The Bemidji daily pioneer. [volume] (Bemidji, Minn.) 1904-1971, 1921-03-02
State Department of Education
Prepares Data on Request
of Representative
PROTESTS AGAINST BILL
CAUSE INVESTIGATION
Changes to Affect This County
Are Outlined in Full By
State Department

In response 10 numDeE VI piO"
tests received by Representative A.
E. Rako, Of the 62nd district Of Min
nesota, against House File No. IA,
which is known as the bill Of the
department of education, Mr.. Rako
has gone into the matter quite
thoroughly for the benefit of the
readers of The Pioneer, and George
Selke, inspector Of schools, has pre-
pared the following data for him
relative to the effects the passage Of
the bill would have on Beltramt
county.
I'm compliance with your request
House File No. IA, that Will be OF
interest to the people Of your COM
munity. l am answering as follows:
"State aid according to the pro-
posed law shall be for the following
purposes:
ITO assist in providing equal edu-
cational opportunities for all the
children of the state.
ITO assist in establishing certain
generally accepted minimum stand
ards for all the public schools Of the
state.
ITO assist school districts whose
tax levies for maintenance are ex-
ceptionally high.
"To stimulate educational progress
by grants Of state aid for superior
efficiency and high standards and for
desirable educational undertakings
not yet generally established.
1~> t,,t <Nr
teacher training departments in high
schools.
"a section that will affect Beltra-
mi county Is that which Will assist
school districts with a high tax levy
or a low assessed valuation under
the following plans:
"To assist school districts with
high tax levy. 70 any school district
whose tax levy for maintenance lies
between 20 and 80 mills, the state
shall pay as supplemental aid one
third of the excess above 20 mills.
If the tax levy for maintenance ex-
ceeds 32 mills, then, in addition to
the above amount, the state shall
pay as supplemental aid one-half OF
such excess above 80 mills, provided
that no school district shall receive
supplemental aid equivalent to more
than $500 for each elementary
teacher employed and $3.50 for each
high school or special teacher en-
ployed; provided further that the
school districts maintaining only un-
graded elementary schools, II a ~
mill tax levy does not raise the
equivalent Of $500 for each teacher
employed for at least seven months
during the school year, then the
state board of education at its dis
erection may grant to such school dis
drict an amount, which together
with the. proceeds Of 20 mill tax
levy, will give such school district
the equivalent Of $500 for each
teacher employed as herein provided.
Such state aid shall in no case ex-
coed the equivalent Of 5000 for each
such teacher employed, but shall be
in addition to all other state aid in
Guiding supplemental aid as other
wise provided in this section.
"Beltrami has many school dis
tricts in which the school tax for
maintenance is high. According to
last years tax levies 50 districts will
benefit under such provisions.
"The section which provides as
sistance to districts for the school at
tendance Of isolated pupils is also Of
importance to Northern Minnesota.
This provision will empower the
state board Of education to grant to
school districts not to exceed $50 for
the transportation or board OF such
school children of school age as re-
side beyond reasonable walking
distance from the nearest public
school. According to statistics from
Beltrami county % school districts
reported 73 children who did not at
tend school because Of the distance
lived from school.
"A special feature Of the bill Is
the recognition Of the need FOR more
supervision Of rural schools. The
CONTINUED on Page 81