilize all
II 1i1 school work.
To encourage the employment OF an
adequate teaching corps the law pro-
vides further for an allowance OF
$50 for q third high school teacher
and for an additional allowance OF
$50 for a fourth high school teacher
a two-teacher high school may be
granted S675. a tllrce-teacher high
school sS25 and q four-teacher high
school 1915. In this disbursement of
high school aid s13,425 was distribut-
ed on this basis The number of
these three teacher or fourteachcr
high schools is steadily growing, and
the new act will greatly stimulate
this growth.
Schools receiving this credit for out
side enrolment must instruct at least
Is pupils under each teacher before
any tuition can be granted. The num-
Der Of outside pupils thus qualified
for session 1888 was l.159 and the
total amount Of tuition 20 which the
districts were entitled was S2I.S0h.
but only $11.G90 or 42.2 per cent OF
the required sum could be apportlon-
ed and paid this year. The high
school appropriation will have to be
raised from 100000 to $130,O0o be-
fore these districts and these pupils
can be fully protected. The scaling OF
this item, however. gave an equal and
proportionate distribution for each OF
these outside pupils entitled to tut
ton credit in each Statc-a;dcd high
school.