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Originally published in 1939
Some of this information may no longer be current and in that case is presented for historical interest only.
Edited by GET NJ, COPYRIGHT 2002
A commission named in 1932 by Governor A. Harry Moore to survey
school conditions recommended that the State should guarantee at least
$57 annually for every child of school age. Total cost to the State to supplement the funds of economically weak towns was estimated at $21,000,000 a year. Action on an equable distribution of State aid has been
delayed by the depression.
After making deductions for State institutions and losses through failure of tax collection, property value decline and litigation, officers of the
New Jersey State Teachers' Association estimate that in recent years State
aid to public schools has actually totaled not more than $5,500,000. This
is 6 percent of the cost of public education in New Jersey, compared with
89 percent provided by Delaware, 66 percent by North Carolina and 33
percent by New York.
In recent years, the school tax system has failed to provide funds
promptly, causing a reduction of teaching facilities in weaker communities.
In 1934 the State had 485 fewer teachers than in 1931 although the number of pupils had increased by 18,700. Salaries were delayed, courses curtailed, and the average teacher's salary fell from $2,143 to $1,821. In one
city 70 percent of the elementary pupils have been on part time. Cities
were forced to close summer schools and vocational evening schools, while
rural schools, hardest hit of all, were using textbooks published before
the World War, including geographies of pre-war Europe.
Much of the difficulty has been ascribed to the system of deriving
school funds almost exclusively from property taxes. Leading educators
urge that at least 20 percent of the burden be shifted to sources less likely
to dry up at the first indication of hard times.
Critics also object to State aid on the basis of the total daily attendance
of pupils in the public schools. Under this plan, by which each county
gets back a substantial portion of the money it raises for the State school
tax, the counties and communities least able to support public schools receive the least assistance from the State.
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