ktWtvif3J3fcIi 4 SlUV voci i i CrA yH K 44 PROGRESS REPORT OF LONGRANGE PLANNING FOR SCHOOL BUILDINGS IN GEORGIA Si Program of Educational Development for Georgia I ISSUED BY EDUCATION PANEL Agricultural and Industrial Development Board of Georgia Athens Georgia i AGRICULTURAL AND INDUSTRIAL DEVELOPMENT BOARD OF GEORGIA Blanton Fortson Chairman L Vaughan Howard Executive Director Name of Member Address Ivan AllenAtlanta T F AbercrombieAtlanta Charles L Bowden Macon W N BanksGrantville Cason J CallawayHamilton M D Collins Atlanta Ryburn G ClayAtlanta Mrs Frank C DavidColumbus Blanton Fortson Athens Charles B GramlingAtlanta Robert W GrovesSavannah Alfred W JonesSea Island Tom LinderAtlanta Wiley L Moore Atlanta Walter R McDonaldAtlanta Henry McIntoshAlbany W H McNaughtonCartersville J L PilcherMeigs Robert StricklandAtlanta M King TuckerWaynesboro Wilson WilliamsAtlanta EDUCATION BULLETIN No 11 JULY 1 1945 J EDUCATION PA1EL M D Collins Chairman Atlanta Mrs Frank C David Columbus Wilson Williams Atlanta 0 C Aderhold Director Athens J u a o 1 H I I H I o u cc ui O z CO Z O Z Written By L 0 Rogers 0 C Aderhold and Paul Carroll T E Smith S P Clemons W A StumPf Johnnye V Cox a H Colbert Charles P Hudgins County School Superintendents Staff Members of the Public Works Panel Bell Winn a z o CD PREFACE This bulletin is a brief progress report of one phase of the program of educational development carried on by the Education Panel of the Georgia Agricultural and Industrial Development Board It de scribes the work in school building planning in approximately onehalf of the counties in the State during the past year July 1 1944 to June 30 1945 Wise participation in a postwar building program is one of the urgent concerns of public officials on the state county and lo cal levels The Public Works Panel of the Agricultural and Industrial Development Board is actively engaged in assisting officials to formulate plans for roads air ports streets court houses and other public buildings The Education Panel is stimulating and assisting county and local school officials to develop longrange plans for school buildings The two panels Education and Public Works are coordinating the school building needs and plans with the total public works needs and plans for the county or local unit The school building needs are thus studied and planned as a part of a total public works postwar building program The progress made in developing postwar school building plans in onehalf of the counties in the State is in large part due to the interest enthusiasm and work of the superintendents and boards of education In every county these officials have participated in gather ing the facts and other information as a basis for determining needs Y i and have helped to interpret these data and project the plans In problems of planning involving great controversy such as consolidating schools developing larger high school units and the like these officials have net the challenge analyzed the facts and planned courageously In most instances these plans have become official through action of the hoard of educa tion The execution of the building plans awaits the end of the war The Education Panel is projecting its plans to complete the program of school building planning in each county in the State by July 1 1946 11 FROGRESS IN LONGRANGE PLANNING FOR SCHOOL BUILDINGS IN GEORGIA July 1 1944 June 30 1945 Plans completed 56 counties fJ Need no buildings at s I this time4 counties 31 Plans Practically PSa completed6 counties fPWLOmO COBS Plans Partially com pleted6 counties O4LETH0HPE COtT Irurtrre If iV j1 BiflrtM vVU0 lStVfCjJlltWiLC ill 7 to H ROC V jss o 5 r A riicJnK0 5 S esgfe wjasgtjr olHtiViii YVVJ ti g2gl J BkKtK sJgi iJZf Ti vrJ1 FSS iii01 JWSfcriS 1 JuiIiuil ijilr vXi rtMttH i V TABLE OF CONCENTS Page Preface Map of the State Showing the Number of Counties and Locations in Which a Postwar Building Progran Has Been Planned Chapter I Scope and Pattern Followed in Determining the Building ITeeds and the Method Used in Setting Up Plans Chapter II Sone Results Achieved in Planning School Buildings in Georgia Chapter III Major Obstacles Encountered in Developing an Efficient Building Progran Chapter IV A Brief Description of Tragic Situations Found in Different Counties Chapter V The Next Steps for the Education Panel in Planning School Buildings 111 12 15 mmR CHAPTEE I SCOPE AND PATTEBN FOLLOWED IN DETERMINING THE BUILDING MEEDS AND THE METHODS USED IN SETTING UP PLANS The planning of the postwar school building program in the coun ties involved four major steps They are as follows 1 Collecting and organizing basic factual data 2 Proposing a list of building projects based upon the needs as revealed by the factual data 3 Conferring with local school authorities and agreeing upon a program for the county and adoption of a long time building policy and 4 Putting the report in permanent form and on file The remainder of this chapter is devoted to a brief outline of the procedure followed in developing each of the above steps 1 Collecting and organizing basic factual data a Making a study of the county school map with re spect to roads location of schools distances be tween schools accessibility to high schools and density of population both white and Negro b Studying the administrative organization to de termine how the system is operated Examinations are made to determine how the board operates wheth er or not there are independent systems