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GEORGIA 
 
State School Items 
 
Pub/isl.ed by tl1e State D epartment of Education 
 
M. D. COLLINS 
State Superintendent of Schools 
 
Volume X. 
 
FEBRUARY, 1933 
 
No.2 
 
State School Supervisors 
Discussion of the Proposed School Code 
Child Health Day 
 
Entered as seco nd-cla ss matter October 5, 1923, at the Post Office 
 
of Atl anta, Georgia, under th e Act of August 24, 1912. Acceptan ce 
 
r. 
 
for mailing at special rat e of postage provided for in Section 1103, 
 
Act of October 3, 1917, authorized October 5, 1923. 
 
i 
 
ATLANTA, GA. 
 
 STATE SCHOOL SUPERVISORS 
Electe<l by State Board cf Etlucntion, January 13, 1933 
 
T. JACK DEMPSEY, JR., 
High School Supervisor 
Former Superintendent of Schools, Butts County, Ga . A. B. graduate Emory University. Graduate work at Emory, Mercer, and U niversity of Georgia. Member Legislative Committee of Geo rgia Education Association. 
 
M. R. LITTLE, 
State School Supervisor 
Form e r Superintendent of Schools, J efferson County, Ga. M. A. Graduate, Mercer University. Past Pres;dent Georgia Association of Superintendents. Vice- P resident Georgia Educat ion A ssociation. Wi il serve schools of southeast Georgia. 
 
L. L. PERRY, 
State School Supervisor 
Forme r Superintendent of Schools of Palmetto, Fulton County, Georgia. M. A. Graduate, Oglethorpe University. Will serve schools of north Geo rg ia. 
 
M. E. THOMPSON', 
State School Supervisor 
Form e r Superintendent of Schools of Hawkinsville, Pulaski Cou nty, Georg'a. A. B. Graduate of Emory University. W ill serve schools of southwest Georg ia. 
 
 FOREWORD 
In presenting this issue of State School Items-the first issue under my administration as State Superintendent of Schools-it gives me much pleasure t0 assure the people of the state that our Governor and the m embers of the General Assembly are in thorough sympathy with our school problems. 
I have met and talked with a majority of the Senators and Representatives, and I know they have the educat'onal interests of the state very much at heart. 
I. find that throughout the state a great deal of interest is being manifes ted concernit1g the proposed new school code. It appears that the outstanding points of discussion in the proposed code are: 
1. Eliminating the independent and local tax d'stricts, and fi xing a minimum salary schedule, to be paid by the state, for all teach ers in the state. 
2. The State Board of Education to cons ist of t en members, one from each congressional district; each member to serve for a term of ten years, and this board to elect a State Superintendent of Schools. 
3. The members of the County Board of E ducation to be elected by th e people (nstead of by the Grand Jury) and this b~a rd to elect the County Superintendent of Schools-the superintendent not being required to be a resident of the county or of the state. 
4. Superintendents of schools now serving in indep endent districts to remain in office until J anuary i, 1937. 
In order that the people may have an opportunity to know the arguments advanced for and aga'nst these questions, we publish in this issue two articles by outstand.ing public servants. Hon. J. Scott Davis, representative from Floyd Co unty, a member of the Education Com mittee of the House of Representatives, gives his views favoring these changes, and Bon. G. A. Weaver, Senator from the 25th District, and a member of the Education Comm'ttee of the Senate, presents opposing vtews. 
Both of these gentlemen are recognized as diligent workers in behalf qf the common schools of Georgia, and while their opinions as to methods may differ, they are t ogeth er in t heir love for the scho ols, and in the'r desire to be of every possible assistance to advance the cause of education in our state. 
M. D. COLLINS, State Superintendent of Schools. 
 
