OF THE NATIONAL VOL. XIII No. 1 EDUCATION JANUARY - 1935 ASSOCIATION The Nation's School Building Needs Published by the RESEARCH DIVISION of the NATIONAL EDUCATION ASSOCIATION 1201 Sixteenth Street, N. W., Washington, D. C. RESEARCH BULLETIN co: we Published five times each year in January, March, May, September, and November President, HENRY LESTER SMITH NATIONAL EDUCATION ASSOCIATION Secretary, WILLARD E. GIVENS The payment of the $5 membership fee of the National Education Association entitles one to receive for one year the Research Bulletin, the Journal, the An- nual Volume of Addresses and Proceed- ings, and certain other publications of the Association. One dollar of each $5 mem- bership fee is for a year’s subscription to the Research Bulletin. The Research Bulletin may be subscribed for separately at $1 per year. Copies may be pur- chased for 25 cents, and in quantities at a reduced rate. 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Address communications to the Research Division, National Education As- sociation, 1201 Sixteenth Street, N. W.., Washington, D. C. 1E CONTENTS FOREWORD .......... INTRODUCTION ...... I. Recent TrRENvS IN SCHOOL BUILDING CONSTRUCTION Il. ScHoot BuiLtpiInGc NeEEDs... I1I. ScHoot BuiLtpING ConstRUCTION Since 1918 IV. THe FeperaAt GOVERNMENT AND THE SCHOOL BUILDING PROBL! SUMMARY ...... bdikbh Bike abe wtioad% Seavowre’s APPENDIX ......... BG ne Aina chic a LIST OF TABLES 1. Number of Condemned Buildings Still in Use in 18 States and 163 Cities ~ sanitary in 17 States and 163 Cities 3. Number of Pupils in 20 States and 163 Cities Who Can Attend School rime Because of Inadequate Housing Facilities M Only Pa 4. Number of Pupils Housed in Portable, Rented, and Other Temporary Structures > 23 States and 163 Cities Number of Pupils Attending School Only Part Time or Housed in Structures and Condemned School Buildings wal 6. Approximate Age of School Buildings in 10 States 7. Approximate Age of School Buildings in 163 Cities 8. Proposed Consolidations of Small Schools in 21 States 9. School Building Needs in 47 Counties in the State of Colora 10. School Building Needs in the District of Columbia 11. Estimated Need of Funds for Land and New School Construction in 23 Ce Maryland, July 1933 12. Ownership of Buildings Used for School Purposes in Mississippi 13. New School Buildings Urgently Needed in Mississippi 14. Water Supply and Sanitary Facilities in Mississippi Schools 15. Typical Plans for Consolidation in the Schools of Tennessee 16. Certain Unsatisfactory Conditions in Schoolhousing in West Virginia 17. School Building Expenditures and Related Data, 1918-1934 18. Capital Outlay Since 1918 Compared with Estimates of Reasonable } for Building Purposes 19. Expenditures for Buildings of Different Types in 2 20. Estimates of the Amount of Federal Aid Required To Finance Legitimate School Building Projects in 20 States LIST OF FIGURES I. Capital Outlay Expenditures for Public Schools Since 1930 II. Trends in School Enrolments and Expenditures Since 1926 III. Ratio of Window Glass Area to Floor Area in the One-teacher School of West Virginia IV. Capital Outlay Expenditures Per Pupil for Whom New Building Facilities Wei Needed, 1918 to 1934 V. Average Annual Expenditures for School and Library Projects in the Cities of the United States, 1921-1933 i VI. Expenditures for Building Construction in 257 Identical Cities Since 1921 VII. Trends in Building Construction of Various Types in 257 Identical ¢ 3. eee VIII. Trends in the Cost of Building Construction Since 192 [3] Tempora xpenditure 257 Identical Cities, 1921-1933 B ilding Pr nceips ities, 19. 2. Number of Children Attending School in Buildings Condemned as Unsafe or Un FOREWORD DUCATION stands at the threshold of a period of reconstruction. School EK support this year is expected to be at least equal to that of last year. The low point apparently has been reached; the time to move forward is at hand. It will not suffice to rebuild what has been destroyed—to regain what has been lost. Fundamental changes must be introduced so that the school may have a vital part in the social and economic readjustments now in progress. The large problem of educational reconstruction has many phases; for ex- ample, restoring the compensation of teachers to a professional basis, improving and vitalizing the curriculum, and providing adequate teaching supplies and textbooks. Another problem of major importance, and the one with which this bulletin is concerned, is the provision of suitable schoolhousing facilities. School building programs have shared heavily in the enforced retrenchment of the past few years. Construction has been halted and only the most necessary repairs have been made. The resumption of school building activities is of interest both from the standpoint of educational recovery and from that of general economic recovery. The best teaching is impossible in a crowded or otherwise unsatisfactory school building. Labor and materials used in school building construction have a direct infiuence on economic conditions, varying in impor- tance with the amount of building done. In order that sound policies may be adopted with reference to school build- ing construction, the best information available is needed with respect to existing facilities. Has censtruction kept pace with actual needs? To what extent are present facilities inadequate or unsuitable for further use? By and large, is there an imperative need for additional school buildings, or can build- ing operations wait for a more favorable period? These and similar questions are being raised by those occupying positions of responsibility, but unfortunately definite facts needed in answering them are often lacking. This issue of the Research Bulletin brings together important information on the present status of school buildings. It gives a general overview of the schoolhousing situation, evaluates recent trends in construction, and sum- marizes the data available with respect to school building needs. It should be of interest to everyone concerned with the course of educational recovery. It should be especially helpful to the school administrators and public officials responsible for the policies that will be pursued. Witiarp E. Givens, Secretary, National Education Association. [4] spec ane Ing evid buil ott-1 cons deca of t opp Pove hous T sion instz plete plete nati not the ; larges ~ ; Introduction A school consists not of brick and mortar, but of the purposeful activity of boys and girls directed by capable and efficient teachers. Nevertheless, the quality of a school buiiding exerts an important influence over the type of work that goes on within it. Learning pro- ceeds in a normal manner only when children are housed in buildings that are safe, clean, and comfortable. Desirable attitudes and char- acter traits are developed with difficulty unless the pupils’ environment is wholesome. In short, suitable school buildings are indispensable to an efficient system of public education. This Research Bulletin gives a general over- view of the school building situation at the present time. It presents data needed in the critical appraisal of education now in progress. It points out the unusual opportunity that school building construction offers to stimulate economic recovery thru permanent and socially desirable public works projects. Scope and Plan of Organization The bulletin is organized according to the specific objectives on which it is focused: (1) an examination of recent trends in school build- ing construction; (2) a review of the best evidence available with reference to school building needs; and (3) an evaluation of the oft-repeated statement that school building construction outstripped actual needs in the decade before the depression. The final section of the bulletin considers briefly the current opportunities and responsibilities of the federal government with respect to the nation’s school- housing program. The bulletin is limited in scope to a discus- sion of the topics indicated above. In some instances the treatment is sketchy and incom- plete, for it has not been possible to obtain com- plete and detailed information about the nation’s school building needs. The bulletin is not a national survey, but merely a review of Sources of Information Except for Part II of the bulletin, which deals with the need for additional school build- ings, the basic facts have been assembled from published sources. These are indicated in foot- note references. The material in Part II is based primarily) on questionnaires submitted, during the spring and summer of 1934, to state departments of public instruction and to superintendents of schools in cities over 30,000 in population.? These inquiry forms are reproduced on page 33. Replies were received from 31 states and the District of Columbia, from 49 cities ove: 100,000 in population, and from 114 30,000 to 100,000 in population.? These states and cities are shown on the map below. Not cities all state departments and city school systems could supply data on every question asked. The number reporting on the various items is in dicated in connection with the tables presented later. Information with respect to the school build- ing needs of a number of states has been ob tained of building surveys. Another valuable source of information has been letters from state school from unpublished reports recent officers in departments of education. STATES AND CITIES WHICH REPLIED TO THE SCHOOL BUILDING INQUIRY is JT 7 \ ty over 100, 00b Re, t recenved from am @ \ etty 30,000 - 108,000 ail the general housing situation.? (}* port received hom state department 1 Further information with respect to school building needs is being assembled by the United States Office of Education It is expected that a report of that study will be published soon 2In the case of states having no city over 30,000 in population, an inquiry was sent to the superintendent of schools in the largest city in the state. Thus, at least one city in every state was invited to participate I. Recent Trends in School Building Construction Since 1930, the construction of school build- ings has been all but abandoned. Figure | shows how sharply capital outlay expenditures have fallen during the depression years, from nearly $371,000,000 in 1930 to approximately $100,000,000 in each year since 1933. The cessation of building activity has oc- curred in both urban and rural areas. One of the reports of the United States Office of Edu- cation shows that between 1931 and 1934, in 262 city school systems, capital outlays declined 80.1 percent. Another report from that office, based on questionnaire returns received from 1111 county superintendents during the au- tumn of 1933, cites 1425 building projects in rural areas where the need was urgent but construction was being postponed because of lack of funds.* Figure II shows graphically the trends since 1926 with respect to school enrolments, ex- October, 1933. Washington, D. C.: U. 2Gaumnitz, W. H. Washington, D. C.: U. S. Some Effects of the Economic Situation upon the Rural Schools. Circular No. 80, Dept. of the Interior, Office of Education, 1933. 18 p. (mimeo.) total and penditures for school buildings, expenditures for all school purposes. By going back to 1926, the effect of the depression on prevailing trends is revealed. This diagram makes it clear that the decrease in school build ing construction cannot be explained in terms of a stationary school population—enrolment is increasing steadily. The growth in high-schoo! enrolment especially stands in sharp contrast to the rapid drop in capital outlay. Since this is true, some other explanation for the curtail ment of building operations must be sought Was the building program under way in 1930) too extensive? Have the schoolhousing needs of the nation been met and anticipated so wel! that building operations quite properly hay: been suspended? Significant facts relating t these questions are presented in the next tw sections of this bulletin. 1 Covert, Timon; Foster, Emery M.:; and Herlihy. Lester B. City Schools and the Economic Situation. Circular N S. Dept. of the Interior, Office of Education, 1933. p. 4. (mimeo.) February, 19 FIGURE I CAPITAL OUTLAY EXPENDITURES FOR PUBLIC SCHOOLS SINCE 1930 Capital outlay in | millions of dollars * | 400 [3370,876,000 | $320,240,000 | 300 + | $210,996, 000 | 200 F $100,856,000 $101,468,000 «107,144,000 100 F a ; ; | 1930 1931 1932 1933 193 1935 | S Research Division, National Education ASs'/2. Source: Joint Commission on the Emergency in Education. Major Trends in Public Education. Washington,D.C.: National Education Association , October, 1934. See Table 2,p.4. “Capital outlay includes the purchase of buildings, sites,and major equipment. [6] / i... FIGURE II TRENDS IN SCHOOL ENROLMENTS AND EXPENDITURES SINCE 1996 Index (19262100) 200 r i60Fr _peeeeoo7*" enrolment 160 F ee 40 _ ggsteerr I20F ow wt Total so a on nn aaa = enrolment 100 a is i ty tia det ans daa _ ne a —— Mes a expend tures 80} ~~ 60} ~ * "ah 40 j ™~ Expenditures “—-—-— for capita! 