within the county and to what extent local boards of trustees administer the educational program of the local school districts c Making a study of the school records and reports to 1 isSSfidetermine the number of elementary junior high and senior high schools for both white and Negro students and the attendance in each The curriculum offerings are studied along with the instructional cost per pupil Here an effort is made to determine whether the schools are being operated efficiently and economically or wheth er they should be reorganized From the records the transportation system is studied to determine the number of buses used conditions of same the type of ownership cost per pupil per year and the total cost per year to the system d Obtaining from the county school superintendents annual reports and compiling in tabulated form by races broken down into elementary and high schools the average daily attendance by years for the past five years After these records are obtained along with a study of the popula tion trends in the county an estimate of the schools attendance is projected through the next five years e Studying the state auditors report and the superintend ents annual financial report to determine the amount of revenue the sources from which derived during the past five years and making an estimate of the amount of money that will be available each of the next five years f Obtaining fromthe state auditors reports and the 2 jMHB superintendents annual financial reports the total expenditures per year for the past five years and based upon the present legal limitations making an estimate of the anticipated revenue that may be expended for each of the next five years g Determining from the records the bonded indebtedness of the county school system and of the separate school districts with date of maturity 2 Proposing a list of building projects based upon the needs revealed by the factual data a The information obtained as outlined above supplemented by information furnished by the county school superintend ent principals and board members is used to develop a list of building projects for the county or system In setting up the projects consideration is given to 1 needs for consolidating units especially the high schools 2 curriculum trends and needs and 3 ability of the school district or system to finance fifty percent of the cost of the project b The building projects are placed upon forms ready to be filed with the Public Works Panel ITo attempt is made to draw plans and write specifications 3 Conferring with local school authorities aM agreeing upon a program for the county and adoption of a longrange building policy a After a system has been worked out according to the a bove pattern a conference is held with all the mem bers of the board of education and the superintendent At this conference all the facts are reviewed and Placed before then for their information consideration alteration and approval The hoard members are encourag ed to feel that it is their program and that they are free to alter change or discard any or all of the pro jects listed b When a thorough study has been made by the board and the members are satisfied with the program as set up they are asked to adopt it in the form of a resolution 4 Putting the renort in permanent oje sM fifi tileK Following the approval of the respective boards the entire report including board action is typed in triplicate One copy is returned to the system superintendent one is filed in the office of the Education Panel and the third is sent to the director of the Public Works Panel in Atlanta Georgia Upon the completion of the work of the Public Works Panel in a county the entire program including the work of the Educa tion Panel in that county is printed and bound in an attrac tive pamphlet for distribution to the public Except for the printing of the reports the Education Panel has completed the work in 56 counties and in 9 independent city systems In six other counties the study had been made and the work partially completed 4 The forms used in securing the data and in projecting trends nay be found in Bulletin One published Dy the Public Works Panel of the Agricultural and Industrial Development Board Readers who are interested in seeing the completed plans for a county or system may write to the Director of the Education Panel Athens Georgia 5 CHAPTER II SOME RESULTS ACHIEVED IK PIABBIBG SCHOOL BUILD DIGS IB GEORGIA Some tangible evidence is apparent that the work of the Panel is beginning to hear fruit Listed below are a number of changes that have either been made or are in the process of heing Bade as soon as conditions permit Nine examples have been selected from the studies and planning as carried on in about seventy systems These are presented to show some of the major changes taking place EXAMPLE 1 The county and the independent city system have legally merged into one county unit system Prior to the merger the county hoard operat ed four email rural high schools with enrollments In 1944 of 32 44 41 and 40 students respectively The cost of instruction per pupil in each school was 21934 18145 16576 and 12833 respectively In the independent city high school there were 85 pupils enrolled and the cost per pupil was 11519 per year The instructional courses available to the students were limited to a minimum varying from 12 to 21 units with an average of only 15 units The new plan will enable the county to have only