 THE PROPOSED NEW SCHOOL CODE 
By J. SCOTT DAVIS, Representative, Floyd County 
The proposed new School Code creates a State Board of Education of eleven members, ten business lay members, one from each Congressional District appointed by the Governor and confirmed by the Senate, the Governor to be a member of the Board, making eleven members. 
This Board shall determine the educational policies of the State and enact by-laws, rules, and regulations for the administration of the Public School System, which, when enacted and published, shall have the force of law. 
The State Board of Education shall have supervision of the expenditure of all funds used in the public schools of the State. Each County System will be required to present its annual school budget for approval or disapproval to the State Board of Education. Under the above provisions the schools of the State will be operated in a business-like way and all overlapping and waste will be cut out of the system. 
The present State Board of Education sends out the regular State appropriation when the funds are made available on a per capita basis to every school child, colored and white, in each county of the State, but has no supervision as to how this money is spent. The Public School Equalization Fund is sent out to certain counties in the State according'to their educational need above their income, but the State Board of Education has no supervision over the spending of this fund. Under this present plan we have a great deal of waste, overlapping, and gross inequalities in educational opportuniti~s in the different counties of the State, and in the counties themselves. Under our present system the educational op- 
portunities vary to such an extent that the child living ill the 
wealthiest county in the State has ten times the educational opportunities of the child living in the poorest county. 
The proposed n ew; code puts the county unit system in force in this State. The County Unit System abolishes all the present school di stricts and says the County Board of Education shall divide the county into appropriate elementary and high school attendance districts, shall keep full records of the boundaries thereof, and shall locate and maintain schools, as needed, within each attendance district. This plan will cut out waste, overlapping and unnecessary transporta- 
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 tion, for the County Board of Education will have supervision over the entire county system and all the transportation, and can in this way cut out duplication. 
Under the proposed new code all the teachers in the State would receive not less than the minimum salary as set up in the salary schedule by the State Board of Education for an eight months term. Each county, from local funds, might supplement the minimum salary. 
Under our present code the County Board of Education has no supervision over the independent districts and very little over the local tax school districts where they have a bonded treasurer to receive and pay out the School funds. Some of the districts have voted bonds and local tax for maintenance until they are now unable to bear the heavy tax burden while others have r.efused to tax themselves and have short terms and poor schools. As a result of this system, we have no uniformity as to teachers' salaries. Some teachers with College certificates are teaching for forty-five dollars a month while others with only a High School education receive seventy-five dollars a month: In some of the counties high school subjects are taught to classes of from two to ten pupils at the expense of the large elementary classes in the same schools. The transportation is often overlapping and wasteful. 
The new code proposes a constitutional amendment to be submitted to the people providing for the selection of the State School Superintendent by the State Board of Education. This change would allow the Superintendent to give his entire time to the Schools of the State, and he would be saved a constant political campaign for re-election. The County Board of Education would be elected from five School Board districts by the vote of all the voters in the county. If the Grand Jury should fail for any reason to divide the county into County board districts the County Board of Education in that event would be elected from the County at large. The County Board of Education, when so elected, would elect a well-qualified County .School Superintendent who would be free to perform his duties in an efficient, business-like way. Under the present system, the Superintendent is under obligation to the voters, the teachers, and the district trustees who voted for him, to such an extent that it is almost impossible for him to run the schools in an efficient business-like way. 
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  Under the new code, as I understand it; the  Board. of 
 
Education in any independent school district may elect. a 
 
Superintendent before this code goes into effect for a 'term 
 
expiring not later than January 1st, 1937, and this Superin- 
 
tendent at his discretion may be directly and solely respon- 
 
sible for the administration and conduct of the respective school systems to the County Board of Education. ~ This was 
 
written into the Code to prevent any friction that might arise 
 
between the Superintendent of the independent system and 
 
the present County School Superintendents whose terms ex- 
 
pire January 1st, 1937. 
 
The new code makes the State the School unit for the 
 
teachers' salaries for an eight months term. It requires the 
 
County Superintendents to devote their entire time to their 
 
work and pays them a salary of eighteen hundred dollars a 
 
year by the State leaving the counties free to supplement 
 
their salaries out of local funds if they so desire. Each coun- 
 
ty may levy from one to five mills to supplement the school 
 
funds to be prorated per capita over the entire county. The 
 
present equalization fund is to be continued and be distributed 
 
by the State Board of Education to the counties which, after 
 
they have levied the five mills county wide tax, still have in- 
 
sufficient funds to pay for transportation and all other neces- 
 
sary expenses. At present, the county schools may only be 
 
able to operate five to six months with poor buildings and as 
 
good as no equipment while an independent system in the 
 
same county with one-third of the children and two-thirds of 
 
the wealth of the county may have a tax wall around it 'and 
 
by levying five mills on the wealth created by all the people 
 
in the county, run the schools in this favored, independent dis- 
 
trict nine months. This is not all; they have much better 
 
buildings, better teachers, good equipment, and a lot of other 
 
advantages. 
 
The new code will remove the walls around wealth in the 
 
independent systems and give every child in each county a,n 
 
equal chance to secure a high school education. 
 
 
 
Georgia stands at the bottom of the list of all the South- 
 
ern States in the educational opportunities offered her chil- 
 
dren. The time has come when every friend of childhood in 
 
Georgia should follow the golden rule, blot all selfishness 
 
_from the picture and unite with a determination to protect 
 
<J.nd educate our children if we have to redu.ce all other S.ta.te 
 
-aGtivities to accomplish it. 
 
J. SCOTT DAVIS. 
 
6 
 
 THE PROPOSED NEW SCHOOL CODE 
 
. By G. A. WEAVER, Senator, Twenty-Fifth District 
',: 
 
In opposing any measure pertaining to school s, one runs the ri sk .of having his position misunderstood. I am in favor of any measure that wjll uplift education in the State of Georgia. The changing of a system is like changing a teacher-we should be reasonably sure that the change is for the. better. 
 