20 4 outlay it} bee rt 4 i ‘= —. ~~ my i 4 192% 1927 1928 1929 1930 1931 1932 1933 1934 1935 Research Uivision, National Edination Ass'n Source: Joint Commission on the Emergency in Education Mayor Trends in Public Education Washington,D,C,: National Education Associdtion, October, 1934, Based on data in Tables 1 and 2, p.3-A. , 7 public school is the positive and definite measure of a community’s aware ness of parental and civic responsibility and obligation. Let us build for our children school homes that are clean and safe, symbols of our hopes for them and our faith in the future of the community. The investment made in school buildings is returned many fold in human dividends, for the personality of children reflects the refinement with which it is surrounded. The school lifts the level of mankind's ideals thru the wholesome physical environment it provides as well as thru its rich intellectual and spiritual life. Fortunate is the child who can have daily con tact with good taste in his school home. Order, quiet, beauty, good equipment, play space, work rooms, gardens, safety, fresh air, abundant light, and cleanliness are as important for the school home as for the parental home. The beauty of the modern school is not achieved by extravagant ornamentation. Careful planning may produce architectural balance, grace and symmetry in outline, harmony of color, strength and dignity of material with an economy that is consistent with the ideals of thrift and simplicity of living which it is the purpose of education to instil. Joy Elmer Morgan. eE———————— II. School Building Needs Unless schoolhousing facilities were more than adequate in 1930, the sudden halting of building operations during a period of mount- ing enrolments, noted in Section I, obviously would result in a serious shortage of suitable school buildings. This section explores that possibility; it is devoted to an examination of the needs for additional housing facilities. This investigation, however, assembles only the most obvious and tangible evidences of improper housing conditions. Data are presented with respect to: (1) condemned school buildings still in use; (2) part-time attendance because of inadequate housing facilities; (3) temporary structures of various types used for school pur- poses; (4) the ages of school buildings now in use; (5) the need for consolidation of small schools; and (6) a state-by-state review of building needs in sixteen states. As explained earlier this information was obtained from state departments of education and from super- intendents of schools in cities over 30,000." The factors mentioned above are by no means the only evidences of improper housing. Other conditions, some of which are difficult to measure objectively and uniformly, must be taken into account if one would determine completely the needs that exist. Some of the school administrators who replied to the ques- tionnaire, pointed out that their answers to the questions asked did not reveal the true need for additional school buildings in their re- spective cities and states. Excerpts from two of these timely criticisms follow: A.—I returned to you, after filling it out, the ques- tionnaire on school buildings. The data that can be compiled from that question- naire will not give a true picture. In fact they will furnish a wrong impression of the schoolhousing situation. Let me cite some facts concerning our pees. situation here in . Number of school buildings which have been condemned ...........000+000005 None 2. Number of pupils on part time.......... None 3. Number of pupils housed in portables None Yet this is no evidence of a satisfactory housing situation; for consider these additional facts: 1. Number of school buildings that ought to be condemned as hazardous............ 1 2. Number of buildings badly overcrowded. . 1 3. Number of buildings in which basement rooms are used as classrooms.......... 1 1 For copies of the inquiry forms, see p. 33. 4. Number of buildings in which artificial light is required in some schoolrooms during whole of school day............ nN These conditions, which are not unusual in city school systems, will not be revealed by the data obtained from the questionnaire. B.—We have “filled in the blanks” on the at tached report and we feel that in so doing we have given no information that would help anyone in determining our school building needs. In fact, this district is greatly in need of another small building for its negro population. We could make out with a frame building costing something like $15,000. We have tried to manage in some way for two years to finance this building need, but with out success. Tho we have no pupils attending on a “part-time basis” or in “buildings condemned as unsafe or unsanitary,” still we have a severe ove: crowding in each of our two present negro schoo! buildings. We know of no way that we can now, o: soon, provide this needed building. With no claim to completeness, therefore, the situations described below are presented as evidence of certain undeniable needs for addi tional school building facilities. Condemned School Buildings Number of condemned buildings in use- One objective measure of the need for new school buildings is the number of buildings stil! in use that have been condemned by duly con- stituted authorities? as unsafe or unsanitary. Incomplete figures with reference to such buildings are presented in Table 1. The situa tion is shown for 18 states and for 94 cities in other states; also, for city school systems con sidered separately. The latter is based on re turns from 163 cities, 69 from the 18 states submitting data plus the 94 mentioned above The state reports, covering approximate] 41 percent’ of the nation’s school buildings, show that 5045 or 5.0 percent of the school buildings now in use have been condemned as unsafe or unsanitary. In addition, 76 con demned buildings are reported from cities in other states, establishing the fact that 512! condemned buildings are in use. The numbe: still in service in the states not reporting on this item can only be estimated, but the reports at hand seem to provide a reasonably satisfac- tory basis for such an estimate. The situation * For example, state school officers, fire marshals, or public health officials. [8] builc +} wors V hic smal the 1 Apps urba popu city data as yer 100! ew rill ry. ich is known for two-fifths of the nation’s school buildings, including reports from states in all the geographic sections of the United States— from states varying in age, per capita wealth ind income, density of population, industrial activity, and educational traditions. Further more, the replies from city school systems in states not represented in Table 1 show a slightly higher percentage of condemned build- ings still in use than in cities in the 18 states included: 1.8 percent as compared with 1.4 percent for 163 cities, including 69 cities in the 18 states. Since conditions in the city schools of the states not reporting are as bad as, or worse than, those in the cities of the states which replied, there is little likelihood of a smaller proportion of condemned buildings in the rural areas of states omitted from Table 1. Apparently, conditions are best in the large urban communities. In cities over 100,000 in population only 0.4 percent of the school build Five percent of the nation’s 245.941 school buildings (1 S. Dept. of the Inte 1001 Systems, 1931-32.’’ Biennial Survey of Education 1930-32 ings in use have been condemned as unfit tor further service; in cities 30,000 to 100,000 the ° ? percent is 3.) 5 J in the states covered it is 5.0 percent. If, then, conditions in states not re porting are the same as in the 18 states for which the facts are known, about 12,300 build- ings® actually condemned by public officials as unsafe or unsanitary are still being used to house school children. If the percentages of condemned buildings in all comparable cities of the United States Table 1,4 the following estimates would be correct are identical with those for the cities in in cities over 100,000 in population, 33 con demned buildings; in cities 30,000 to 100,000 2. In other over 30,000 in population, where school build in population, 15 words, in cities ing needs apparently have been provided to: best, nearly 200 condemned structures are a daily menace to the health and safety of boys and girls. Office of Educatior St Bulletin, 1933, No Washington, D. C.: Governme | Office, 1933. p. 70. Ch, I; advance pages.) is 12,297 ‘ Four-tenths of one percent of 8334 buildings; 3.5 percent of 4345. The total number of buildings in cities of each « ) is reported in: U. S. Dept. of the Interior, Office of Education. ‘Statistics of City School Systems for the Year 1 Biennial Survey of Education: 1930-32. Bulletin, 1933, No. 2. Washington, D. C.: Government Printing Office. 1 ) Ch. II: advance pages.) The basis for estimates relating to city school systems seems quite reliable. Reports were é n 1 to 22 cities in 39 states, covering more than 50 percent of the school buildings in cities over 30,000 in population. In orde test further the adequacy of sample at hand, the replies from cities in each population group were tabulated first in two group alternate reports from lists arranged alphabetically by states and by cities within each state. Percentages were puted for each half of the complete tabulation. For a summary of the computation based on alternate reports se¢ TABLE 1.—NUMBER OF CONDEMNED BUILDINGS STILL IN USE IN 18 STATES AND 163 CITIES Areas represented Buildings located in areas represented Percent of all Number buildings in mber Pe comparable areas® 1 2 3 4 18 states» 100.512 4 )4 4 cities in other states 4,313 1.0 7 e 49 cities over 100,000 4,487 8 114 cities 30,000-100,000 2,210 ).9 163 cities 6,69 2.8 Total number reported (excluding duplicates) 5.1 * Since, according to ‘“‘Statistics of State School Systems, 1931-32” (U. S. Dept. of the Interior, Office of Educat Biennia Survey of Education in the United States: 1930-32. Bulletin, 1933, No. 2. Ch. I; advance pages. p. 70.), there are 24 41 schoo buildings in continental United States, the 100,512 buildings in the 18 states reporting constitute 40.9 percent of the total number Similarly, there are 12,679 buildings in all cities in the population groups covered by this inquiry: 8334 in cities over 10 in population and 4345 in cities 30,000 to 100,000 in population as reported in “Statistics of City School Systems for the Year 1931 U. S. Dept. of the Interior, Office of Education. Biennial Survey of Education in the United States 1930-32. Bulletin, 19 No. 2. Ch. II; advance pages. p. 25.) Based on these totals, the reports from 94 cities represent 34 percent of a comparable cities; those for 49 cities, 114 cities and 163 cities represent 53.8, 50.9, and 52.8 percent, respectively » The states represented are: Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, District of Columbia, Florida, Indiana ‘ichigan, Missouri, Nebraska, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, South Dakota Kentucky, Ma and W It should be noted that California, where large numbers of school buildings have been condemned recently because of earthquake hazards, is not among the states reporting. © These figures are excluded from the total (5121) because some of the cities may have been covered by the state report cs Children housed in condemned buildings—_ need for additional school buildings is the T The number of children attending school in maintenance of schools on a part-time basis F, the dilapidated structures discussed above is One of the questions asked in the present in — indicated in Table 2. More than 645,000 are vestigation was, “How many children are at reported from 17 states,° and 42,577 from 95 tending school part time because of inadequat: cities in other states. Using the methods al- building facilities?” Replies to this questior ready described,® estimates can be derived for from 20 states, and from 108 cities in othe all cities over 30,000 and for the nation as a states, are summarized in Table 3. In thi whole. The possibility of error in estimating instance conditions are least satisfactory in th from a sample must be recognized, but it seems largest urban communities. In 49 cities ove: probable that the situation is essentially as 100,000 in population, 4.6 percent of the pupils follows: In cities over 30,000 in population, enrolled are permitted to attend school on] if: where conditions are best, about 98,300 pupils part time. In cities 30,000 to 100,000 the pe: are housed in condemned school buildings: cent drops to 2.4. In the 20 states reporting 73,300 in cities 30,000 to 100,000, and 25,000 9 3 percent of the pupils were attending on th in cities over 100,000 in population.’ In Oe eae 5. asceate that mor. nation as a whole about 1,392,600 pupils oc- than 390,000 pupils can attend school on! cupy buildings that have been pronounced part time, and if the data in Table 3 are re; wo unsafe or unsanitary.* This number is greater : , : : E resentative, more than 600,000 childrens ar than the total school enrolment in large popu- ; ; oe a — $= ; ~ 8. following this makeshift arrangement.’ Est lous states such as California, Ohio, or Texas; “y ; ; mates of unavoidable part-time attendance it is equal to the entire population of Nebraska. | — city school systems only would be as follows (1) cities over 100,000 in population, 288,28 Part-time Attendance . a6 ‘ . . . ° “pps 10, . 2 ; J Number of children sharing school buildings pupils;'* and (2) cities 30,000 to 100,000 in on a part-time basis—Another evidence of the population, 53,308 pupils." ing: the * The 17 states are: Colorado, Connecticut, District of Columbia, Florida, Indiana, Kentucky, Maryland, Michigan, Missoi ren Nebraska, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, South Dakota, and Wisconsin. Delaware reported | nur number of condemned buildings still in use (see Table 1) but could not give the number of pupils housed in such buildings. ” ® See footnotes 3 and 4 and the discussion to which they refer. qua 7 Three and three-tenths percent of 2,221,149 (the 1932 enrolment in cities 30,000 to 100,000) is 73,298; 0.4 px 6,267,111 (the 1932 enrolment in cities over 100,000) is 25,068. * Five and three-tenths percent of 26,275,441 (the nation’s enrolment in 1932) is 1,392,598. : ® Two and three-tenths percent of 26,275,441 (the nation’s 1932 enrolment) is 604,335 © Four and six-tenths percent of 6,267,111, the 1932 enrolment of cities in this population group 1 Two and four-tenths percent of 2,221,149, the 1932 enrolment of cities in this population group TABLE 2.—NUMBER OF CHILDREN ATTENDING SCHOOL IN BUILDINGS CONDEMNED AS UNSAFE OR UNSANITARY IN 17 STATES AND 163 CITIES Pupils in the Pupils attending schoo areas represented in condemned buildings bad Areas represented Percent of ail zs . Number pupi's in com- Number Percent parable areas* > 1 2 3 4 rs s 17 states ee ere a. S «ie a 46.6 645,034 Z 95 cities in other states......... Sbteks xia 7 .. 2,529,095 29.8 42,577 1.7 49 cities over 100,000 —.. as ee 3,079,031 49.1 10,952¢ 0.4 114 cities 30,000-100,000 ........ ee ae: 50.3 36,824¢ 3.3 163 cities Kah aha Ga Aas 05 ty omens + 4,195,822 49.4 47,776° 1.1 Total number reported (excluding duplicates) eked eiedaek ai nae ys 687,611 Ved 25 * = F page ® Computed from totals appearing in: U. S. Dept. of the Interior, Office of Education. Biennial Survey of Education : 1930-3 Bulletin, 1933, No. 2. Washington, D. C.: Government Printing Office, 1933. (Ch. I and II; advance pages.) For the method use pa tuck see footnote “‘a’’ in Table 1, S §Dak » These states are listed in footnote “5’’ p. 10. i © Excluded from the total because of possible duplication. ; [10] TABLE 3—NUMBER OF PUPILS IN 20 STATES AND 163 CITIES WHO CAN AT is the TEND SCHOOL ONLY PART TIME BECAUSE OF INADEQUATE HOUSING basis FACILITIES nt in ‘ Pupils in the Pupils atter re at areas represente s pa quate Areas represented Perce f all estior Number pupils in com Number parable area othe » thi 1 3 4 in. the ; states 4 } Ove! ties in other states +4 yupils ties over 100,000 1 14 ] ties 30.000 to 1 l - 163 cities 1 822 > pel " Total number reported (excluding d cate 48 rting n th Computed from totals appearing in: U. S. Dept é erior, O f Educa Biennial Su I , 1 States: 1930-32. Bulletin, 1933, N Washing ( Gove t I Office, 1 Ch. | II more ) For the method used see footnote i n Table 1 only The states represented are Arizona, ( ado, Cx Delaware, D ( bia, Fl la, Ind k Maryland, Michigan, Nebraska, North Ca na, Ohio, Penn South Ca i Dakota, Tennesse I \ re] | Wisconsin 2: © Excluded from the total because of ble duplica 1* are ve Portable, Rented, and Other states is given in ‘Table +. Here again the con ee Temporary Structures dition is somewhat worse in urban distt » 907 . 28 is a ; build than in the country at large. More than 600 ‘f Number of UpPils NOUSE in temporar Aull ° 10 in sist, p ie insias pis Thema = 000 children are actually reported as attending ee : ieee ) go ” © ; ings—A third criterion of building needs is choo] in portable, rented, or other temporat the number of pupils housed in portable, buildings, and estimating from the dat t sso rented, and other temporary structures. The hand, it seems probable that approximately : number of children housed in such temporary 1,000,000 children are housed in such ? : : ct : quarters in 23 states and 82 cities in other tures. 2 Four percent of the nation’s 1932 enrolment is 1,051,017. Estimates for city schoc ystems similar earlier sections of this report would be: (1) citi er 1 50,684 pup n temporary buildings and y 100,000: 57.750 pupils TABLE 4.—NUMBER OF PUPILS HOUSED IN PORTABLE, RENTED, AND OTHER TEMPORARY STRUCTURES IN 23 STATES AND 163 CITIES } . Pupils in the Pupils housed > areas represented temporary structure —— Areas represented Pe ent of all nga Number pupi s in com Number Perce ngs parable areas cer 1 2 3 4 13 states” 65 494, S¢ 5 ’ 82 cities in other states 864 l 500 . 19 cities over 100,000 5 31 | l l 1.7 114 cities 30,000 to 100,000 1,116,791 28.941 163 cities 4 5.822 4 151.74 ).4 3.3 Total number reported (excluding duplicates) 618,0¢ 1.1 = * Computed from totals appearing in: U. S. Dept. of the Interior, Office of Ed t Biennial Sur Edu hid United States: 1930-32. Bulletin, 1933, N« Washington, D. C.: Government | Office, 1 ch. 3 I] i pages.) For the method used see footnote ‘‘a’’ in Table 1 , > The states represented are: Arizona, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, District of Columbia, I ida, Ind I Ke _ } tucky, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Mississippi, Nebraska, North Car Ot} Pennsylvan South ¢ S 5 Dakota, Utah, Washington, West Virginia, and Wisconsin 4 © Excluded from the total because of possible duplication [11] Number of Pupils Improperly Housed Table 5, a summary of the totals reported in Tables 2, 3, and 4, shows that in the regions covered by this report 1,697,427 children are attending school only part time or are housed in temporary structures and condemned school buildings. If these data are representative, nearly 2,700,000 pupils'* are improperly housed, using that term to cover only the con- ditions summarized in this report. Undoubt- edly, thousands of pupils are “improperly housed”’ in addition to those who are attending school only part time and who attend in tem- porary or condemned school buildings. This general survey has revealed only the most ob- vious and deplorable building needs. TABLE 5—NUMBER OF PUPILS AT- TENDING SCHOOL ONLY PART TIME OR HOUSED IN TEMPORARY STRUC- TURES AND CONDEMNED SCHOOL BUILDINGS Number of Condition reported pupils* 1 2 Attending school on a part-time basis. . . 391,748 Housed in temporary structures .......... 618,068 Housed in condemned school buildings.......... 687,611 Total 1,697,427 ® These figures, drawn from Tables 2, 3, and 4, represent less than half the states plus about half of the cities over 30,000 in population in the states otherwise omitted. Age of School Buildings Since the age of school buildings is r lated definite'y to the present status of th nation’s schoolhousing facilities, informatio: was sought on this point. ‘Table 6 presents data from the state departments which were abl: to classify their school buildings according t age. Approximately 8 percent of the scho buildings in 10 states reporting date back t the Civil War period. If this is typical fo the nation as a whole, nearly 20,000 scho buildings now in use were constructed befo: 1870.'* More than one-third of the buildings now in use were constructed from 1870 ¢ 1899. Less than 5 percent have been con structed since 1930. One-room buildings in use are somewhat older than buildings of other types. Eight and one-tenth percent of the one-room schools were constructed before 1870, as compared with 6.8 percent for buildings of other types. Also a much larger proportion of the one-room schools belong to the period 1870 to 1899 than is the case for buildings of other types. Less than half of the one-room buildings were con structed between 1900 and 1929, and onl) 3 percent since 1930. Table 7 shows the approximate age of schoo buildings in cities over 30,000 in population The percentage of buildings school con structed in each of the four periods in cities 13 Estimates given previeusly were: (1) in temporary buildings, at least 1,000,000 pupils; (2) in condemned buildings, abo 1,392,600; and (3) attending part time, approximately 600,000. Adding 1,000,000; 1,392,600; and 300,000 (half the part-ti: pupils), the sum is 2,692,600. ™ Seven and six-tenths percent of 245,941, the number of bu TABLE 6.—APPROXIMATE AGE OF ildings in use in 1932, is 18,692. SCHOOL BUILDINGS IN 10 STATES Date of One-room buildings All others Bldgs. of all types construction Number Percent Number Percent Number Percent 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Before 1870 and were with Also ‘oom than Less con only he 0! aT yn. con ities about -tin . 1.0 outh TABLE 7.—APPROXIMATE AGE OF SCHOOL BUILDINGS IN 163 CITIES 49 cities over 100,000 Date of onstructicn Number f buildings 1 2 e 1870 149 1899 1,187 1929 811 1930 290 Total 4.437 114 cities 163 cities over 30,000-100,000 30,000 populati Number of Number of Percent buildings Percent buildings Perce 3 4 5 6 3.4 ¢ 3 17 26.8 625 29.6 1,812 63.3 l ¢ 61 4,117 6.5 l¢ 5.5 406 100.0 ] 100.0 6.55 over 100,000 is virtually the same as the corre- sponding percentage in cities 30,000-100,000. Estimating on the basis of returns from 163 cities, it is probable that 418 school buildings in use in cities over 30,000 in population were erected prior to 1870, that 3512 were con- structed between 1870 and 1899, 7962 be- tween 1900 and 1929, and 786 during the past four years.*5 The Consolidation of Schools The consolidation of small schools has long been advocated by students of educational problems as a means of improving the quality of instruction and in the interest of economy. One of the chief barriers to this needed reform has been the inability of the districts concerned to provide the necessary buildings. ‘The present inquiry asked the state departments to report the number of consolidations that ought to be effected, the number of pupils that would be involved in such consolidations, and what effect the proposed consolidations would have on the number of school buildings used in the areas concerned. Data from 21 rized in Table 8. In the opinion of the chief school officers in these states, more than 7000 states are summa consolidations should be made, reducing the number of schools in the districts involved from 34,789 to 7169 and resulting in better edu- cational opportunity for 2,301,220 children. Estimating from these figures, approximately 16,000 consolidations'® ought to be effected in the country as a whole for the better education of about 5,000,000 children.'’ 5 Obtained by applying the percents given in column 7 of Table 7 to 12,679, the number of school buildings in citie ) in population in 1932. 6 Six and six-tenths percent of the nation’s 245,941 school buildings is 16,232 17 Eighteen and one-tenth percent of 26,275,441, the 1932 enrolment, is 4,755,855 TABLE 8.—PROPOSED CONSOLIDATIONS OF SMALL SCHOOLS IN 21 STATES Proposed consolidations Existing schools involved Pupils affected Based on reports from: Arizona, Connecticut, Florida, Indiana, Kentucky, Maryland, Massachusetts Missouri, Nebraska, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, South Carolina Virginia, and Wisconsin. Total number Percent Number in the column 2 is reported 21 states of column 3 2 3 4 7.169 108,615 * 6.6 34,789 108,615 * 32.0 2,301,220 12,693,422 » 18.1 Michigan, Mississippi South Dakota, Tennessee, Utah, Washington, West ® The 108,615 school buildings in the 21 states reporting constitute 44.2 percent of the total for the nation > The 12,693,422 pupils in the 21 states reporting constitute 48.3 percent of the nation’s total enrolment. : [13] The School Building Needs of the Several States Specific information with regard to the school building needs of sixteen states is sum- marized in the paragraphs that follow: Arkansas—In 1930, a survey of the finan- cial and administrative needs of the public schools of Arkansas was completed, recom- mending among other things the complete re- organization of the educational system, the abolition of the district system, and the con- solidation of rural schools. The plan outlined by the survey commission proposed the opera- tion of 1784 schools instead of the 4198 then in existence, in other words, the abolition of about 2400 obsolete schools.'* The reorgan- ization is going forward as rapidly as funds will permit, but at the present time there is an urgent need for about 500 buildings that can- not be financed from local and state resources. Could these buildings be erected, the entire state school system would be organized on a more economical and efficient basis. California—A committee of prominent edu- cators in California recently described their schoolhousing situation as follows :'° Capital outlay for new buildings has been reduced to an absolute minimum. Practically no new build- ing is being done. Serious deficiencies in school- housing facilities are developing thruout the stat Particularly in the south, where the menace seismic disturbances is clearly recognized, housin, conditions are extremely critical. Thousands oi children are on half-day sessions, or are attending school in tents, or in other temporary housing units while their school buildings stand condemned as un safe for use, and the community is entirely without the ability to raise the money to strengthen then and to restore them to use. If conditions should bs come normal, from an economic standpoint, some the major cities in southern California would n out of their own resources be able to restore thei: school buildings to use within ten years. In man cases, these cities face the necessity of rebuildin; their entire school plant at a cost, at present prices equal to almost double the original investment. |: most cases, these condemned buildings were erected out of moneys raised by bonds which have not as yet been retired. The reduction in real estate values and tax limits imposed by recent legislation reduced the ability of these districts to raise money pra tically to the zero point. The result is an impass¢ The buildings have been abandoned, childre: housed temporarily in tents, reduced to half-da sessions, or any other makeshift arrangement whic! the community could hastily devise, and the schools are at present proceeding under these conditions with no prospect of any immediate improvement The repair and maintenance of school buildings have been neglected to a point where valuable in vestments are being destroyed thru neglect of thos: repairs necessary to decent upkeep. Colorado—Table 9 presents the results of an unpublished survey of school building needs 18 Dawson, Howard A., and Little, Harry A. Financial and Administrative Needs of the Public Schools of Arkansas. Litt Roc k Calif., conference on ‘‘Finance.’’) the State Department, 1930. See especially Volume I, p. ‘* Joint Commission on the Emergency in Education. Minutes. Sixteenth Regional Conference of Consultants November 10, 1934. Washington, D. C.: National Education Association, 1934. (From a report of a subcommittee of t 42. Los Angele TABLE 9.—SCHOOL BUILDING NEEDS IN 47 COUNTIES IN THE STATE OF COLORADO Number in schools of various sizes Needs Three and Five rooms Total One room Tworooms fourrooms_ or more 1 2 3 a4 5 6 New buildings 120 20 20 31 191 Additions: Classrooms 52 15 8 67 142 Gymnasiums 21 11 9 66 107 Auditoriums 21 11 12 55 99 Toilets 54 7 il 17 89 Cloakrooms 2 1 3 Repairs: New roois 41 11 9 59 120 New foundations 153 9 9 18 189 New floors i60 16 28 60 264 420 51 48 115 634 Painting jobs Source: Colorado State Department of Education. Summary of Building Survey, State of Colorado; 1934. Denver: the Depart ment, 1934, 9 p. (typewritten.) ® The 191 buildings would contain about 600 classrooms. [i4] Ue a a | cil ‘| ib] if th liowll Senior Vocatio Sour Interpr commot Februa: * Thi Thirt in W Some inclu At One class. buildis 20 ] Washin; 21 | Frankfo 22 | Educati te - } oO } ne its , n rT l ‘ iF f i ) is ‘ ) ls s t rs T a 47 of the 63 counties in Colorado, con ducted during the summer of 1934 by the state department of In 750 additional classrooms are needed education. these counties nearly ind a considerable amount of remodelling and pair work should be done. District of Columbia—Even in the nation’s ipital a serious shortage of school building facilities exists. The needs are summarized in l ible 10. needed it the elementary-school level to serve the fol Additional classrooms are lowing purposes: (1) 12 rooms to take the place of portables now in use; (2) 17 to elim inate the use of undesirable rooms; (3) 56 to eliminate (4) $ to part-time classes; (5) 36 to abandon schools reduce oversize classes; recommended for early abandonment in 1908; and (6) 9 to provide for increased enrolment. TABLE 10.—SCHOOL BUILDING NEEDS IN THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA Estimated Type of school Facilities needed cost 1 2 3 I entary .138 classrooms and 10 as sembly-gymnasiums $2,.410,0 Junior high } buildings (1 replacement and facilities for 1172 addi tional pupils) 1,42 Building sites for the new schools proposed 175 Senior high .Facilities for 1883 pupils 1,925.00 Vocational .Two buildings (replacements) 630.000 Total $6.565,0 Source: District of Columbia Public School inalysis and Interpretation of the Statistical Report on Schoolhouse A commodations. Washington, D. C.: Superintendent's Office, February 21, 1934. 