Worcester Democrat and the ledger-enterprise. (Pocomoke City, Md.) 1921-1953, 1922-01-07
State Board OF Education Has Pre-
pared Comprehensive And
Progressive Program.
WILL ENTAIL NO INCREASE
In THE STATE TAX RATE

One of the most important meas
ures to be brought before the present
Legislature will be the bill providing
for State support of the public schools
for the next two years. This measure
will likely be presented by the Chair
man of the Education Committee of
the Senate and will include substan-
TALLY in its provisions the new State
Educational Program which has been
prepared by State Superintendent
Cook and the State Board of Educa-
tion. AS our readers already know,
this program originally called for an
increased State appropriation of ST.
250,000 for the next two years, but
this sum has since been reduced te
$750,000 after conference with Gov
ernor Ritchie had disclosed the lat
ter's disinclination to favor any pro-
gram which would entail an increase
in the State ttc.,. .-.c+n. The State Board
of Education accepted the Governors
proposition to modify their program
and reduced the several items of their
budget to bring the total to the figure
named by the Executive: viz:-$3,-
100000 total for the next two years
instead of the $4,0O0,000 originally
asked. The bill which will be present
ed will therefore have the Governors
approval, will entail no increase in the
state tax rate and will in all likelihood
have a smooth passage through both
branches of the Legislature.
In spite of the modification of the
State Educational Program rendered
necessary by the reduction above
specified, it would seem that the leg.
islation which will be proposed and
likely enacted into law will produce
many beneficial results in Increasing
the efficiency of the public school sys-
tenn of the state. AS the state edu-
cational officials have pointed out,
Maryland's low rank among the
states in educational matters (34th
among the 48 states) may be attrib
uted to the fact that she ranks only
41st in governmental expenditures de-
voted to public education. On account
of this comparatively low expenditure
for educational purposes, she has been
unable tp secure well-trained teach
ers, or p hold the good teachers she
already has. They have either gone
into other professions or have az
cepted teaching positions in other
states which pay larger salaries. Sta
tistics show that only one-third of all
the public school teachers in the state
in the elementary grades have any
professional training worthy of the
name. In addition, there has been
no fund available to train the teach
ers already in service. Many of the
public school buildings in thes
particularly in the rural sectiens are
antiquated and untitled for school
purposes.
1t is anticipated that the proposed
legislation will go far toward remc-
dying these defects and raise there
by the States rank in education from
34th place to place nearer where she
rightfully belongs. q
A very important featura of the
new Educational Bill is the Equaliza-
tion Fund, established on the princi-
pie that "the wealth of the entire
state shall educate the children of the
state, regardless of where the wealth
is located and where the children rc-
side" Our own county of Worcester
for example, Notwithstanding the fact
'-,at it has 80 cent school tax, about
the highest in the state, is unable to
give its children the educational ad-
advantages enjoyed by the children of
the richer counties because its assess
ed valuation of taxable property is SO
much less than that of the richer
counties. For example, Baltimore
county can spend more per pupil on
public education on a school tax of 70
cents than Worcester county can on a
school tax of 80 cents. This evidently
does not seem just or democratic tn
the state educational authorities, as
the Equalization feature of the new
legislation will provide that when a
county has taxed itself for school pur-
poses as high as the average county
school tax rate of the state-namely
81 cents on the $100,-and is then un-
Continued on page 8