Every evening, Wilmington daily commercial., 1920-05-04

| 24.5 per cent OF her income. In 19l!
she spent $5lO,6O6.7S, or 81 per cent o
her income 1t is now proposed that 10
the year l920-2l she shall increase he
appropriations for public education I,
$1,O25,375, or "A per cent OF Ter income
1t has been said that such large appro
priation might bankrupt the State. IL
Is a fact that the average State s,lppor
for the United States in 1916 was LIS.
per cent. The great State of New York
uses about one-fifth of its income OF
public schools; Pennsylvania only 10 pei
cent; the State Of Washington 1917 pei
cent; New Mexico, 33 1-3 per cent while
our neighboring State of New Jersey
spends 5S.5 per cent of its entire income
on its public schools. Many OF the
western and northwestern States have
school incomes from school lands which
greatly reduce the amount these States
have to appropriate from their general
fund Wyoming, for example, has an
income from school lands amounting to
approximately $3.50 per school child.
Not only is Delaware able to make the
additional Appropriation, but by dong
so it would so reduce local TAXATION that
the average for the State would be under
the average for local taxes throughout
per cent in the year 1916.
No one knows how many persons in
Delaware pay an income tax to the State
but someone has estimated that 10 per-
sons pay more than one-half OF the income
tax which goes to the support of element
ary sch ools and that 115persons in the
State paw three-fourths of the entire
income tax.
SCHOOL coNsoI IpAT!oN.
Mr. Spaid presented a paper concern
ing school consolidation from which the
following is quoted;
School men have been convinced for
many years that the little red school
house, while serving a need throughout
our country during pioneer days, is no
longer of much Importance In modern life
There is something about the psychology
of numbers which is difficult to explain: ;,
however children who attend small
rural schools frequently are embarrassed
and bashful in the presence of strangers,
while boys and girls in larger groups soon
drop their shyness and care no more for
the presence of "A stranger than the most
of our horses do for passing automobile.
Delaware had for a number OF years
law under which consolidation could
be made, but in all of that time the only
consolidation on which a majority vote
was in favor was the one establishing
the Casar Rodney School. Under the
old law every single school unit was a
taxing unit and as the rates always differ
ed in the several districts under considera-
tion for consolidation, the matter was
always defeated because those districts
having q lower tax rate were unwilling
to JON the larger district in which the
tax rate would be higher. Practically
all of the States Of the Union are rapidly
adopting consolidation for the following
reasons:
|. Small districts do not properly
train the children.
,. Small districts are unable to teach
any OF the new projects In educationss nssssuch
as home economics or agriculture.
3. The scarcity of teachers.
4. The unwillingness of teachers TO
go into small isolated districts,
3. The attractiveness Of the CONSOLE
dated school.
(a) Many pupils,
(b) Glasses properly graded.
(c) Transportation of pupils in many
instances.
Id Games and athletics.
(e) Lectures and entertainments for
both pupils and parents.
(fl Greater enthusiasm and a better
school spirit
6. Better qualified teachers.
As usual thing consolidation is
more expensive than the small schools.
However. in New Castle county. Superin-