Montgomery County sentinel. [volume] (Rockville, Md.) 1855-1974, 1944-01-27
Increases In
State Budget For
Education Noted
Kirkman Advises Governor
Funds Have Risen 500 In
This Administration

Under the administrations Of
Governor O'Conor the State has
increased consistently and consid-
eraDly its appropriation for public
schools, Walter N. Kirkman, State
Budget Director, today stated in a
report to the Governor.
The State budget for the present
year contains total outlays of
$10,200,260 for public school pur-
poses. These ALLEGATIONS represen:
1919 per cent. of the General Funds
appropriations and 20.8 per cent.
of the total State budget for the
present fiscal year, Governor
O'Conor was informed by the fiscal
officer.
Total appropriations to public
schools in the three biennial bud
gets submitted by Governor
O'Conor have been by far the
largest in the history of the State.
Prior to the O'Conor administration
the largest biennial total for public
education was $12,5OO, 900. Public
educational appropriations for the
1940-41 biennium totaled $685.
and jumped to SIS, 5O6,65
for 1942-43.
The budget for public education
for 1944-45 provided a grand total
of more than $18,5O0, 900, approx
mately $6,000,O00 more than the
largest amount ever appropriated
for education before the present
administration took office.
Referring to the recent request
of county school superintendent
for continuance of the monthly in
crease to school teachers, resulting
from the provisions made by Gov
ernor O'Conor in mis- last fiscal pro-
gram submitted to the Legislature,
Budget Director Kirkman pointed
out that $1,9O0,000.0O was pro-
vided by the State for the so-called
teachers "bonus." Although the
school teachers are considered to
be county employees, the State took
an unprecedented. step in provid-
ing for their increased salaries, as
part of the plan whereby the coun-
ties were to supplement the pay
ments in order that the increases
would continue until the next ses-
sion of the Legislature.
Mr.. Kirkman, in a statement, set
out the increased appropriations
made by Governor O'Conor to the
Teachers Equalization Fund, repre-
senting in part the States contri-
button to teachers salaries during
the past six-year period, as follows:
1888 and 1889, appropriations,
50, 1896
1910 and 1941, appropriations,
1851, 738; increase $299,055, Is
per cent.
1912 and 1913, appropriations,
SO, sos, 430; increase, $1,O23 ,692, 80
per cent.
1914 and 1915, appropriations,
"a .545, 1903; increase, 940,363, 26
per cent.
Commenting on the Budget Di-
rector's report, Governor O'Conor
stated:
"Public education in Maryland is
a joint responsibility of the State
and local governments. The ad-
ministration of the public school
system is under the governments
of the political subdivisions, but
subject to the supervision of the
State Department of Education.
The State law defines minimum
educational requirements which the
local divisions must meet, but such
requirements can be extended and
the cost thereof borne by the local
divisions.
at must be kept in mind that
the teachers are county employees.
In the counties resides the admins
trative responsibility for the school
system
"The State aids its local SUBJ
divisions in meeting the cost of an
adequate educational system. The
State law requires the local divi-
sions to levy not less than 81 cents
in the tax rate for public school
purposes and the State contributes
The difference which the resulting
amount produces and the cost Of
carrying the school program. This
differential is known as the Equal.
ization Fund and is distributed
only to those counties in which the
81 cents school levy does not raise
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