22 p. (mimeo.) * This estimate does not include the cost of building site Thirty-three percent of all elementary classes in Washington enrol more than 40 pupils. Some of the ‘ include the following :*° ‘undesirable rooms’? now in use A teachers’ room is used for a regular class. One janitor’s room is being used for a first-grade class. The janitor’s room is in the old part of the building adjacent to the heating plant. {naylsis February ® District of Columbia Public Schools Washington, D. C.: Superintendent's Office 21, 1934 niu *t Kentucky Educational Commission. Report of the Ke Frankfort, Kentucky: State Department of Education, October Education D.C *2U. S. Department of the Interior, Office of Education: 1930-32. Bulletin, 1933, No. 2. Washington 15 \ comparatively large entrance hall s being used for a kindergarten he girls’ playroom is used for manual training A corridor is being used for a domestic art class The buildings and intended capacity of secondary-school ictual enrolments in them on _ November 1, 1933 are given below: Capacity Enrolment Junior high schools 15,080 16.252 Senior high schools 13,260 15,143 [‘wenty-two percent of all the Kentucky school buildings in the state were constructed prior to 1907. In 1932, the average value of school property per pupil enrolled was $101 in Kentucky as compared with a national aver Only pupil average. In county districts, where 65 age of $250. 6 states had a lower pet percent ot the pupils are enrolled, the per pupil value is approximately $39. Sixty-seven per of the | rated ‘‘average,” “‘] distric tsS are Ap- proximately 76 percent of all the school build cent yuildings in county oor,” or “very poor.” ings of the state are one-room schools and 96 ot ot They are described as follows: percent these are frame construction the with schools of state are Most of the small rural poorly planned, box-like structures, windows in the center. In many in bare r any on both sides and the flue the school walls, with no provision for pupils’ wraps, o stances, building consists of four built-in shelving, or other special features so essen A set desirable school the tial to a large pe loc ust program. of smaller schools posts, or stone or concrete piers, without other un centage are on derpinning. Only in a few instances is there a solid foundation or a_ sub-floor. Consequently, these schools are very uncomfortable in severe weather to both The old-fashioned jacketed stove is still the principal source of heat. teachers and pupils. un It is usually placed in the center of the room and those children immediately around the stove scorch corners build while those in the far In the with the intense heat suffer with the cold. . some Cases, ing has never received a coat of paint, the roof leaks, the walls are marked and open, window panes are shattered, and the floor is rough and uneven ... Rural school sites are invariably small und Interpretation of the Statistic Report on Schoolhouse Accomm p. 4-5 (mimeo.) ky Educational Commission. Educational Bulletin, Vol, 1, N 1933. Ch. V, “School Buildings and Grounds,”’ p. 121-34 Statistics of State School Systen 1931-32 Biennial Sur Government Printing Office, 1933. p. 71. (Ch. I; advance pages.) ] . Very often school grounds are acquired simply Maryland—School building needs in th: Pd a the preci 4 of the soil renders it worth- crate of Maryland are summarized in Tab! ess for any other use.” . —— otiette. 11. Nearly $5,000,000 would be required ‘yr . . . . . . . rt mh . S ry , 7 > Y he situation in city school districts is some- provide the facilities now lacking. what better, for 89 percent of the buildings Mississippi—Some outstanding facts from are of masonry construction. But even in the a school building survey conducted in Missis cities, 38 percent of the buildings are more _ sippi during 1934 are presented below. ‘Table than 25 years old, many of them obsolete and 12 shows the number of schools housed in quite unsatisfactory. publicly owned buildings and those housed i: 23 Kentucky Educational Commission, op. cit., p. 124-25. ente TABLE 11.—ESTIMATED NEED OF FUNDS FOR LAND AND NEW SCHOOL sans CONSTRUCTION IN 23 COUNTIES IN MARYLAND, JULY 1933 tour ire | Number of M buildings Class- Number of Approximate Building sites, special ° County or parts of rooms pupils to be cost of rooms, and other types build buildings needed provided for projects of improvement a needed 3500 teak mee ee cme heate 1 2 3 4 5 6 a dence Allegany 7 79 2,820 $1,000,000 sissIp Ann Arundel 7 16 725 74,000 2 auditoriums; sanitary } pore : equipment iP Baltimore . _— 32 1,260 237,500 1 auditorium; sanitary } shoul equipment 2 bldgs; improve ae ment of grounds in I, Calvert 3 4 85 12,800 Water system in 2 bldgs state Caroline 0 0 0 0 ce Carroll 3 39 250,000 3 auditoriums Cecil 1 16 400 120,000 Auditorium, library, labora The tories, office, and all } ‘ with other special rooms ss Charles 1 1 60 1,500 Missi Dorchester 0 0 0 0 States Frederick 2 42 1,250 415,000 Auditorium, gym., and cafeteria appro Garrett 6 26 1,090 70,000" 1 auditorium; sanitary ‘ api equipment 4 bldgs. Is COM: Harford Aid bo atedeea tes 3 12 355 90,000 2 auditoriums; improvement of grounds Howard 2 12 355 56,000 i Kent . 6 31 690 235,000 2 auditoriums; 2 gyms.; 1 cafeteria; bldg. repairs Montgomery 14 96 1,440» 751,000 Equipment and sites amountin: T to $115,000 ' Prince Georges 16 67 2,715 450,000 4 auditoriums; land, alter- ations; sanitary equipment — Queen Annes ne SOT TI 4 10 358 34,400 St. Marys ; 5 12 60> 65,000 1 auditorium . Somerset 2 27 750 135,000 sie Talbot 5 16 500 101,200 1 auditorium; 1 gym.; alter —— : ations e Washington , ; re 3 12 455 97,000 Sanitary equipment . . Wicomico ; oe 56 2,785» 444,500 Land; fencing 7! No wat Worcester teed ils ko ae 36 1,280 175,000 1 auditorium EA polls Total ...106 642 19,433¢ $4,814,900 Sine: | ae _ — Jeep Wi 4 Shallo Source: State Department of Education. Estimated Need of Funds for Land and New School Construction as Reported by ( nai Maryland County Superintendents of Schools, July 1933. Baltimore: the State Department, 1933. 8 p. (typewritten.) Springs * Minimum figure. The estimate is given as $70,000 to $85,000. aid > Estimate covers only certain ones of the building projects listed. . e Using the 478 classrooms for which a definite number of pupils is given, the average number of pupils per classroom is 32 De we é Auditoriums in 20 buildings; sanitary equipment in 6 cases; gymnasiums in 4 buildings; 2 cafeterias; other special rooms | es such as libraries, offices, laboratories, locker rooms, etc.; improvement of grounds; fencing; water systems; land sites; alterations a and repairs. | ‘ be [16] | rABLE 12.—OWNERSHIP OF BUILDINGS USED FOR SCHOOL PURPOSES IN MISSISSIPPI Number of Number of Number of schools Percent teachers Percent pupils Pe 1 2 3 4 4 f ngs not publicly owned 1 9 y owned buildings 4,048 4 urce: Mississippi State Department of Education. Some D nt Sus Tack ment, 1934. 7 p. (mimeo.) rented buildings, churches, or other makeshift TABLE 13—NEW SCHOOL BUILDINGS _ ° URGENTLY NEED SSISS 4 quarters. The latter comprise more than one- BD IN MISSISSIPPI fourth of the total. Publicly owned facilities Sidiiceat Waikinaih Chihen 4 Size of building buildings costof which plans ire lacking for nearly 83,000 pupils. More than four-fifths of the publicly owned buildings are of frame construction and about 3500 of the 4048 buildings in the state are heated with unjacketed stoves. Additional evi- dences of unsatisfactory schoolhousing in Mis- sissippi are given in Table 14; the number and approximate cost of school buildings that should be constructed immediately are shown in Table 13. With reference to this table the state department writes: Che work included in the estimates enclosed here- with does not include all work needed to bring Mississippi schools up to the average for the United States. To do this would entail an expenditure of approximately $100,000,000. Only the work which is considered most urgent is included. 24 Based on a letter from N. E. Viles, director of School Building Service, Missouri needed construction are ready l 2 3 4 One room 1 $1.59 I'wo to four roon 429 1,39 Five to ten ‘ 5 ) I en oT 1 77?0.000 Total 1,850 $11,188.00 Source M ssissippi State Department of Education ” Facts Derived from the School Plant Survey. Jackson: th Department, 1934. 7 | nimeo. ) Missouri**—The average value of school buildings in Missouri is $235 per pupil, but the average for rural school buildings is only $98. There are 163,000 pupils attending school in buildings worth less than $100 per pupil and over 200,000 in buildings worth less than $150 per pupil. Department of Public Schools, Apr TABLE 14.—WATER SUPPLY AND SANITARY FACILITIES IN MISSISSIPPI SCHOOLS Number of Number of Source of water supply schools* Type of toilet schools* 1 2 No water supply 1,681 \ polluted water supply” 157 Municipal water supply... 432 Deep wells 831 Shallow wells 745 Cisterns 193 SOc dis dws ce execs ie ewetetdauns 166 3 4 No facilities whatever: for boys 1. for girls 1,044 Chemical or water-flush 481 Sanitary out-buildings:* for boys 809 for girls 858 Outside toilets of the open pit All other or surface type Source: Mississippi State Department of Education. Some Facts Derived from the School Plant Survey. Jackson: the Department, 1934. 7 p. (mimeo.) * This tabulation does not include the 1506 schools for which there are no publicly owned plant facilities > Surface water actually drains into the well, spring, or cistern. © “Sanitary”? means that the building is fly tight, has a vault and lids for the seats, and is vented. Assuming that the normal life of a building is 40 years, Missouri should spend between three and four million dollars each year for replacement purposes alone. New Jersey*®=—One school building still in use was erected in 1784+—prior to the adoption of the federal Constitution. “Twenty-three buildings still in use average 91 years old ; 632 buildings average 57 years oid; half the build- ings in the state were built prior to 1908. “Nearly one-fifth of the school buildings of the state need replacing because they are worn out or unsuited to present needs. In November 1930, 33,880 children were on _ part-time schooling because of the shortage of seats in some communities.” In spite of the unsatis- factory conditions described above, expendi- tures for capital outlay in New Jersey dropped from $24,228,261 in 1930 to $11,556,217 in 1932.76 New York?'—From New York comes the report that “for nearly three years school build- ing construction in this state has been at a standstill. If conditions were normal we would have fifteen to twenty million dollars worth of schoolhouse construction annually.” North Carolina**—At the close of the school year 1930-31 the total value of school prop- erty in the state was $112,930,371. There were 5664 school buildings, of which about 1600 were of the rural one-room type. An important problem in North Carolina is to eliminate a large number of small schocls of the one-, two-, and three-room type. It is estimated that $15,000,000 should be spent for school build- ings during the next two years. Oklahoma**—Dozens of school buildings have been condemned as unsafe and unsanitary, and many others would have been by this time if the state department of public instruction had not recently asked the state fire marshal and county health commissioners to withhold condemnation orders in school districts which cannot finance a building program. This st has been taken to prevent useless worry ai disturbance in districts where there is no px sibility of correcting the situation. About percent of the children in the state are hous: in buildings that are unsafe and unsanitary. Oklahoma, unlike many other states, w settled over a period of just a few years. M: of the school buildings in the state were bu in the ten-year period, 1900 to 1910. Most of them were of such cheap construction th they are now in an unsafe condition. The stat: superintendent writes: “Our school buildings is quite like the one-horse sh —the whole thing is going to pieces at onc South Carolina—The director of the diy situation f sion of schoolhouse planning and constructi in the South Carolina State Department oi Education describes their situation as follow Practically no new buildings have been co: structed since 1929, except to replace buildings stroyed by fire or storm. Approximately one-half of the rural school buildings are in such dilapidated condition or of such poor type of construction as | be unfit for school use. To replace these buildings would require $5,000,000. The local districts being dependent entirely upon agricultural income are ur! able to pay the cost of this program. No state county aid is available. Approximately 1200 neg schools are being operated in lodge halls, churches and tenant houses not owned by the district. Non of such buildings are suitable for school purposes To replace these buildings would require $4,000,0 To remodel, repair, and replace village schools + as to provide an adequate educational progra: would require an outlay of approximately $5,00 000. To provide adequate classroom facilities { city schools would require the construction of a; proximately 500 new general and specialized clas: rooms at a cost of $2,000,000, and the remodeling 1000 classrooms at a cost of $2,000,000.” Tennessee*'\—A committee which has bee: studying the schoolhousing situation in Ten nessee reports that $50,000,000 is a consery tive estimate of the amount needed for schoo! buildings in that state. There is urgent need 2° New Jersey Commission To Investigate County and Municipal Taxation and Expenditures. A Report on Educational Serv: and Costs. Report No. 8. Trenton, N. J.: MacCrellish and Quigley Co., 1932. 154 p. 2° U. S. Department of the Interior, Office of Education. ‘Statistics of State School Systems, 1931-32.” 