one high school which will have an enrollment of 252 students and will permit the school to offer at least 24 units of work including vocation al training creative arts slum work guidance etc and at the same time reduce the instructional cost from 30233 per year to 18282 per year After allowing for the cost of additional transportation involved a net saving per year of 10000 will he realized 6EttMFLE 2 At the beginning of the 194445 school term the county hoard of education had a surplus of 12000 Salaries were increased and addition al teachers in excess of the state allotment were employed As a result at the close of the 1945 school year the surplus was used up all of the current revenue for the year was consumed and the board was in debt about 500 Based upon the findings of the survey by the Education Panel a reorganization was recommended and approved by the board The reorganiza tion will permit the elimination of the six teachers who were paid by the local board the replacement of certain county license teachers by higher grade certificated teachers so that allotments from the State will be suf ficient and local supplements will be unnecessary Thus the local expenses can be reduced by between 7000 and 8000 for another term and at the same time better opportunities will be provided for the students EXAMPLE b The county school superintendent and the county board of educa tion approved a program of consolidation developed by the Panel in which the number of schools in the county will be reduced from 15 to 5 thereby eliminating 8 oneteacher schools and making it possible for all high school students to attend one central county high school Such a program will enable the board to reduce the number of teachers from 39 to 34 This would result in a saving of at least 5000 per year A building program will have to be completed before the reorganization can be effected This county is wholly rural There are no railroads or industrial plants of any T7T kind in the county The total assessed valuation of the property of the county subject to tax is less than 250000 The amount of funds rais ed by a fivemill levy for school purposes is less than 1200 per year Therefore adequate physical facilities cannot be provided with local funds alone EXAMPLE 4 Through the assistance of the Education Panel the school authori ties have planned a program by which at least 18 schools will he consoli dated into 7 thereby eliminating 11 snail poorly equipped schools in the county At present there are 32 schools in the county system two of vhich are senior high schools There are 24 others attempting to do some ninth grade work with an average of only 8 pupils in the two upper grades The instructional cost for these junior high school pupils is unreasonably high and the instruction is of the poorest type As soon as buildings can be provided at the senior high schools the plans as ap proved call for transferring all high school students to these senior high schools TheBe plans will not result in a great financial saving but will provide a far superior educational program for the students EXAMPLE 5 In a small rural county with a white population of 1676 and 353 students in school the county operates two schools both senior high schools In the high school department there are only 46 and 55 students enrolled respectively costing an average of 11900 per year per stu dent There are only 15 units of work offered Both schools will lose their accrediting rating after 1946 8 arr The board has approved plans to consolidate these two schools into a single county high school and to improve the curricula so as to offer at least 20 units of work This can he done at less expense than at present except for providing the necessary building facilities When these plans are effectuated an additional cost of 500 in trans portation per year will he incurred hut all of the students of the county will he provided with the advantages of an efficient accredited high school with an enriched program of training EXAMPLE 6 Acting upon the survey and recommendations made hy the Educa tion Panel the city independent hoard and the county hoard of education held an election and the two systems were merged into a single county unit system to he operated under the county hoard of education Thus the rural students can have the same educational advantages as the city students This merger simplifies the administration of the schools and provides for a more efficient business organization Further plans have been approved by the county board which when buildings can be provided will reduce the number of school dis tricts from 21 to 8 When completed all one two and threeteacher schools for the white students will be eliminated and a good system of consolidated grades schools will be established for all the students in the county It will require some time to complete the program but a good beginning has already been made EXAMPLE 7 The county has a very small 30 percent white population 9 HUM with a school attendance of 255 elementary and 126 high school students in the four schools The State allots the county 21 teachers hut the county employs 29 The salaries of the eight extra teachers are paid from local county funds The Education Panel recommended that all white students of the county beginning with the seventh grade be transferred to a cen tral county high school and that the other three schools be limited to 6 grades each This reorganization will assure all