The herald and news. [volume] (Newberry S.C.) 1903-1937, 1920-08-24
THE STATE COLLEGES AND
THE COMMON SCHOOLS.
By a Friend of Both, in Ander-
son Daily Mail.

i" son Daily Mail. =
@ 9 Q 9 g 3 . (. q <. Q . Q g (: g
Education is a favorite and timely
plank in the platform of every cand1-
date who seeks to become a mem
Der of the general assembly Of South
Carolina. The issue is too frequently
discussed in general terms without an
intimate knowledge of what the state
is doing, and what the state is failing
to do, to support all its educational
interests. The cause of popular cdu-
cation in this state has made tre-
mendous strides in the past ten years,
although it must be admitted that we
have but touched the surface of the
problem and that We are still Woe
fully lacking in the full performance
of our duty and obligation to- the
boys and girls who are to become the
future citizens Of the state and the
builders of it's progress and clvlllza-
tion
For the purpose Of taking stock OF
what the state has done for its COM
mon schools and for it's institutions OF
higher education, and analysis of the
appropriations made by the 1920 ses-
sion of the legislature is illumlnat-
ing.
Appropriations for Common Schools.
At it's last session the legislature
appropriated for the use of the pubic
or common schools, through the state
department of education, a total OF
1891, 900. This appropriation Of near
ly million dollars has no relation,
of course, to the other sources OF
revenue for the support Of the COM
mon schools, which will be treated as
a separate subhead further on in this
article. The majority Of special
school districts in South Carolina
now levy special taxes for the sup
port of the schools, the amount OF
which varies according to school
needs and the spirit of progress mani
fest in each district. The general
purpose of the legislature in maxim,
these special appropriations out of
the state treasury is to equallze as
far as possible the burdens and prob
lens of the nearly 1000 special dis
tricts throughout the state and to
encourage and assist districts IN
building up better schools. The pur-
pose of the legislature, in carrying
out an intelligent plan of assistance
and cooperation, can be readily seen
in the distribution it makes of the
1920 appropriation, which is divided
among the following heads: Consol-
dated graded schools, extension OF
school terms, operation of high
schools, guaranteeing seven months
terms, constructing school buildings,
supervision of rural schools, inspec-
ton of mill schools, vocational edu-
cation, night schools for adults, en-
forcing the compulsory attendance
law, and betterment of negro schools.
How the Public Schools Are Sup
ported.
The main revenue of the common
schools is derived from taxation
through the special school districts,
from the three mill constitutional
tax, and from poll and dog taxes.
The figures from the office Of the
state superintendent of education are
not available for the scholastic year
ending June 80, 1920, but for the
previous year, as shown in the an
nual report Of Mr.. Swearingen, the
total revenue from all Of the above
sources was $3,485,907.27. This total
does not include the additional and
new tax levies voted Since the period
covered by his report. The increased
cost of maintaining the schools and
the necessity of paying teachers bet
ter salaries have reasonably brought
this total to about four million dol
lars for the school year ending June
80, 1920. Add to this the special
appropriations made by the 1920
legislature and the total revenues for
the common schools available for the
current year will be approximately
$4,000, 900.
Per Capita Cost of Common School
Education.
The white school enrolment in this
state for the year ending June 30,
1919, was 120,495, and the colored
enrolment about 5000 more. The
average per capita cost of educat
E