1930-32. Bulletin, 1933, No. 2. Washington, D. C.: Government Printing Office, 1933. p. 110. (Ch. I; advance page Education Also, Bulletin, 1931, No. 20. p. 77. Biennial Survey “7 Based on a letter from J. H. Hixson, director of School Buildings and Grounds Division, University of the State of New Y April 6, 1934. * Based on a letter from W. F. Credle, director of Schoolhouse Planning, North Carolina Department of Public Instruct April 19, 1934, * Based on a letter from State Superintendent John Vaughan, September 29, 1934. ® Letter from S. P, Clemons, director of the Division of Schoolhouse Planning and Construction, South Carolina State D partment of Education, April 7, 1934. ™ Based on a letter and typewritten survey report submitted to the Research Division of the National Education Associat by Commissioner Walter D. Cocking, State Department of Education, April 12, 1934. [18] \ | a ; ; , ; ; aT the immediate expenditure of nearly one yuildings in West Virginia were cl and fifth of that amount, and detailed plans are “frame buildings constructed with wood ab« pm idy for the projects thus proposed. In brief, foundation, with or without slate or : he plan calls for the expenditure of about — semi-fireproof material on roof.” Only 34 o® used $2,596,000 on buildings where no further con 7067 buildings, or 0.5 percent, were “entirely y. solidation of schools is involved, and the use | fire resisting.’’ Almost tive-sevenths were of the “ $7,197,000 in consolidating small schools. yne-room type, and only 302 of the 706; ld ut lhe consolidation plan contemplates 107 six ings contained more than nine rooms. ‘ om buildings, 69 eight-room buildings, 36 A large number of representative school twelve-room buildings, and 19 buildings rang- buildings of each type were rated, using widely th ing in size trom fifteen to twenty-four rooms. know n and care fully standardized score < | . t ? } = rie - These 231 schools would replace 985 small, The median score for rural buildings was on! I | te ilding ye ae — : obsolete buildings now in use. The effect of 553. considerably lower than the recommended h or ; ie ac te indi “a6 . consolidation in three counties is indicated in standard and 5] points lower than the median ce ‘able 15 ; se. she # able , a Th , score of rural school buildings reported in 1922 xas** ve normal annual expenditure — .- ton Dexas ae or iE: “s : u P : si in the rural school survey of the state of New for school buildings in Texas is about $12,000, ny . { ah ‘ “ k rai York. | ne averaye estimated value of the one 000. The total expenditure since 1932 is about . 4 mee ws - ‘ room schools was only $858; approximatel) $33,000,000 less than it would have been in a Pe ; ; . : ; one-fifth were valued at less than $500. ‘he C normal four-year period. It would require an - n ° Survey report states: outlay of about $20,000,000 during the next ; ha eighteen months to place the physical plants in he probabilities are that a rural school of ) lexas in reasonably good condition. or more years of age is unfit for further school use s , ps. although nearly 10 percent of the one-teache West Virginia—In 1929 a survey of educa ogee sites Pee ee ae ees ca eo | ‘ Ww Viroini I buildings we built previous to 1875 and are Ping tion in est irginia Was completed, n therefore more than 50 vears of age. The median un this survey report 88.5 percent of the school age for one-teacher schools is 25 vears ae 82 Based on a letter from J. Fred Horn, director of the Scl Plant D n, T Depa nt Educa \ cane Holy, Thomas C. School Buildings. Survey of Educat West Virginia, \ Cha n: State Departme I - 1929, 228 p scs ' *% Holy, Thomas C., op. cit., p. 34-35 am \ TABLE 15.—TYPICAL PLANS FOR CONSOLIDATION IN THE SCHOOLS OF ) TENNESSEE f i . ° — New build led . 1s iii aia Number of buildings Number of pupils Type oe to be abandoned involved 1 2 3 4 *¢ n County Number 1 6-teacher 2 ] the ru ] cnn f f € ( tne : 8-teacher 6 All the rural ¢ Iren of th rT { 12-teacher 4 Bing Faces; Spprosinant € 5 All types 12 76 : County Number 2 ° 12-teacher (high schools) l 1 7-teacher, 4-year high school pupils now attendir P i l-teacher, 2-year high sch« nefficient high schoc 8-teacher 1 Y 335 County Number 3 8-teacher | An old church 8 an old theater and an obsolete 3-room school : — ” Source: Tennessee Department of Education. Prop Tennessee § Cor n. Nashville: the De 4 ll p. (typewritten.) [19] . About one-third of all school buildings in the state have less than 200 cubic feet of air space per pupil, the minimum amount recognized as @atisfactory. More than half the one-teacher schools have cross lighting and only 17 percent have the type of window placement that is considered correct. Eighteen schoolrooms were found having windows on all four sides! The ratio of window glass area to floor area in West Virginia’s one-room schools is given in Figure III. Other evidences of improper housing are summarized in Table 16. TABLE 16—CERTAIN UNSATISFAC- TORY CONDITIONS IN SCHOOL- HOUSING IN WEST VIRGINIA Percent of schools Defect elaine More than One-room one room 1 2 3 Floors in unsatisfactory condition 34.1 22.1 Walls in unsatisfactory condition 32.3 32.1 Blackboards in unsatisfactory condition 41.2 20.1 Bulletin boards lacking , 2 44,1 No bookcases or shelves for books 27.5 22.5 Stove heat : 73.1 72.5 Buildings in need of major repairs 83.8 72.8 No water supply on grounds 32.6 35.1 Drinking facilities: Bucket and dipper ‘ . 24.7 22.3 None 9.0 8.8 No washing facilities 23.3 15.2 Toilet facilities: Unsatisfactory distance from building 31.3 12.8 Insufficient seclusion , 59.4 33.6 Inadequate facilities ; 24.9 37.1 Unsatisfactory condition ae 48.3 None _ provided ; 4.2 38 Source: Holy, Thomas C. School Buildings. Survey of Educa- tion in West Virginia. Vol. 3. Charleston: State Department of Education, 1929. Ch. 2. The recent adoption of the county unit in West Virginia makes it possible for the first time to reorganize and consolidate the rural school system of that state. To carry out this reorganization, 103 six-room buildings, 69 eight-room buildings, and 64 twelve-room buildings are needed.** The ultimate success or failure of the county unit system in that state hinges in no small measure on the rapidity with which consolidated schools can be estab- lished. Summary The information presented in the foregoir paragraphs, altho by no rneans complete, show that the need for additional school buildin facilities is widespread. Children are attendin school part time because adequate schoolhou ing facilities are lacking. Condemned scho buildings are still in use. Schools are bein maintained in portable, rented, and other ten porary structures, and much needed consoli dations are being postponed. In view of thes facts, can the nation afford longer to continu the policy that has prevailed during the pas: four years? Can school building operations | suspended safely when the need for additiona facilities is so urgent? FIGURE III RATIO OF WINDOW GLASS AREA TO FLOOR AREA IN THE ONE-TEACHER SCHOOL BUILDINGS OF WEST VIRGINIA Fair lighti Ratio "s mg~ Poor lighting RATIO 1: to 110 Jivivea, Mot! Ed. Assn Source: Holy, Thomas C. School Buildings. Survey | of Education in West Virginia. Vol.3.Charleston: State | Department of Education,!929. p.40, Table i4 In addition to the facts already examined these questions should be considered in the light of school building operations before the de pression. The extent to which housing facilities are at present satisfactory, or unsatisfactory, can be judged in some measure by the building program carried on during the period of normal economic conditions. The next section of this bulletin, therefore, deals with the scope and adequacy of the nation’s school building pro- gram during the decade prior to 1930. % According to a letter from Superintendent W. W. Trent, West Virginia Department of Education, April 17, 1934. [ 20] ‘On 10W din din Ou ho ein rem soli hes nu Dast 5 | na aah III. School Building Construction Since 1918 Many people believe that school building nstruction ran far ahead of actual needs dur the decade from 1920 to 1930. luctionists especially are inclined to Tax re- “view vith alarm” the expenditures made during that iod for school buildings. They declare that authorities squandered the They deplore the fact that ilatial structures” —‘‘cathedrals of learning” hool people's money. “ornate, have replaced the little red schoolhouse which they so highly revere. So loudly and per- sistently have these charges been voiced that they are accepted not only among the general public, but sometimes by people well informed on educational matters. For example, in a re- cent number of one of the leading journals of educational administration appears the follow- ing statement, written by a student of adminis- trative problems: “The past decade has seen an orgy of building programs carried on in almost every school district in the nation.” Is this statement true? Has the nation merely halted an unwarranted building program? It is the purpose of these paragraphs to dis- close the facts in the case—to inquire into the nature of this alleged “‘orgy” of school build- ing by analyzing cost figures. Data pertaining to school buildings are presented in relation to from 1918, the close of the war period, to the present time. Expenditures for building pur> poses are then analyzed for the principal cities of the United States from 1921 to 1933 school building General overview of the program since 1918S—Expenditures for sites, buildings, and equipment since 1918 are sum- marized in Table 17, together with enrolment figures and other data relating to the nation’s school building program. In 1918 and 1920 ex- penditures for capital outlay were relatively small, amounting in the latter year to about $150,000,000. In 1922 mately twice that amount, From 1924 to 1930 $375,.000,000 to they were approxi they ranged from about $400,000,000 per year. Since 1930, building activity has been checked so abruptly that dur- ing the last school year capital outlay is esti mated at $101,468,000—considerably less than the expenditure in 1918. The years 1924 to 1930, therefore, are the ones to examine criti- cally for evidences of over-building. As a first step in the analysis of expenditures for school buildings, it seems advisable to note enrolment trends because these are roughly in dicative of school building needs. Column 3 in Table 17 shows the total enrolment in alter- nate years and column 5 gives the average number of new pupils coming into the schools enrolment trends, covering alternate years TABLE 17.—SCHOOL BUILDING EXPENDITURES AND RELATED DATA, 1918-1934 Capital Number of Capital r Capital , Total outlay additional outlay per Year a ee enrolment per pupil pupils additional enrolled yearly * pupil ' 1 2 3 4 5 é 1918 $119,082,943 20,853,516 $5.71 250,915 $4 1920 153,542,852 21,578,316 7.12 62,400 424 1922 305,940,965 23.239,.2 13.16 830,456 368 1924 388,469,143 24,288,808 15.99 524,791 40 1926 411,037,774 24,741,468 16.61 6.330 1.81 1928 382,996,156 25,179,696 15.21 219,114 ; ] 370,877,969 25.678.015 14.44 49.160 { 1937 - 210,996,262 26,275,441 8.03 18,713 ¢ 1934 101,468,000 © 26,722,001 80 2 80 454 Source: U. S. Department of the Interior, Office of Education. Biennial Survey of Education in the United States. Volume pertaining to the years covered. Washington, D. C.: Government Printing Office. Data are not collected regular); the odd numbered years. “It is assumed that half of the growth in total enrolment during each bienr hould be attributed-to each of the two year involved. Figures in this column were obtained by taking half of each two-year increment > Derived from columns 2 and 5. These figures do not show the average expenditure for each pupil for wh buildir ere needed. To do that, allowance must be made not only for ‘‘additional pupils’? but also for the pupils already enrolled whose school buildings become obsolete year by year © National Education Association and Department of Superintendence, Joint Comn ission on the Emergency in Educa Major Trends in Public Education. Washington, D. C : the Association, 1934 [ 21] in each two-year period. The period of most rapid growth was that from 1920 to 1924 in- -clusive. The increase reported for 1922 is par- ticularly significant. During the decade 1924 to 1934 every year brought more than 200,000 additional pupils into the schools. Another fact that should be noted concerning enrol- ment trends during this period is that a large percentage of it must be attributed to the growth at the high-school level. For example, approximately four-fifths of the increase in school enrolment during the biennium 1926-28 was due to the growth of secondary schools. Since 1932, elementary-school enrolment has been decreasing but the gain in high-school en- rolment carried the total forward to a net in- crease of nearly 300,000 students in 1932 and about 225,000 in 1934. Disproportionate growth in enrolment at the high-school level is significant because at that level more elaborate buildings and more expensive equipment are required for effective work. Column 4 in Table 17, derived from columns 2 and 3, shows the amount spent for school building purposes per pupil enrolled, ranging from $3.80 in 1934 to $16.61 in 1926. Column 6 shows the amount spent annually for each additional pupil, rang- ing from $368 to $1816.’ These data indicate in a general way the relationship between school building costs and enrolment demands in the period since 1918. Again the years 1924 to 1930 stand out as those in which expendi- tures were the most liberal. How liberal were these expenditures? Do they seem unreasonable in comparison with known building needs? ‘To answer these ques- tions one must determine in some objective manner the number of pupils for whom build- ings should have been provided year by year and multiply that number by an average per pupil expenditure that seems reasonable. Altho no single figure thus derived will be accepted by everyone as a justifiable national expendi- ture for school buildings, an estimate will be introduced presently in this bulletin. It is based on certain objective information with respect to both the number of pupils for whom build- ings have been needed since 1918 and the per pupil cost of a suitable but unpretentious 1 These figures do not show the average expenditure for each pupil for whom buildings were needed. but also for the pupils already enrolled whose schoo! buildings become obsolet: must be made not only for “additional pupils”’ constructed school building of medium size, economically. This estimate may be for the attempt to make it conservative has been deliberate. It is almost certain that it not too high to provide needed facilities mea: uring up to a standard of quality which mo people would regard as_ reasonable. ‘The method used in deriving it is explained in detai! in the paragraphs immediately following. In the first place, it is obvious that buildir facilities are needed for additional pupils from year to year as they come into the schools. addition, buildings are needed to replace o solete and outworn structures as they must be abandoned. Experience has shown that, on the average, 50 years is as long as school buildings can be expected to serve. Well-constructed buildings kept in good repair often last con siderably longer, but in numerous instances the useful life of a building is less than 50 years Hence, it seems reasonable to estimate that building facilities for about one-fiftieth of th school enrolment are needed each year to re place unsuitable structures. Combining the number of additional pupils per year with one fiftieth of the enrolment, one obtains the re sults entered in column 2 of Table 18. This represents roughly the number of pupils fo: whom new buildings have been needed in al- ternate years from 1918 to 1934. The actual expenditure for a typical schoo! building of acceptable quality erected at low cost in a representative American communit) seems to be the best available criterion of “reasonable average per pupil cost” for the nation as a whole. Since there are differences of opinion, however, as to what constitutes a typical school building, an acceptable qualit) of construction, and a representative com munity, the project selected for use in this bulletin is described below in some detail. The facts are taken from the report of an important non-educational commission engaged recent], in surveying the county and municipal finances of an eastern state.” The building was designed for 342 pupils and built during the year 1929 at a cost of 32.1 cents per cubic foot or $425 per pupil, not including the cost of the building site and too low allowance To do that, year by year. In this connection, see Table 18, (especially column 2), Figure IV, and the discussion of the data there presented 2 Commission To Investigate County and Municipal Taxation and Expenditures. Harley L. Lutz, director. Report 1932. p. 99-100. Trenton, N. J.: MacCrellish and Quigley, No. 8 [ 22] ne Ye ance rlete ited cessarv equipment. If these are added, the per ipil expenditure was $453. he building is located in a town of 1350 inhabitants. It is a durable, fireproof structure but not unusual in design or built of the most costly materials. Che following descriptive statements are given in the report: Che building is of simple colonial architecture, with exterior walls of brick ... The heating plant s separate Che room floors are maple over wooden joists. The corridor floors are concrete covered with linoleum. The lockers are built into A number of The study hall is simply three classrooms in a row with the corridor walls and ventilated . rooms are used for more than one purpose irtitions folded back. At one end of this suite is A partition open into the hall is Thus hall There is a gymnasium but no the kitchen for cafeteria service from the kitchen study raised the ing when lunch is ilso as cafeteria served. study serves auditorium This building shows commendable multiple use of spaces and economies which do not handicap the program planned and yet permit such savings as make possible having things for which otherwise there would not have been enough funds. The building just described is probably as nearly typical as one could find. It is neither school building nor the smal! hi het the large city one-room type. It represents no stand construction than most parents children. It is located in ard in building want tor their mall town, or in other words in a semi-rural district. If the s analysis, irvey commission is correct in its would seem that an allowance of at least $400 should be made for every pupil additional school buildings are tor whom needed in any given year in order to determine tor [his amount seems conservative indeed in view of a reasonable outlay this purpose t the following considerations: 1. Four hundred dollars per pupil is less than the cost of a building described by a responsible survey “an economical building of moderate and $53 building equipped. Yet applied in the manner in commission as cost per pupil” less than the cost of this dicated above, $400 per pupil covers the entire cost of land, buildings, and equipment 2. The building project by which the $400 allow ance is suggested was carried out in a community of less than 1500 inhabitants, whereas 42 percent of the school enrolment in 1920, increasing to 50 percent in 1932, was in schools located in cities over 2500 in population. Even in many rural districts, a desirable site and a v planned é bu g of masonry quipped, would require an outlay of $400 per pupil. And as for large ties ecia e case of high-school | eldom possible to erect satisfactory buildings at such low cost. Proper expenditures for school buildir c report of another non-educational survey committee, The Mayor's Ad ry ( c 1 Ten-Year Financial I New York. This report, issued in 1930, recommended the following per pupil a nee I | | For the construction of elementary-school buildings, $5 per pupil For the construction of junior high-school buildings, $750 per puy For the construction of senior high-school buildings er puy TABLE 18.—CAPITAL OUTLAY SINCE 1918 COMPARED WITH ESTIMATES OF REASONABLE EXPENDITURES FOR BUILDING PURPOSES ® Derived from columns 3 and 5, Table 17 f the enrolment (417,070) equals 667,985 » This percent is not the average of the figures in column 6 For example, for I Reasonable Percent Pupils to be expenditure, Actual Diff column 1 erence Year provided for * allowing expenditure ' 4 is of $400 per pupil col 3 1 2 3 4 5 ; 1918 667,985 S2¢ 194,000 4 $—148.11 j 0) 793.966 17.586.400 542,85 164,04 , 1,295,240 518,096,000 10,965 12.155. 1924 1,010,567 404,226,800 169,14 i 1926 ® 721 ) 88.463.600 411,037,774 574,174 14 1 722,707 89,082,800 82.996.156 91 i 1 762.720 5.088.000 70.877.969 65.789 1 824 1 688,400 118.692] ‘ 1934 757,7 3,088,000 1 468.000 01.6204 Total 7,556,285 $3,022,514,000 $? 444 412.064 $—578.1 1918 the numbe additional but is computed from the t [2 3] 3. Since there was little fluctuation in the index of construction costs between 1921 and 1930 (see Figure VIII, p. 29) the amount of money required for this illustrative building project should not be abnormally large, so far as the outlay was affected by prevailing prices. 4. Since between 1920 and 1930 the population of cities over 2500 increased more than fifteen mil- lion and the corresponding increase in rural areas was less than three million, the need for additional school buildings occasioned by growth in popula- tion has been greatest in urban districts where building costs are highest. 5. The percentage of buildings needed for high- school purposes since 1918 has been disproportion- ately large because it is at this level that the most rapid growth in enrolment has occurred. Figure IV, based on columns 2 and 4 of Table 18, shows the actual capital outlay for each pupil for whom building facilities were needed in alternate years 1918 to 1934. The average expenditure for each of these pupils is also indicated in comparison with an allowance of $400 per pupil. By multiplying the figures in column 2 of Table 18 by a per pupil allowance of $400, an estimate of reasonable expenditures for school buildings in alternate years since 1918 is obtained. These sums appear in column 3 of Table 18 alongside actual expenditures. Except for the years 1926, 1928, and 1930, actual expenditures fell below the estimated reasonable expenditures. The difference was large prior to 1924, a fact generally known t: school administrators in service during that period. Increased expenditures between 1926 and 1930 were unavoidable after urgent needs had been neglected for nearly a decade. Sinc: 1932, school building construction has again fallen far behind, and in the near future an extensive building program undoubtedly wil! be necessary. The amount actually spent for school build- ings to provide necessary facilities in the nin: years represented in Table 18 is about $578. 000,000 less than the estimated expenditur: justified by building needs. If this is true and allowance is made for the odd-numbered years not included in the table, school building costs since the close of the World War have been more than a billion dollars below the expendi tures justified. If the criteria used in deriving this estimate are sound,* building construction generall) * Replacement of facilities for one-fiftieth of the annual enrolment and an expenditure of $400 per pupil are in no sense standards by which the expenditures of a particular community can be evaluated. Obviously, these factors will vary greatly fron one community to another. In some districts replacement will be needed for a larger percentage of pupils and possibly a smaller per pupil expenditure will be required. In other districts allowance should be made for fewer pupils but a larger per pupil cost Because of differences in the prices of materials and labor, construction costs vary greatly from one community to another even in the case of buildings of the same size and type. Again, the number of pupils to be housed, the style of architecture, th type of construction, the value of the land on which a building is placed, and many other factors must be taken into account in determining for any given project the reasonable average per pupil cost. With proper refinements, however, the method used here might be applied on a local basis, comparing actual expenditures with the sums necessary to provide facilities of the quality which the community demands, for the children for whom additional buildings have been needed. FIGURE IV CAPITAL OUTLAY EXPENDITURES PER PUPIL FOR WHOM NEW BUILDING FACILITIES WERE NEEDED, 1918 To 1934 ~~ if) oOo i=} T = oOo So T i. iL i 1 =" 1 i i. 1918 1920 1922 1924 1926 1928 1930 1932 1934 Research Division, National Education Assin [ 24] ‘ild- 1in¢ 78, ‘ure and ars OSts een idi ate ally sense fron aller cost ther the ount used the — eaking has not gone beyond—nor indeed equalled—a reasonable and justifiable demand for housing facilities during the period since 1918. Certain school districts undoubtedly ave built larger and more elaborate school buildings than were warranted, for the most pal rt in response to the pressure brought to bear on boards of education by business and real state interests concerned with community ad- vertising. Because of such cases, however— fren widely publicized—one should not infet it school building construction in general is been wasteful or unnecessary. Building construction in principal cities since /921—Further evidence of the fact that, by and large, school building construction has vone forward merely at a reasonable and nor- mal rate is found in data from a representative group of large cities. The trend in the princi- pal cities of the United States since 1921 is shown in Figure V. This diagram shows the average annual expenditure per city for school and library projects as reported annuaily by the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U. S. De- partment of Labor.’ No significant rise in the average expenditure per city occurred after U. S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics 1922. With 1926—four years in advance of the first depression year—a downward trend began and since 1930 the drop has been pre cipitous. In Table 19 expenditures for school and library buildings are compared with expendi tures for all non-residential structures and with those for buildings of all types. Except for 1933, the ratio between outlays for school and library projects and the cost of all non- residential construction has remained fairly constant, ranging, for the most part, from about 10 to 14 percent. In periods of relatively mild economic depression the percentage seems to rise. Larger proportions of non-residential expenditures went to school and library projects from 1921 to 1923 and from 1930 to 1932 than in the years intervening. ‘This is not surprising, for economic conditions have a direct influence on the number of stores, apartments, and other non-residential structures that can profitably be erected. On the other hand, the need fo schools and libraries is relatively stable, regard less of economic conditions. The small per centage of non-residential expenditures used for schools and libraries in 1933 presents a Building Permits in the Principal Cities of the Unit tates Washington, D. C.: Government Printing Office. Annual summaries, 1921 to 1933 FIGURE V Average annual expenditure per city $600,000 | $500,000 | #400,000 + | 300,000 } | $200,000 F | $100,000 }+ 1 AVERAGE ANNUAL EXPENDITURES FOR SCHOOL AND LIGRARY PROJECTS IN THE PRINCIPAL CITIES OF THE UNITED STATES, 1991-1933 Q i i 4 Year 1921 1922 1923 1924 1925 a L i i i m i in. r 1926 (927 1928 1929 1930 1931 1932 1933 Reseorch Division, National Education. Ass'n. Source: Annual summaries of Building Permits in the Principal Cities of the United States issued by the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U.S. Dept. of Labor. These summaries are basedon building operations reported by no less than 258 cities in any one year and up te 370 cities in arecent year. For the entire period, reports from 257/denti'ca/ cities are included [25] TABLE 19.—EXPENDITURES FOR BUILDINGS OF DIFFERENT TYPES IN 257 IDENTICAL CITIES, 1921-1933 Percent that Expenditures for: school and library costs Year ie - are of all Buildings Non-residential Schools and _ non-residential of all types buildings libraries expenditures l 2 3 4 5 1921 $1,855,779,729 $ 635,775,199 $ 90,280,078 14 1922 2,785,940,410 876,276,713 145,461,934 1¢ 1923 3,431,262,598 1,070,596,718 154,165,927 14.4 1924 3,508,266,587 1,137,631,080 158,130,720 13.¢ 1925 4,038,062,339 1,343,880,884 162,609,587 12.1 1926 3,826,927,204 1,300,840.876 149,596,701 11.5 1927 3,478,605,062 1,231,785,870 150,277,876 12.2 1928 3,304,699,712 1,135,549,986 137,401,548 12.1 1929 2,933,117,531 1,146,958,101 123,871,475 10.8 1930 1,699,675,514 849 386,873 122.311.710 14.4 1931 1,237,985,293 622,830,444 106,504,006 17.1 1932 481,490,267 275,788,958 40,816,766 14.8 1933 382,389,451 183,065,712 10,068,614 5.5 Source: U. S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics. Budding Permits in the Principal Cities of the United St Washington, D. C.: Government Printing Office. Annual summaries, 1921 to 1933. FIGURE VI EXPENDITURES FOR BUILDING CONSTRUCTION IN 257 IDENTICAL CITIES SINCE 1921 Expenditures in billions of dollars LEGEND 4o | ] CJ Residentia! * ry Non- residential 3.5 fF rm ¥ ra a Ga School and library 3.0 F — ~ Soe if 2.0 fF —_ 5 + \ Lo + \ \ \ \ \ Tite oF WN \ NV A NA Ttre Year i921 1922 1923 1924 1995 1926 1927 19296 1929 1930 193! 