students the faci lities of an accredited high school If these changes had not been made there would probably not be an accredited high school in the county in 1946 The savings in salaries by eliminating the 8 teachers paid by the county will be at least 8000 per year and the only extra expenses incurred are in providing some additional building faci lities for the central school and in an increase of 50 per month for transportation The board approved the recommendations and is consider ing ways and means of putting them into effect EXAMPLE 8 The recommendations in one county included the legal merging of the two systems under the county board of education and the es tablishment of a central high school with a countywide bond issue to finance the necessary building program The city and county school boards met jointly with the Education Panel representative and voted una nimously to accept the recommendations Plans are now underway for calling an election to enable them to put the program into operation 10 EXAMPLE 9 A reorganization of the entire school program of the county has been recommended The plans provide for the independent city system to merge with the county system by contract and to make the city schools available to any rural school students whom the county board may send in to the central county school This recommendation has al ready been approved and the reorganization is now under way The plan provides also that three of the small rural high schools he eliminated and that the eighth and ninth grade students in two additional rural junior high schools he transferred to the three senior high schools The county hoard has approved the plan The present merger system will provide for better opportunities for all the students at an appreciable decrease in cost 11 CHAPTER III MAJOR OBSTACLES ENCOUNTERED IN DEVELOPING AN EFFICIENT SCHOOL BUILDING PROGRAM Many obstacles are encountered in planning school building programs Some of the most important difficulties grow out of 1 inadequate finances 2 education for Negroes 3 existence of independent school systems 4 lack of information as a basis for planning school plant needs 5 transportation and 6 lack of uniformity in making tax assessments 1 Inadequate finances In most schools all of the income is used for oprtating expenses and there is little opportunity to create a reserve for building purposes Practically all new buildings must be financed with bond issues The new constitution provides new techniques for issuing bonds The county is the unit for issuing bonds for school purposes 2 Negro schools A second series of problems is encountered in endeavoring to de velop an efficient educational program for the Negroes Generally very little consolidation has been done for Negroes and practically no trans portation has been provided Most school officials have expressed them selves as favoring the development of a consolidated system of Negro schools with a reasonable amount of transportation This they feel can be done only when additional funds for buildings and transportation are made available Without Federal or state aid very few counties could undertake an expanded program of this type 3 Independent school systems The existence of an independent city school system in a county 12Ioften becomes an insurmountable obstacle to the development of an effi cient and economical educational and building program In many cases there is very little cooperation between the county and the city systems As a result each system has set up its own program built the physical plants and established high schools In some counties students are transported many miles from the city limits to rural schools where the enrollment is small and the courses of instruction are limited Since these schools have already been established school boards find it very difficult to a bolish them and to conolidate then into larger units 4 ack of information A fourth obstacle is the lack of accurate information upon which school plant needs may be determined Inadequate planning has been the general rule and accurate pertinent information has never been assembled in most counties Improperly located buildings which increase transpor tation and instructional costs have been one of the results of this inadequate planning These buildings improperly located serve as a positive detriment to proper organization in many counties 5 Transportation A fifth difficulty results from the fact that the equalization program is such that a consolidation of school centers may decrease the state allotment for teachers salaries and thus decrease the allotment of administrative funds b consolidation may increase local transporta tion costs which are borne primarily by local school units and c in terchange of students across county lines is discouraged 136 Lack a uniformity in making tax assessments A fifth difficulty is the financial loss that nay accrue as a re sult of the lack of uniformity in assessing property In cities which have independent systems it is not uncommon to find the same piece of pro perty so assessed as to yield a lower amount for county purposes than for city purposes 14 IM1 CHAPTER IT A BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF SOME TRAGIC SITUATIONS FOUND IN COUNTIES From the study made in the 64 counties have been revealed many interesting but tragic situations that are the direct result of the lack of intelligent planning Many of these are brought about fron inade