1. I am not oppose d t o the state fixing the salaries of teachers and paying the se salaries . In fact, it appears to me that some of the salaries as set up by the proposed code are too low. I should like to see these salaries materially increased. However, we mu st look facts in the face. I am informed that under the salary schedule proposed by the new code, the State of Georgia would be required to raise approximately fifteen millions of dollars. I am not opposed to the state paying this fifteen million dollars, but before the state can pay it, it mu st be coll ected. In fac t, I am in favor of paying the teachers twenty-five millions of dollars, provided some Croesus will hand us the money. I cannot assume the responsibility as a representative of the people of trying to collect any such amount by taxation, and I know of no other way to get the money. 
 
Now, if we destroy our local tax units, a nd if in turn we 
 
cannot secure the funds through state t axes, I am of the 
 
opinion that we would practically destroy our public school 
 
system. A m an will willingly pay $100 a year out of his 
 
. po_ck et to send hi s children to school; likewise, he w ill pay 
 
a' r easonable amount of local tax in order that his local school 
 
may be up to standard, but if we, as r epre sentative s of the 
 
I 
 
people, tried t o saddle him with this same amount as a state 
 
k 
 
t ax, I think the people would run us out of the Capitol. 
 
2. I am oppo.sed to taking away from the people the 
 
privilege of electing the State Superintendent of Schools. 
 
The best assurance the people have that the head of the edu- 
 
cational system will respond to their wishes is to let the State 
 
Superintendent of Schools go before the people on election 
 
day for vindication or di sapproval of hi s ideas and policies. 
 
To have th e Superintendent elected by a Board, each 'mem- 
 
.ber of that Board se rving for a ten-year period, is not r epre- 
 
sentative government, and I fea r we would run 'the risk of 
 
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 setting up an -educational program that would retard rather than advance the schools of Georgia. 
I have no criticism to make of what is generally called "higher education." The higher it is, the better I like it. However; it is my observation that the colleges and universities always have capable representatives on hand to represent them on all occasions. The "pine knot" children, as they have been lovingly called, must likewise have a representative. They ca"n be assured of such a representative when the voters have the opportunity of going to the ballot box and voting for a State Superintendent of Schools. I feel that this privilege must not be taken from them. I am not seriously concerned over the number composing the State Board of Education, although I think the present set-up is all right. But let's not try to take from the people the privilege of selecting the highest school official in the state. 
3. To me, it appears somewhat inconsistent that the proposed school code calls for the election by the people of the County Board of Education and the appointment of the State Board. 
 
County Boards of Education, as now selected by the Grand Juries, generally comprise the most able, progressive, and school-loving citizens of the county. I believe that a majority of the members of these County Boards are serving because they have, in a manner, been drafted to do so, and I believe that very few of these same members would consider making a county-wide campaign for this office-an office that would pay $36.00 per year, and one that is filled with troubles for the man who holds it. Generally speaking, it could not be expected that the personnel of the County Board of Education would be improved by making the office elective. 
 
I am also opposed to the County Board appointing a 
 
County Superintendent of Schools. Under the proposed code. 
 
the County School Superintendent need not be a resident of 
 
the county nor of the state. I believe that the County School 
 
Superintendent should be a bona fide resident of the county. 
 
He will be more interested in local conditions, will under- 
 
stand and sympathize \yith local problems to a greater extent 
 
than a superintendent who might be called from another state 
 
or section. 
 
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4. To pass a state law that would keep in office for four years superintendents of independent systems, regardless of their efficiency or inefficiency, is not my idea of progressive 
 
 school legislation. Why make an exception of superintendents?  Why not pass a law that every school teacher in the state must remain as now employed for a period of four years? Certainly, all these superintendents are not so indispensable that a state law must be passed to keep them in office. I think the County Board of Education or the local Boards, as now set up, should be judges of the fitness of superintendents and teachers. 
I make no apology for setting forth my views on these important questions. I will do anything within reason to advance the educational interests of the State of Georgia, but when I see proposed changes that I think would jeopardize education in our state, I consider it my duty and privilege to say so. 
G. A. WEAVER. 
SPECIAL NOTICE TO SUPERINTENDENTS AND 
TEACHERS 
At the meeting of the State Board of Education held January 13, 1933, it was unanimously voted to discontinue the charge of $1.00 for Georgia teachers' certificates. Superintendents are requested to notify teachers that hereafter in filing their transcripts for certificates, they need not remit the fee of $1.00 heretofore charged. This will save the teachers of Georgia more than $7,000 per year. 
GEORGIA BI-CENTENNIAL 
At the request of many superintendent's and teachers, the Department of Education is gathering material for programs celebrating the Georgia Bi-centennial. This new material will contain the Georgia state adopted song, excerpts from speeches by orators and statesmen, and poems that will be applicable to the occasion. This material will be published in the March issue of STATE SCHOOL ITEMS. The Department will appreciate help in collecting this data and full credit will be given to anyone sending in acceptable material. 
All suggestions should be mailed to M. D. Collins, State Superintendent of Schools. 
 