1932 1933 . Research Vivisioa, Nationa! Education Ass'n, Source: U.S.Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics. Building Operations in Principa! Gties in 1932. Washington,D.C.; Government Printing Office, 1933.p.844. Advance figures were obtained from the Bureau for 1933. *included with the amounts for residential purposes are the sums reported for additions, alterations,and repairs. [ 26] sts itial res sharp contrast to the percentages used for this purpose in other depression years. Further more, the actual amount spent is less than one fourth of the 1932 expenditure and less than one sixteenth of that of the peak vear, 1925. The relationships existing among these ex nenditures are presented graphically in Figures Vl and VII. These diagrams, based on intor mation from 257 of the principal cities of the United States, undoubtedly represent in an a curate manner the trends prevailing generally) with respect to building construction in urban 1921 to 1933. Figure V1 shows clearly that the cost of school buildings communities from is but a small part of what society spends for housing of all types, and that expenditures for school buildings rise and fall with those for struction of other types during a period of construction of other types. In Figure VII, rapid school growth (one in which school et taking 1921 as a base year, trends are charted rolments increased approximately 20 percent for all building construction, new residential, as compared with an increase of only 16 percent 1921 9, Between 19 and library construc of all 1930 it to 19. 21 and light! slig tion torged il thead of residential construc 1924 1929, height of prosperity, school building construc Nevet 1923 has the index for school and library pre non-resi construction, and. sines has run tion. But from thru during th tion lagged behind other types. ne = ects equalled that for non-residential con tion in general. Since the data just presented have not been related directly to school enrolment ; roa izations with respect to the adequac\ ot St hool [ vyenera 1] } JUlldiIng programs cannot De ara from them. In view of the fact, however, that school building construction lagged behind con 27 | new non-residential, and school and library in the general population), these data indicate p ojects. I here is no evidence here of excessive conservatism rather than unjustified expansion school building activity. School building con They are in complete agreement with the tact struction did not outstrip building construction — presented earlier concerning building costs and of other types during the pre-depression period — school enrolments for the entire nation FIGURE VII ' 4 | TRENDS IN BUILDING CONSTRUCTION OF VARIOUS TYPES IN 257 | | IDENTICAL CITIES, 1921 To 1933 | Index | (1921=100) | 260 i, | s _— | 240+ vg a. eo (aa “ itil 200 } a i ay ° “* ‘ 180 nel a, 160 ieee cuales a ee aa 140 a \ 120 mi, LEGEND 100 Schools and libraries* ~*~ 0 | Cee New residential © \ 60 —--—— New non-residential © q All building construction® % a Bots tas | 20k | - “< | 0 rn 4 1 i 4 4 4 4 mT 4 wht ; Year 1921 1922 1923 19924 1925 1926 1927 1998 1929 1930 1931 1932 1933 ; ee a Research Divison Nationa! fdixation Ass'n *The index numbers for schoo/s and /braries are derived from the average annua! expenditure for this purpose in cities reporting to the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U.S.Department of Labor Index numbers for new residentia/, new non-residential,and all buildiag construction are published by the Bureau of Labor Statistics for257identical cities. See Building Operations in Principal Cities in 1932, Table 5, p.844, for all index numbers except those for 1933, which were obtained direct from the Bureau. * eipeied i IV. The Federal Government and the School Building Problem The public works program of the federal government, now under way, has been created to provide employment for as many as possible of the men unable to find work in private in- dustry during the present emergency. Recog- nizing the fact that school buildings are worthy public works projects, the Public Works Ad- ministration during the school year 1933-34 allotted approximately $70,000,000 in loans and grants for school building projects of vari- ous types.' This sum was distributed in each case in the form of an outright grant of not more than 30 percent of the cost of the material and labor used plus a loan covering part or all of the remaining 70 percent. Federal money thus employed has brought lasting benefits to education, and the continuance of school build- ing construction on an adequate scale in con- nection with the public works program of the future is highly desirable. The value of the work already accomplished in this field has been pointed out by Administrator Harold L. Ickes: In aiding schools PWA again finds a chance to help raise the nation’s standard of living. School building is something worthwhile that benefits the coming generation rather than repairing or con- cealing the mistakes of the present or past genera- tion. I would be better pleased if still more money could go for educational purposes.” According to recent newspaper reports an extensive public works program is likely to be carried out during 1935-36. The following excerpt from an Associated Press dispatch of October 26, 1934, indicated that possibility: The PWA quietly is paving the way for another huge appropriation for projects designed to create jobs in every corner of the nation. The administra- tion is certain, well-informed persons said, to ask for millions, perhaps billions. The PWA is preparing to lay before Congress a list of operations which might be launched quickly if its coffers . . .@re replenished. A number of government agencies, accordingly, have been asked to speed up public works projects for which they have received funds already and to determine what future developments might stimulate employment. PWA state engineers . . . have been asked to turn in lists of new non-federal projects which would ' Federal Emergency Administration of Public Works, Division of Economics and Statistics. Table A-5, (Not available for general distribution.) qualify for public works loans and grants... . 7 Bureau of Public Roads of the Department of Ag culture ... is reported to have sent a letter to sta: road and highway commissions asking what brid, and road projects could be started within 30, 60 90 days. From its original appropriation the PW gave the bureau $400,000,000 for road work.* Then on January 7, 1935, in his budget m sage to Congress, President Roosevelt reco: mended “that $4,000,000 be appropriated the Congress in one sum, subject to allocativ; by the Executive principally for giving work those unemployed on the relief rolls.’’ An es: mate of expenditures covering this amount v included in the budget submitted to Congr In view of the needs described in earlier s tions of this manuscript, it seems apparent t! further federal expenditures for school bu ings are fully justified. Estimating from thy facts reported by certain states and cities, ditional housing facilities are needed for m than two and a half million children now tending school only part time or housed antiquated or outworn structures, and for much larger number of children now attending small schools that ought to be consolidated. A reliable estimate of the amount of money that would be required to provide reasonably satis- factory schoolhousing facilities for all the na tion’s children is impossible from the data avai! able. But, if the consolidation problem omitted from consideration, and a per pup: expenditure of $400 is allowed for 2,500,00\) pupils, an outlay of a billion dollars is sug gested. Neither this year, nor in the years immediately ahead, can local communities shoulder the whole of this burden. Indeed seems likely that the problem will grow, as i: has been doing for the past four years espe cially, unless the federal government increases materially its activities in this field. Local resources have been virtually e¢) hausted—Many districts have almost or con pletely exhausted all their resources in the ma‘ ter of school building construction. In many cases limitations with respect to wealth and in come make it hard for school districts to pro vide suitable school buildings even in norma March 27, 19 * Federal Emergency Administration of Public Works, PWA Press Section. Release No. 498, February 11, 1934. p. 1. 8 The Evening Star, Washington, D. C. October 26, 1934. p. 1, 3. [ 28 ] a oy ot ne old, ( bsole chang popul in thi assum buildi This gover Is one the ni Lov ‘Vi Year | aw oy —_—_———~ —_>->- ods. When the assessed valuation back of h child is multiplied by the maximum legal nding rate in the various states, there are , states in which less than $100 per pupil iverage daily attendance could be obtained, n if no bonded debt existed.* In four other ites the amount would be less than $150, id in six other states less than $200. When existing bonded debt is taken into account, the free bonding capacity is much lower. In four tates it is less than $50 per pupil, in five other states less than $100 per pupil, and in seven thers less than $150 per pupil. In half of the tates it does not exceed $250 per pupil. The consolidation of rural schools—There are unusually good reasons why the federal government should assist in the construction of new consolidated rural schools. Since the old, one-room school buildings have become bsolete largely because of social and economic changes far beyond the control of the rural population, the largest possible social unit— in this case the federal government—should assume the cost of replacing these obsolete buildings with modern consolidated structures. This movement, favored alike by students of covernment and those of school administration, is one of the most worthy projects in which the national government could participate. Low construction costs—The school build- * Viles, N. E. ‘“‘Federal Aid for a School Rehousing Program,” ings so urgently needed can be erected at the present time at a cost far below that normally required. Building costs are lower than at any time during the decade 1920 to 1930, and are undoubtedly much lower than they will be when national recovery is accomplished. Fig ure VIII, which shows the trend of school building costs since 1920, is a convincing argu ment in favor of needed at the present time will cost consider building now. Facilities ably more if the public fails to take advantage of present low prices. l’ederal expenditures needed immediatel) On April 12, 1934, an inquiry was sent to state departments of education asking them to esti mate the amount of federal aid required to purchase sites and construct needed school buildings in their respective states. The inquiry specified that estimates should be based on projects and that part of the cost of projects that cannot be financed at present from state and local resources. In order further to assure that the estimates would be comparable, the state departments were asked to report in two (1) the amount needed assuming the of the 70-30 grant” arrangement; and (2) the ways: continuance “loan and amount needed if 100 percent ot the 20 summarizes the grants were provided up to cost of each project. Table estimates from 20 states. March 1934 Journal 88 29-30 American School Board FIGURE VIII Index (1926=100) 150 40} 130} TRENDS IN THE COST OF BUILDING CONSTRUCTION SINCE 1920 LEGEND Wage rates ——— Building costs composite Material prices i 0 rl Year 1920 1991 i i i A i i i 1922 49923 1924 1995 1996 1997 1928 i 4 A. i i 1929 1930 1931 1932 1933 1934 Research Division, National Education A ss’. — Source: The Architectural Record. Vol\.76: p.30 (advertising section); August, 1934. “Figures for 1934 are averages for the first six months of the year. [29] TABLE 20.—ESTIMATES OF THE AMOUNT OF FEDERAL AID REQUIRED To FINANCE LEGITIMATE SCHOOL BUILDING PROJECTS IN 20 STATES Alabama Arkansas California Idaho lowa Kentucky Maine Michigan Mississippi Missouri New York North Carolina Oklahoma Oregon Pennsylvania South Carolina Tennessee Texas Virginia Washington West Virginia Total Source that accompanied the estimates. ® Two-thirds of this amount should be used for rural $5,000,000 is pending before the Public Works Administration » The average expenditure for school buildings in lowa for the five-year period ending June 1933 was $1,690,000 projects. Basis of distribution Loan and grant Up to 100 percent g $7,500,000 $17,000.00 400,000 4,000,000 15,000,000 10,000,000 50,000 3,000,000 1,100,000” 500,00 3,750,000 16,676,000 200,000 700,000 None 50,000,000 200,000 2,000,000 13,000,000 7,000,000 49,000,000 No estimate 2,000,000 6,000,000 100,000 3,000,000 500,000 1,000,000 4,800,000 16,000,000 400,000 8,000,000¢ No estimate 7,000,000 10,000,000 23,000,000 5,000 ,000¢ No estimate 2,000,000 3,000,000 None 8.150.000 . .$106,000,000 $186,026,000 Letters and telegrams from state departments of education, April 1934. The footnotes which follow give explana An application from the city of Birmingham alon¢ Hence $17,000,000 is a conservative estimate Thirt cent of this amount plus half of the remainder (needed as a loan) is $1,103,500. © One-third of the amount spent annually in Iowa for school building construction. 4 Tota! need: $18,000,000. * Total need: $50,000,000. The $7,000,000 mentioned here is needed for the immediate construction of buildings for consolid purposes € This estimate includes $3,000,000 for applications pending before the Public Works Administration. If granted this amount should be reduced accordingly. * Total building need: $15,000,000. any of these In a majority of the states, it would seem that the plan of making an outright grant up to 100 percent of the cost of each project would be more helpful than a “loan and grant” arrange- ment. In these states, school building needs are greatest in districts that are virtually in- solvent—too hard pressed financially to obtain help by means of a federal loan. In a few states, however, such as California and New York, large numbers of school districts could care for their own school building needs if loans at reasonable rates of interest could be obtained. Were information available for states other than those named in Table 20, situations simi- lar to those reported would be found in many of them. School building construction and the relief of unemployment—Since about one-third of the cost of non-residential buildings is charge- *U. S, Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics. 1931-32." Monthly Labor Review 35: 763; October 1932. ® Federal Emergency Administration of Public Works, PWA Press Section. Release No. 498, February 11, able to labor, the construction of a school bui! ing is a project that provides a large amount of employment.’ It is also one that requires labor of various classes. Excavating and grad ing, brick work, carpentry work, tile wor! concrete work, electrical wiring, plumbin painting, plastering, roofing, and various oth types of work must be done. Hence scho: building construction is a desirable type of project for uriemployment relief. In construct ing school buildings during 1933-34, fede: authorities charged with the administration 0! the program estimate that 293,500 man months of direct employment were provided, and that at least twice as many man months of indirect and industrial employment were created by the production and transportation of the necessar) materials and equipment.° “Relative Cost of Material and Labor in Building Construct 1934. p. 2. [ 30] — ount! yuildis {ve mpor' startec peen 1 pros ee with a of the have < ects, the fi school buildings as publi ( nstructing S projects would carry unemployment re into rural and village communities where ble projects of other types are seldom d. If public works enterprises are con fined to projects such as power plants, sewers, treets, bridges, reservoirs, hospitals, airports, nd public buildings, relatively few rural and jllaze communities derive benefit from the program. Few enterprises are better adapted to distribute employment in all parts of the country than the construction of needed school yuildings. {vailability of school building projects—An important element in the whole public works program is the matter of getting employment started immediately. The beginning that has been made already would make it possible to proceed with many school building projects with a minimum of delay. In answer to the call of the federal government, many communities have developed plans for school building proj ects, have voted bonds for the proportion of that they were the funds required to raise locally their applications with the Public Works A undér existing regulations, have pl ministration, Dut have not yet received in money trom the federal government, In man cases action ot this type has been reg irded a patriotic duty. Communities have taken the steps, desiring to do their part in cooperating | government in the recover with the fede program. Chey have yone to considerable cA pense in order thus to fall in line with t administration's program. Specifications drawn and all preliminary arrangements h made in the case of about $1,000,000 worth of the buildings needed in the state been Arkansas. Construction on these projects could Degin $00,000 worth of projects in Kentucky, fo immediately. The same is true of $3 the entire building program outlined for Tet 1514 school needed in the state of Mississippi. A larg nessee, and for buildings badly amount of construction could be started imm« diately on school building projects for whi applications are now pending. I" is my thought that with the exception of certain of the normal public building operations of the Government, all emergency public works shall be united in a single new and greatly enlarged plan. With the establishment of this new system we can supersede the Federal ordinated authority Emergency which will be charged with the orderly Relief Administration with a co liquidation of out present relief activities and the substitution of a national chart for the giving of work. This work will cover a wide field including cleat ince of slums. which tor adequate reasons cannot be undertaken by private capital; in rural housing of sev eral kinds, where, again, private capital is unable to function; in rural electrifi cation; in the reforestation of the great watersheds of the Nation: in an intensified program to prevent soil erosion and to reclaim blighted areas; in improving exist ing road systems and in constructing national highways designed to handle modern trafic; in the elimination of grade crossings; in the extension and enlargement of the successful work of the Civilian Conservation Corps; mostly self-liquidating and highly useful to local divisions of Government, and in non-Federal work i on many others which the Nation needs and cannot afford to neglect. This is the method which I propose to you in order that we may better meet this present-day problem of unemployment. Its greatest advantage is that it fits logically and use fully into the long-range, permapent policy of providing the three types of security which constitute as a whole an American plan for the American people. Franklin D. Roosevelt. President’s Message to the Seventy-fourth Congress. Summary During the past four years school building construction, which had been decreasing since 1926, has been halted abruptly. At present such operations are moving at about 25 percent of their normal rate. This sharp decline in building construction at a time when school enrolments are on the increase, together with a considerable volume of building needs ac- cumulated prior to 1930, is creating serious housing problems. Altho definite information is available with respect to less than half the states and only about ninety cities over 30,000 in population in other states, it is definitely reported that (1) 687,611 pupils are housed in school build- ings which have been condemned as unsafe or unsanitary; (2) 618,068 are housed in port- able, rented, or other temporary structures; (3) 391,748 can attend school only part time because of inadequate housing facilities; and (4) 2,301,220 are attending small schools which, in the judgment of chief state school officers, ought to be abandoned in favor of larger consolidated schools. Estimating from these figures, additional building facilities for 2,700,000 pupils are required merely to replace condemned and temporary structures and to provide full-time accommodations for all pupils. Likewise, about 16,000 consolidated schools ought to be established in the interest of some 5,000,000 rural children now attend- ing poorly equipped, inefficient schools. Less than 5 percent of the nation’s school buildings have been constructed since 1930. A third of them were constructed between 1870 and 1900 and about 7.6 percent of them date back to the Civil War period. Reports from individual states indicate that many other building needs exist. Buildings are carrying enrolments far in excess of their in- tended capacities. Additions, alterations, re. pairs, and adequate sanitary facilities should receive immediate attention. Contrary to an opinion widely held, the period 1918 to 1930 was not one marked }y wasteful and unnecessary school building con struction. Individual cases of mismanagement can be cited in this period or any other, but in the nation as a whole school building con- struction lagged behind actual needs. ‘The amount actually spent for school buildings since 1918 is approximately a billion dollars less than it would have been allowing an ex penditure of $400 for each pupil added to the school system and for one-fiftieth of each year's enrolment.' In the principal cities of the United States school building construction lagged behind that of other types from 1923 to 1930, the period of most liberal school ex- penditures. The average annual expenditure per city began to decline in 1926, long betore the depression was felt. During the present crisis, thousands of school districts which lack sufficient resources for current operating expenses can do little t provide needed housing facilities. Other com- munities, however, in which buildings can be erected without despoiling the budget for in structional purposes, should no longer neglect their building programs. In addition, during the immediate future, while it is necessary for the federal government to give employment to men unable to find a place in industry, no bet- ter public works project is available than the construction of needed school buildings. Gen- erous provisions for such projects should be made in whatever public works program the federal government pursues. 1 Evidence that this allowance is a reasonable one is given on p. 22-24. [32] 4 APP Inquiry Forms Used in This Study NATIONAL EDUCATION ASSOCIATION Washington, D. C. 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Toqute eqs gq Te ee,umtiee cnof Suyyrem ‘eTQUTTeAB {OU O18 BUp jouKe ereys ‘seqgumTiee ecto (Z) ‘*#TOoOTOS Axrepuoces pue Arejuemte oftqnd 03 420der anok eupzuaD ({) ‘euoysz0er;p BuyeoTTOs eqy ec6T ‘ot 4H TOTBTAT yorvesey @a108Q0 esveTd ‘suoTyeenb ou; Puytemews Ul *merFord exrom oT IQnd Texepez eq 0% pe_UTeZ sv WOTZENITe BuUtpTynq Toogos eq; Apnye OF pesN eq TIT# BOTeq pessenber uoTywmIOsUT eqy *O “d ‘uoq?uyyqecs NOLLVIOOSSY NOLLVOOQUZ TVNOLLYN SUZEN ONICTIO€ TOGHOS OL ONILVIGH AHLOBNI NV eeeTt ‘OT Tradv uoTeytald qorveesey *O “d ‘uog?ut ques Apn 1S SIUYT ut pesp swi0g Aimnbuy] NOILYIOOSSV NOLLYOOUZ TYNOLLYN ~ -~ — le — Mill, ss —* -— _ A mm: " ~ co DW 2 > + on w . — oe = © ¢f Ss & oc 60) = = APPENDIX Apparent Reliability of the Sampling in the Case of Reports from City School Systems NE method of determining the reliability of a sample used in statistical com- putations is to divide the sample into equal parts and note how the parts compare with each other. If the results obtained using one part of the sampie are similar to those obtained by using the other part, it is probable that the sample is large enough to be reliable—that the results would be approximately the same if complete data could be obtained. This method of equal parts tabulation was applied to test the reliability of the sample represented by the replies from 49 cities over 100,000 in population and 114 cities 30,000 to 100,000 in population. The reports from cities in each popu- lation group were arranged alphabetically, first by states, then by cities within the states. They were divided into equal parts by using alternate reports from these lists. ‘The table presented below summarizes the tabulation of the paired reports. ‘The percentages relating to improper housing conditions are remarkably close for the comparable groups of cities. Compare columns 3 and 5; also columns 7 and 9. SUMMARY OF REPLIES FROM CITY SCHOOL SYSTEMS WHEN THE RETURNS FROM EACH POPULATION GROUP ARE TABULATED IN TWO PARTS, USING ALTERNATE REPORTS FROM AN ALPHA- BETIZED LIST 25 cities 24 cities 57 cities 57 cities Situation reported over over 30 900 to 30,000 to 100,000 100,000 100,000 100,000 Per- Per- Per- Per- Number* cent” Number® cent” Number®* cent® Number®* cent” 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Condemned buildings in use 13 0.7 7 0.3 42 3 9 35 3.1 Pupils housed in condemned buildings 6,897 0.5 4.055 0.2 20,946 3.8 15,878 2.8 Pupils attending part time 66,445 5.1 6,481 4.3 14,007 2 5 | 17 2 2 Pupils housed in temporary structures 51,078 3.9 1,723 4.0 13,860 2.5 15,081 2.7 Buildings constructed before 1870 62 3.5 87 32 33 3.0 5 3. : : as “> anit 049 ae Buildings constructed 1870-1899 436 24.8 751 PS 308 28. 3 17 28.3 Buildings constructed 1900-1929 1,125 64.1 1,686 61.7 615 56.4 691 61.7 Ruildings constructed since 1930 83 4.7 207 7.6 61 5.6 55 4.9 in these cities in the year 1932. * Total number reported in these cities. > Percent that the number of buildings or pupils reported is of the total number of buildings or pupils [ 34 | a RECENT N. E. A. PUBLICATIONS ® Evaluating the Public Schools Prepared in cooperation with Phi Delta Kappa Fraternity for adult discussion groups. 48 p. 15¢ ® Report of the National Conference on the Financing of Education Conclusions of the conference of educational leaders called by the Joint Commis sion on the Emergency in Education in the summer of 1933. 78 p. 25¢ ® School Finance Systems A cumulative handbook of school finance practises prepared with cooperation of authorities in each state. First issue includes: Indiana, Louisiana, Maryland, Min nesota, Oregon, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Vermont, Virginia, and Wisconsin. (Ten states, 50¢; 5¢ per state; $2.00 Series 1, complete) ® National Deliberative Committees in Education A list of over two hundred and fifty groups engaged in investigations of various educational problems. 96 p. 25¢ ® Modern Social and Educational Trends A review of major trends and their educational implications. Useful for adult discussion groups, teachers meetings, and social science classes. 48 p. 25¢ Single copies of the bulletins at prices noted above. In quantity orders, accompa- nied by funds, the following discounts are allowed: 2 to 9 copies . . . 10 percent; 10 to 99 copies . . . 25 percent; 100 or more copies . . . 33'/3 percent. Orders not accompanied by remittance are subject to transportation charges. Make checks payable to National Education Association, 1201 Sixteenth St., N. W., Washington, D. C. [35] p> |OVERNMENTAL borrowing during a period of depression to damp the fluc- tuations of governmental expenditures \e v7 is a legitimate and proper process of oO «|| public financing. It is undesirable that the expenditures of governmental units should fluctuate through the same range as the cyclical fluctuations of business conditions. It is undesirable, first because such fluctuation disturbs the very essential continuity of governmental and educational programs. It is undesirable, in the second place, because a decrease in governmental expenditures proportionate to the decrease in private expenditures during a depression has a cumulative effect in increasing unemployment. The dollars spent by the government are just as effectual in building up purchasing power and creating jobs as the dollars spent by private in- dividuals. It is of course a corollary of this prin- ciple that governmental and educational expendi- tures should not be permitted to expand during prosperous times as rapidly as would be justifiable had no borrowing been undertaken during depres- sion. On the contrary, the rapid repayment of these governmental debts should be a first charge on the increased tax proceeds accruing from the up-swing in business.—Report of the National Conference on the Financing of Education, p. 54.