Evening star., 1934-02-18
PLIGHT OF RURAL
SCHOOL OCCUPIES
ILLINOIS SESSION
5000 Teachers Include
Many Who Have Received
No Pay In 8 Years.
By RUrHwELL DUNCAN.
Special Dispatch to The star.


Special Dispatch to The Star.
CHICAGO. February 17.-From
hundreds Of school districts In Illinois
come signals Of distress. In the
clan1or occassioned by the highly
dramatized troubles Of Chicagos
school system little consideration has
been given TO the conditions existing
In downstats counties. Now, with
the General Assembly for the third
time IN special session since juno Of
last year. and school relief one Of
the matters scheduled for action, the
sad story Of the small town and rural
schools Is beginning to be heard.
There are 1900 downstate teachers
working for less than the minimum
wage allowed unskilled workers IN In
dustry under the N. r. A. code.
Thousands of them have been paid
in part In tax warrants or teachers
orders, subject to heavy discount or
wholly non-negotiable. Some Of them
have had no cash pay for three years.
Kerosene Lights Used.
In one dovnstate city, teachers
have returned to kerosene as o means
Of illumination because their elec-
tricity was cut OF by . public utility
that would not take warrants In lieu
Of cash. In another city q sick school
principal Is being dunned by his
doctor, who was similarly obdurate In
the matter Of settling on . basis Of
teacher orders. In still another o
teacher had to apply to the local ned
Cross for q pair Of shoes. Her order
for pay, would not satisfy the shoe
store, and since she was employed
she was ineligible for emergency re-
lef. In Franklin County Q teacher
reports that she had TO give Q t125
pay order to obtain S25 worth Of
groceries. In williamson County tl2
worth Of dental work cost t135 In
school paperAalmost one-fourth Of
years salary.
In many school districts school
terms have been shortened from one
to two months, while school cur1cu1a
have been stripped to the bone ~ .
measure Of retrenchmnt.
The State Is reported to be t12..
500, 900 behind on school fund pay
ments and its appropriation for that
fund made last Spring amounted only
TO SIC. SOC. 900. The State school fund
Of New York. Is approximately one.
third the States total school costs.
The State school fund Of Illinois Is
approximately one-thirteenth Of the
total Of its school costs. Illinois ranks
thirty IN the preparation Of
school costs paid from the State
treasury. In percentage Of income
devoted to education It ranks thirty
ninth In per capita expenditure for
public education It ranks twenty nth.
Bills Seek New Revenue.
The Illinois Teachers Association
Is urging bills designed to prQfuce
new revenue for schools. It wants .
nat per cent tax on incomes; . tax
Of one-eighth Of l per cent per bushel
on grain futures: o corporation IN
come tax and the use Of tho 0tAte
liquor revenue for school purposes.
Illinois now has no personal tncoms
tax and efforts to enact one haws
0CkC1tc0 Oh COxA1tkkxtkO2Ax
grounds. There is likelihood the Stats
liquor tax may be turned over 10 ths
schools, and the new sales tax 81
proving so productive that after II
has met all claims as substitute for
the State tax on real estate there
may be . surplus available for school
use.
More than the depression undnaias
the present educational cr1sis. Ths
depression hit an archaic and need
lessly extravagant State school ~.
TEN, . system that n so-called b.
courtesy rather than by justtned dss-
ignatiou. It has been the haphanrd
growth Of years on foundation laid
as far back as 1e4S. and - wholly
unsuited to modern conditions. Pro-
gressive educators hope that the criti-
cal state Of affairs now crying for
attention viii result In . movement
to reorganize the system on . sound
basis. with simplihed structure.