THE Ohio Journal of Education. COLUMBUS, AUGUST, 1856. CIRCULAR TO COUNTY AUDITORS AND BOARDS OF EDUCATION OF TOWNSHIPS, CITIES AND INCORPORATED VILLAGES. OFFICE OF STATE COMMISSIONER OF COMMON SCHOOLS, GENTLEMEN: Your attention is respectfully called to the Proviso to Section 6 of "An Act providing for recording, printing and distribut ing the Journals of the General Assembly, and the Laws and Public Documents," passed April 8th, 1856, viz: "Provided, That the school year shall begin on the first day of September annually, and close on the last day of the following August; and all school officers and township officers acting as such, who are, or may be required to make annual reports to the county auditor, shall make out the same and transmit them to the county auditor, on or before the first day of October, following the close of the school year." Your attention is also invited to another provision in the same Act, which requires county auditors to make out, and transmit to the State Commissioner of Common Schools, their annual school reports, on or before the fifth day of November of each year. It is also deemed important to call the attention of Local Directors, Township Clerks, and Boards of Education, to certain duties imposed upon them by the School Law, and to the inconveniences, losses and penalties which must inevitably accrue, if these duties are neglected or unreasonably postponed. 1. By section 8, it is made "the duty of the directors in each subdistrict to take, or cause to be taken, annually, BETWEEN THE FIRST AND THIRD MONDAY OF OCTOBER, an enumeration of all the unmarried white and colored youth, noting them separately, between the ages VOL. V, No 8. 15 of five and twenty-one years, resident within such sub-district and not temporarily there, designating between male and female, and return a certified copy thereof to the Township Clerk." 2. If the directors fail to make and return the enumeration, the Township Clerk must employ a competent person to do it, and collect the expense from the directors individually. 3. The Township Clerk is required to make an abstract of the enumeration so returned to him, designating the number of youth in each sub-district, and transmit such abstract duly certified to the county Auditor, WITHIN TWENTY DAYS after the return made to him by the Directors or the person appointed to take such enumeration. 4. By section 19, (as amended by the Act passed April 8, 1856,) it is made the duty of the Board of Education "to prepare, or cause to be prepared, and forwarded to the county Auditor, a statement exhibiting the number of children in the township between the ages of five and twenty-one years, distinguishing between male and female: the number of schools, specifying the different grades; the number of teachers, male and female; the number of children, male and female, who have attended school during the past year; the average attendance, the length of the terms of schools, compensation of teachers, male and female; the number and condition of the school houses and furniture, and the estimated value thereof; the number and condition of the books in the school libraries, the number of libraries, the kind of school books used in the schools, the number and value of school apparatus, and a full account of the expenditures for school purposes, together with such other statistics and information in relation to schools as the State Commissioner of schools may require." 5. By section 40, (as amended by the Act already referred to,) it is made the duty of county auditors to make out and forward to the School Commissioner annually, on or before the fifth day of November of each year, abstracts of all the returns of school statistics made to them by the several boards of education in their respective counties. For neglecting to report as above required, the same section subjects county auditors to a penalty of fifty dollars, besides making them responsible for any loss thereby sustained by any township, city, or incorporated village. A similar liability for damages will be incurred by the clerk of a township, city, or incorporated village, who shall fail to make and return the abstracts of the enumeration and other school statistics, required by the School Law. 6. Section 37 requires the Auditor of State annually to apportion the common schools funds among the different counties, upon the enumeration and returns made to him by the State Commissioner of Common Schools. The same section requires county auditors, immediately after their annual settlement with county treasurers, annually to apportion the school funds for their respective counties, according to the enumeration and returns in their respective offices; and declares that "no township, or other district, city or village, which shall have failed to make and return such enumeration, shall be entitled to receive any portion of the common school fund." Still more explicit and imperative is the last clause of section 67, to wit: "It shall not be lawful for any County Treasurer to pay over any portion of the school fund to any local, treasurer, board of education, or other school officers of any city, township, or village, organized as to schools either under a general or special law, except on the order of the auditor of the proper county; and no such order shall be drawn by the county auditor, unless the local treasurer, clerk, recorder, or secretary of such board, or other school officer, shall first deposit with said auditor, annually, an abstract of the enumeration of scholars, and other statistics relative to the schools under their charge, as required by this act of Teachers, Local Directors, and Boards of Education in Townships." As the reports required of the several grades of school officers