s. Total. 88,053 61 as during 000 was è income 10, was, ies and applied hat ex- there in the Hed as - and otal. 22,823 38,167 ber cts. ties t of to re pol n ly -d t petween ɩne ages of our and twenty-one years residing therein. Hence, in the rural districts, the law requires an actual enumeration of persons of the prescribed age; and those who departed for the war, have, manifestly, not been enumerated. Of the number thus reported, 892,550 are returned as having attended school for a longer or shorter period during the year. For no previous year has the attendance been so large. The number of private schools reported is 1537, with an aggregate attendance of 47,374. The number of pupils connected with the academies and colleges in the State, during the year, is about 40,000. If we assume 60,000 as the attendance upon private schools, and that these, together with those attending the academies, are all within the school age, we have, between the ages of four and twenty-one, not connected with the schools, 333,273. It must be borne in mind, however, that as fixed by statute, the school age includes all children between the ages of four and twenty-one years; whilst experience has abundantly shown that a large proportion of children between the ages of four and six, and between seventeen and twenty-one, do not attend school. Out of seventeen school years, then, there are six which are really not school-going years; so that about two-sevenths of the general enumeration, amounting to 377,948 in the year, consist of children whom we could not reasonably expect to find in attendance at school at all. Some of those of the younger class mentioned, it is true, do attend in the cities, and in the country during the summer term, and some of the older class during the winter; but these do not make the larger proportion between those ages. And when we take into consideration the many causes which go to make up the large non-attendance of children of the proper school age, such as the poverty of parents who require the sioned by the diseases incident to childhood and you may cease to wonder at the magnitude of the deli cies. After making all possible allowances, howev evil is still great; and any remedy which will remove i partially, is worthy of attentive consideration. The signed stated, in a report transmitted to the Legis January 31, 1857, that "in the rural districts, g regularity of attendance might be secured by distri a part of the public money upon the basis of atten that a distribution on such a basis would make pecuniary interest of every tax-payer in the dist encourage a regular and general attendance, and parents would be less willing to permit their child absent themselves from school for trifling causes." subsequent reports from this Department have substan repeated the same suggestion. But there has been a tical difficulty in obtaining a correct record of attend and it would not do to make an apportionment u registry kept on loose sheets of paper, and mad without sufficient care. The temptation to exaggerat number of children and the regularity of their attend for the purpose of increasing the apportionment, mu removed before money can be safely distributed on s basis. The only practical way of doing this, will require each district to provide a school register, and teacher to note down daily the attendance or absen each pupil, and make oath to its correctness before he obtain his wages. Though the law does now require tees to furnish registers for their respective districts, n of them neglect to do so. The expense of providing registers would be much reduced if the State were to pare them in quantities, by applying a portion of library money for that purpose. The importance of distance younger Is occa outh, we inquenver, the it, even e under Slature, greater buting dance: it the rict to I that ren to The tially prac ance; on a = up the zice, t be -ha to he of for 1859, was reiterated in that for 1860, and approved in the report from this Department for 1861. Mr. VAN DYCK remarks: "Could each district be furnished with a 'School Register,' substantially bound, properly ruled, and so divided as to show the name and age of each pupil, the time of his entrance into school, and each day of his attendance throughout the week, month and term; imposing little labor on the teacher, and removing all excuse for inaccuracy, while it would form a continuous record of the school for successive years, it would constitute the greatest boon which could at this time be conferred on our common schools. In no way could the duties of trustees be so eminently lightened; in no way could a fruitful source of dissension and litigation in the districts be so readily removed, as by the adoption of the measure proposed. With a permanent record before them, trustees would find no difficulty in properly apportioning the rate bills; and at the close of the year a transcript of attendance could be made that would be in all respects reliable, both as a matter of general information and an indication of the extent to which our citizens avail themselves of the educational privileges provided by the State." The attendance upon the public schools, for a series of years, is reported as follows: all The number attending the same schools in 1862 is thus and, from year to year, is quite uniform. The teachers employed during the last two years This statement includes all teachers who have employed for any time, however short; and many, less, are reported twice, having taught school in dif districts. The "number of teachers employed at the same tin six months or more," will give more nearly the nu required to supply the schools. That number was: For the payment of teachers' wages have been exper There was raised by taxes, in the rural districts and ci There was raised by rate bill, in the rural districts, sum of $407,009.57, which must be added to the am s; in days. nths, Fere: 1862. rural districts with the amount raised by cities. This will make the sum raised by the rural districts, the past year, $914,610.92. The revenue from the Common School Fund, during the year, was: From the Fund proper. 7,585 3,915 From U. S. Deposit Fund... Transfer from General Fund for interest on money for ber 2. 32 Paid during the year.. $138,451 74 165,000 00 20,204 44 $323,656 18 97,987 32 $421,643 50 348.977 54 Balance in treasury, September 30, 1862... --- $72,665 96 The following statement shows the amount of school money, and its apportionment for the year 1862-3: Moneys apportioned. From the Common School Fund... U. S. Deposit Fund.... State school tax.. 53 85 Balance in treasury... $155,000 00 165,000 00 1,086,977 96 1,554 49 $1,408,532 45 The above amount is apportioned as follows: For payment of salaries of School Commissioners For district quotas". For "pupil quotas". For libraries.. Balance for contingent appropriations.. Total.. $56,000 00 427,102 55 869.354 91 55,000 00 1,074 99 $1,408,532 45 The following is a summary of the statistical and financial reports of the public schools of the State, for the year ending with September 30, 1862: |