quate legislation and others from the lack of personnel for the proper supervision and control by the State Department of Education A few examples to illustrate the statement are listed below 1 Inequalities in income In one county having a school population of 1127 enrolled all white 61 percent of all the property is exempted from taxes The 39 percent that is taxable makes a tax budget of less than 250000 The school levy of five mills yields only 1100 per year while the budget for operating the schools amounts to 44468 The superintendents salary is 1500 per year Of the total budget less than 3 percent is provided from county and local funds A 15nill levy will produce less than 3500 per year or about 7 percent of the budget for operation In another county having approximately the same number of students 872 white and 289 Negro or a total of 1161 the county spends 80312 per year has an assessed valuation of 1750000 subject to school tax and raises 8686 from the county or 11 percent of its expenditures Each of the above counties is a typical rural county but one has two railroads that transverse it while the other has no railroads or in dustries within its borders The above are typical of many other counties 15and systems in the State They are cited to show the vast inequalities in financial ability existing among the counties of the State and the impossibility of some counties to provide adequate physical facilities from local funds A substantial state fund to he distributed to local units on an equalization basis is necessary in order to reduce these in equalities in the school plant field While the above figures are taken from the records for general operations it is apparent that for building purposes the inequalities are much greater since there are no state nor Federal fluids provided for buildings Without such outside aid the former county will never be able to house properly its students Prom the above facts it is apparent that for operation the edu cational opportunities offered in the two counties differ considerably For building purposes however when all the funds are raised locally the difference is far greater Assuming that 10 percent of the total valuation of the property exact figures are not available is exempted from bond issues as a result of personal property exemptions the wealthier county could issue approximately 136788 worth of bonds while the poorer could issue only 43292 to provide school buildings for ap proximately the same number of students At the normal cost of school house construction the poorer county could never finance an adequate building program for its students Only by means of state aid or Federal aid for building will counties of this poorer type ever be able to offer their students satisfactory school buildings 16 2 Small high schools are expensive and inefficient In one county with a white population of 11475 there are eight senior high schools seven of these have an average enrollment of less than 60 students each For these 413 students 30 teachers are employed This is a ratio of one teacher for each 137 pupils The instructional cost per pupil per year is atove 106 At the same time the course of study is limited to an average of less than 16 units per school If the county hoard had legal authority to raise funds with which to provide buildings these schools could he comhined into two or throe strategically located schools and operated with twothirds the present number of teachers and at the same time offer a much hetter program of instruction Upon careful study it was found that in at least 37 of the 66 counties studied similar conditions exist in varying degrees A lack of intelligent planning in consolidation is proving ex ceedingly costly The excessive costs are incurred not only in operating expenses hut also in capital outlay costs Expensive huildings have been constructed and have been ahandoned completely within a few years because of a lack of sufficient students In one county a few years ago the citizens hoping to estahlish a senior high school voted bonds and built a permanent brick building After operating for 3 or 4 years with less than 30 students the build ing was abandoned and the students from the district were sent to the 17Mtbtega central accredited county high school Yet for a score of years the citizens will be burdened with this bonded indebtedness The above example is typical and includes both elementary and high school buildings in a great number of the counties studied 3 JSsm Pnfl11 independent city gystea should be combined with the county system Several years ago by act of the legislature a very small vil lage established its own Independent school system Today this system has only 24 white and 17 Negro students in regular attendance in oneteacher schools in which only 6 grades are taught The county system takes care of the high school students of the village without charge The above is a very extreme case but elimination of many inde pendent systems would result in benefit to the independent systems con cerned and would make it possible for the entire county to organize in a way to improve its educational program 4 Systems should have guidance in issuing bondst A small school district in the early nineteen twenties voted a 6000 bond issue The bonds bear six percent interest and no payments will be due until thirtyfour years after the date of issuance At the expiration of the due date for these bonds the taxpayers will have paid 