follow each other in a sort of ascending series, with nearly the same length of time allotted to each grade for making and reporting their respective abstracts, it is highly important that these reports be promptly made within the time prescribed. This is indispensable not only to avoid losses to school districts, and penalties to school officers, but also to the harmonious and efficient working of the whole school system. From the foregoing provisions of the School Law, it is quite obvious that their distributive shares of the common school fund may legally be withheld-indeed, the law imperatively requires such funds to be withheld from counties, townships, cities, incorporated villages, and other school districts, whose school officers neglect or fail to report those school statistics which the law requires, as a condition precedent to their legal claim to a proportionate share of the common school fund. The School Law being recently enacted, and the meaning of some of its provisions not being easy of apprehension, a reasonable forbearance has very properly been extended to boards of education and other school officers, whenever their failure to comply with the requirements of the law could reasonably be excused. But such forbearance ought not to be expected in cases where no effort is made to respond to such requirements. Casualties - circumstances beyond the control of a school officer such as the loss of a record, etc., may excuse him for not embracing in his report all the statistics which the law demands. But privileges ought not to be claimed under a law where no effort is made to comply with its provisions. It is deemed important, in this connection, to call your attention to some of the items of school statistics, which the law requires to be reported. Although the school of a sub-district may consist of two or more grades, in charge of different teachers, and the school year be divided into two or more terms, yet it should be reported as but one school. II. "Number of Youth Enrolled." In reporting the number of youth enrolled, no pupil should be counted more than once, although he may have been enrolled, during the year, as many times as there are quarters or terms in the school year. The information sought, is the whole number of different scholars instructed in the school during the year. To avoid the mistake of re-counting the same scholar, boards of education should furnish each school under their control with a suitable blank book, for the enrollment of its pupils, and for recording their several subjects of study; and when, on the opening of the second or third term of the school, scholars are enrolled a second or a third time, such second enrollment should be indicated by some suitable check mark, thus (+). By counting at the end of the year all the names not checked, the whole number of different pupils instructed in the school, during the year, would be ascertained. III. "Number of Scholars in Average Daily Attendance during the year." This number is ascertained by adding together the number of scholars present on each day of the week or month, and dividing the sum by the number of days the school was in session during the week or month. In like manner the average for a term or year is to be found. Clerks of boards of education should not draw orders on their respective treasurers, in favor of teachers, till such teachers shall have made out and deposited with said clerks the above, among other items of statistics. IV. "Average length of time the Schools have been kept in session during the year." Add together the number of months and days during which each school in the township was kept in session, and divide the sum by the whole number of schools. V. Average wages of Teachers per month during the school year." Add together the monthly salary of each male teacher, employed in the schools of the township during the year, and divide the sum by the whole number of male teachers. In like manner, find the average monthly wages of the female teachers. VI. "Local Directors." The clerk of each board of local directors should promptly furnish, in the early part of September next, the township clerk with all the statistics called for by section 19 of the school law. Many of these statistics must be obtained from the teacher, who should be required to furnish them, in tabular form, before receiving his certificate for the amount due him for his services. VII. Text Books. Under this head it is not necessary to include every text book that may chance to be in the hands of a scholar, but only those adopted by the board of education, and in general use in the school. VIII. Blank Reports. By calling upon their respective county auditors, boards of education can obtain printed blanks for making their annual reports. It is hoped that, with the aid of these forms and suggestions, no board of education will be dilatory in reporting to the county auditor, on or before the first day of October next, all the statistics which the school law calls for. IX. Special and separate School Districts. County auditors are particularly requested to indicate, by a suitable check mark prefixed, the cities, towns and incorporated villages which compose special or separate school districts. In conclusion, it is again urged with earnest solicitude, that no school officer, or board of school officers, will subject themselves to penalties, or their counties, townships, cities or incorporated villages to a loss of any portion of the common school fund, through negligence or dilatoriness in making, at the proper time, the report which the law demands, as a condition precedent to their legal claim to a proportionable share of the common school fund. Very respectfully, your obd't serv't, H. H. BARNEY. |