The Waterbury Democrat., 1931-04-13
NEA service Writer.

Washington--"The man wearing a leather coat who sells apples in front of the National Geographic building was for 10 years a teacher. and turn the patronage of others his way until he gets better job
 That. on the bulletin board of the National Education association, Is the first thing you learn when you go to that place to learn what the economic depression has done to education and the schools. There have been isolated cases in areas badly stricken by drought where schools have been closed when banks failed and county or community tax money disappeared. In other places teachers have had to serve without pay. Occasionally teachers, wages have been decreased ! or teaching staffs reduced. An un- known number of young people have had to give up college couress. And there has been an unusual num- Der of childern who couldn't go to school on cold days because they had no shoes.
 But Few Budgets SIashcd. On the other hand, 1t Is evident education has not been seriously hurt. Threats to slash school | budgets have not materialized in the great majority of cases and teach | CTS wages. representing about 75 per cent of those budgets, have fared at least as well as those in business
 The scarcity of jobs has tended to keep many children in school who otherwise would have left. Adult education has been appreci- ably stimulated with the increase of enforced leisure. School build- ings, too, are being erected in re- sponse to the build now" cam | paign.
 So much one learns from vari- Education association put on an early spring drive. demanding that children should be Hast to suffer- during depression, after receiving reports of many proposals to ab- breviate school terms, curtai1 school systems and reduce either salaries or teaching staffs.
 J. w. Crabtree, veteran secretary l of the organization, says there have been "too many" such developments but that we may well feel gratified with the larger view taken by the great majority of boards of educa- tion in the nation.'
 Tax dodgers and tax objectors have been making life burden for the boards" Crabtree says. But the boards generally have realized that 1t Is as important to sustain school wages and salaries as any others aside from the vital importance of maintaining school efficiency and carrying out our duty to the chil- dren. There are 8OO,000 teachers in the country. teaching 27,000,0 ,00O school children, and their average salary is $1,364 a year."
 Some Stalfs Cut.
 There have been exceptions such as In Berkiey, Mich, where q teach ing staff of 57 was reduced to about 90, according to reports here. The North Carolina legislature repealed a fundamental law for school tax money. The tendency to increase the size of classes is said to have been strong and even in Washing- ton, D. C., a number of kinder garten teachers have been released. Bank failures have hit certain school systems seriously; several millions of school funds went blooey, for instance. in bank failure at Ashe- vile, N. C.
 Teachers complain that Georgia owes her public schools nearly four millions of unappropriated dollars In many Mississippi counties, teach CTS and superintendents have been | unaDie To get rneir Scn0Ol warrants cashed. The proposal to reduce the length of the school term has been a popular one; 1t has been proposed in North Carolina to cut 1t from eight to six months.
 Superintendent of Schools R. s Hicks of Casper. Wyo., canvassed superintendents in cities of mors than 15,O00 population and among 268 who replied only 13 said they wouldn't follow the same salary schedule and budget for next year Fourteen others said they would follow in part.
 Earlier this year. 1t appears thou. sands of school teachers were frightened by proposals to elimi. nate teachers or cut salaries. Bui most of them have been able tt stop worrying.
 Adults Return to School.
 Adults, according to reports at the National Education association, have been pouring back into schools-- especially night and vocational schools--in the unemployment pc Iriod.
 I Child labor as an unemployment factor has aisn xeaAive1 Mcgoased