13000 in interest and will still owe the original 6000 principal Close examination of policies of issuing bonds in the future can protect the taxpayers from such expensive situations 5 Many examples of waste as a result of no planning In one Hegro school of ten classrooms and an auditorium there 18Lcrafliaaas are twentytwo regularly enployed teachers two in each classroon and two in the auditorium The classes range fron fifty to eight students each and fron two to four students to each desk In another county two rural ITegro schools each located within ten niles of a good central county high school for Negroes four years of high school work are offered One of these schools has only ten students in the high school and the other has only twelve The cost of instruc tion per pupil per year in each school is 270 and 290 respectively The superintendent reports that the cost of transporting these students to the central high school would he only 900 per year would require no addition al teachers in the high school and would save the county 4000 per year In one county the hoard of education is paying 105 per nonth to operate a hus for eight niles to transport two children This is a cost of 47250 per pupil per year In a county a 40000 trick school huilding was constructed twenty years ago without a single ventilator in walls helow the floor level The result has heen that the entire floor and foundation had to he replaced on account of dry rot In the sane county another equally expensive huild ing was constructedwith ventilators hut they have recently been closed with brick cutting off all ventilation These conditions axist in many othor counties The entire average daily attendance for all white schools in a county is 255 elenentary with 126 in high school For these 381 students the county naintains two high schools nine niles apart with enrolments of 38 and 73 respectively The students in all these schools could be 19 ma transported to one high school and given a broader curriculum offering at an increased transportation cost of not more than 500 per year This would save the salaries of six teachers A conservative estimate of the saving is 5500 per year In one county which has both a county and an independent school system the same persons serve as chairman of both boards of education In addition to the chairman two other members serve jointly on both boards Two incorporated towns in the same county with more than 2000 population each and a combined tax valuation of more than 4000000 do noifc pay any school tax Nor does any individual living in the towns pay any school tax These corporationowned towns are not independent school systems but contract with an independent system to operate their schools A county has thirteen Negro schools with an average daily at tendance of 311 students Two schools would amply serve the county and would save the State the salaries of onethird of the teachers now being paid The county would lose some administrative funds resulting from the loss of teachers If some adjustment could be made so that the county would not lose administrative funds by consolidation the educational program could be greatly improved Another county has the distinction of never having floated bonds for any purpose The courthouse was built by Works Projects Administra tion funds matched by accumulated tax funds Only one white school is necessary to serve this county 20 LC V The cases cited here are samples of sone interesting and at the sane tine disturbing conditions which have arisen in Georgia as a result of a lack of planning The tine has cone when local and County school authorities nust justify funds expended under their direction The Education Panel is endeavoring to set a pattern for sanedowntoearth planning based on correct factual data and on conditions as they are 21CHAPTER V THE NEXT STEPS FOR THE EDUCATION PANEL IN PLANNING SCHOOL BUILDINGS The work of the Education Panel in stimulating and assisting school systems to plan for a more adequate school plant has led the staff to the conclusion that the task is only partially completed and that the following steps should be taken in 194546 1 Studies should be continued in the other 7580 counties in order that all counties and systems in the State may he prepared for and take ad vantage of anticipated postwar Federal Building Program 2 Recent legislation regarding school buildings in Georgia requires that after July 1 1946 school building programs must conform to an overall county plan and that this plan must be based upon a preliminary study of school plant needs The plan developed by the Panel in about onehalf of the counties satisfies this requirement The job should be finished next year in order that all counties may have an equal opportunity in getting programs in operation 3 The recent legislation referred to above requires that intensive studies be made in a county to de termine specific location of buildings kinds of 22ffAfr 4 buildings to meet curriculum needs and the like In order to carry out the law techniques must be developed for making these intensive studies techniques for naking spot naps trends in popu lation density of population occupational status and trends etc should be discovered and tried out The Panel proposes to develop a procedure for naking such surveys This will involve inten sive work in three or four spot counties The above proposals will utilize the services of one fulltine and one parttine person 23 M y