 Il ~~UII~Ii~ll~ll~ll~nlilllllil~iiU~IIII 
3 2108 05339 4154 
MAY DAY AND CHILD HEALTH PROGRAM 
The first day of May has, for a number of years, been set aside for the purpose of centering attention on the children of the state, with especial emphasis on the health of the child, and this day is now generally designated as May-Day National Child Health Day. In the past there has been a central national organization in the American Child Health Association, with funds available for aiding the states by furnishing programs and plans and educational material. This aid is no longer available. The central committee of the American Public Health Association has appointed a state Chairman but cannot do more than keep the organization intact. It, therefore, becomes the duty of each school and each teacher to put on .their own May Day program. As May Day is not far distant, plans for appropriate programs should be made as soon as possible. Each community should be encouraged to take an active interest in the plays and pageants presented by the schools in celebration of this day. 
The State May Day Chairman is Dr. Joe P. Bowdoin, Chief of Division of Child Hygiene, Department of Public Health, Capitol Building, Atlanta, Georgia, and he has requested each superintendent of schools in the state to act as local chairman for his schools. The State Department of Public Health; under. the direction of Dr. T. F. Abercrombie, will be glad to aid in every way possible any plans for May Day. 
The Medical Association has also volunteered to furnish addresses on health upon request. If desired, the president or secretary of the various local medical societies will be glad to assist in securing a speaker. If no local physician is available, assistance my be obtained by writing Dr. Marion T. Benson, Medical Arts Building, Atlanta, Georgia. 
The State Board of Health especially urges that every possible means of safe-guarding the health of the children be used. To assist in guarding the welfare of the children typhoid vaccine is furnished free of charge and toxoid and small-pox vaccine are furnished at cost. The Congress of Parents and Teachers will have charge of their usual summer health work and have been at work for several weeks. There is no finer or better work done than that which this org-anization carries on and it means dollars in the pockets of the taxpayers to have the children enter school protected against 
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 smallpox, typhoid and diphtheria, and with remedial defects corrected. In round numbers we have 183,000 children arriving at school age each year. Blanks for health examinations may be obtained free of charge from Mrs. W. Guy Hudso n, 401 0:1kland Street, Decatur, Georgia, and also a list of the physicians who have been appointed by the president of the State Medical Association, Dr. M. M. Head, t o assist in the work of preparing the children for school. 
11 
 
 TAXES AND SCHOOLS 
 
There are two problems now confronting the people of 
 
Georgia which vitally affect the present and future welfare 
 
of our state. 
 
These problems are: (1) how to raise sufficient revenue 
 
to keep the "ship of state" going, and (2) how to keep our 
 
schools in operation. 
 
These two problems are closely related; we cannot op- 
 
erate schools without revenue, and the future revenue of the 
 
state is largely dependent upon the present operation of the 
 
schools. 
 
We would not attempt to advise our law makers how to 
 
raise revenue. Regardless of what may be said to the con- 
 
trary, the people realize that the members of the General As- 
 
sembly comprise the best minds of our state. These men 
 
know of any available ways of providing money to keep the 
 
various departments of the state in operation and to keep 
 
the schools . open. 
 
With the exception of schools, five years from now no 
 
one would probably feel any ill effects if every other state 
 
function were stopped for a year. But, should schools be 
 
closed for a year, the ill effects will be manifest for a hundred 
 
years. 
 
We do not advocate the closing of any other state de- 
 
partment, but we do advocate keeping our schools in opera- 
 
tion. 
 
We are informed that in some counties in Georgia teach- 
 
ers have not been p:tid th ei r salaries for almost a year. Many 
 
counties, we understand, are several months behind with 
 
teachers' salaries. 
 
This condition speaks well for the patriotism of the school 
 
teacher, but it does not speak so well for the government 
 
that would permit this condition to prevail. 
 
County and district taxes have fallen to such a low mark 
 
that the schools cannot depend upon this source of revenue. 
 
Should the state fail to come to the rescue of the school, they 
 
must close; and if the schools close, the stigma will be upon 
 
the state for many years to come. Curtailing school appro- 
 
priations may save money for one year, but the state, in years 
 
to come, will be required to spend, taking care of ignorance 
 
and crime, many times the amount thus saved. 
 
We do not believe that our Governor and the members of 
 
the General Assembly can or will permit this shortsiO'hted policy to prevaiL-From The Atlanta's Suburban Rep~rter 
 
East Point, Ga. 
 
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