Paragould soliphone., 1921-09-05
REPORT MADE ON
 SCHOOL BOARDS

New York.--Two prime causes of the present 'deplorable'' condition of American public schools are red tape and the handicapping of Board of Education by politicians, accord l ing to survey of public school boards and their receipts and expen- ditures directed by the National Committee for Chamber of Commerce cooperation with the public schools and the American City Bureau made public here today.
 The survey, which covered condi- l tionS in 37 cities showed, it was said, that in 47 per cent of cases dependent or free from political i manipulation or control, that the most efficient administrative and education results are obtained. The best interests of the public schools, says the report, cannot be served in city where the budget of the board of education may be reduced and remodeled by city off cials who have not made definite study of the needs of the schools.
 Boards which arc really a sub-divi- sion of the municipal government and whose budget may be changed by municipal authorities are class flied as dependent" and undesirable from the stand point of the public good,
 It is thus pointed out that in the case of cities in New Jersey, the budget must be passed upon by a special board of school estimate; in Oklahoma cities the school trus- tees are dependent upon an Excise Board; in Ohio cities, school budgets may be reduced by special county commission; in New England. school budgets must be submitted direct to a town meeting and in many West ern cities the budget is determined by some county authority.
 | The survey shows that the school receipts in the 377 cities for the past fiscal year were $353, 260,000 and that the expenditures of these same cities during this period were about $2,000,000 less than income. The funds are from five sources and are supplied in the following pro- portions: From the states 11.6 per cent; the federal government 0.3 percent: the county 5.7 per cent; local taxes 65.4 per cent; nonrevenue or miscellaneous sources, including | income from sale of bonds or short time loans, ITO per cent. The sur vey shows that of all cities report ing. 70 percent do not receieve a dollar from the federal government Teachers salaries aggregated $780, | 000,000 or GA per cent of the total of the current expense of the schools.
 The total expenditure for debt service varies from fourtenths of one per cent in the Eastern cities. one and onethird per cent in the Southern cities and up to nine and
 
 group. In one fifth of the Great Lakes cities the expenditure for the item is more than 20 per cent of the total expenditure for all pur- poses, in a number of Ohio cities it is between 30 and 35 per cent.
 The relations of capital outlay, aggregating 51,727,554 to the total expenditures, showed that nearly 85 per cent was utilized on sites and new buildings. A total of $1,341,- ,- 900 was expended for medical in spection and dental and nurses ser vice in the 377 cities named. The part of the total expenditure spent for the alteration and equipment of old buildings was only IS per cent. Commenting on this the committee said;
 The smallest of the amount is of particular interest in connection with the finding of this committee | in their report on school housing conditions in American cities. This report shows that large percent | age of the children in the public schools are continually menaced by the unsanitary conditions and fire | hazards in many old school build | ings now in use. In Eastern cities | the conditions are particularly bad An intermediate class of school boards, designated as special" which are neither dependent or in- dependent, are also discussed in the report and held to be contrary to the best educational policy.
 The basis for the committees sur vey was an inquiry sent to the lsuperintendents of schools in cities with populations in excess of 5000.