* 

 I 



WHAT happens to the bonded 

 debt of a district after reorgan- 

 ization? What about township 

 trustees and treasurers? What 

 are the duties of the county super- 

 intendent under the county 12 -grade unit 

 plan? How will reorganization affect 

 real estate taxes of farmers? These are 

 some of the qdestions asked at the lAA 

 schools conference held in the Bishop 

 Tuttle Memorial Temple in St. Louis on 

 Wednesday, Nov. 19- 



Approximately 350 farm leaders at- 

 tended the conference including eight 

 members of the original lAA state 

 Schools Committee, numerous county 

 school survey committee members and a 

 number of prominent guests representing 

 statewide organizations. 



Included in the latter group were the 

 following: Luther Black — secretary, 

 Illinois State Examining Board, represent- 

 ing Vernon L. Nickell; Irving Pearson — 

 executive secretary, Illinois Education As- 

 sociation; Harlan Beem — county super- 

 intendent of schools of Coles county, past 

 president of the Illinois Association of 

 County Superintendents; Mrs. Oplinger 



— first vice president, Illinois Congress 

 of Parents and Teachers; Dr. Eugene Fair 



— dean. Southern Illinois University, 

 Carbondale; Paul C. Johnson — editor, 

 Prairie Farmer; Mrs. Will Parks — Illi- 

 nois Home Bureau Federation and state 

 advisory commission; Mrs. William F. 

 Bennett — first vice president, Illinois 

 Federation of Women's Clubs; Dr. D. E. 

 Lindstrom — professor of rural sociol- 

 ogy, College of Agriculture, University 

 of Illinois. 



Earl Hughes, member of the lAA 

 board of directors and member of the 

 McHenry County School Survey Com- 

 mittee, presided as chairman of the 

 schools conference. After a brief wel- 

 come to the crowd, he spoke of the 

 changes in farm living and its affect on 

 schools. "We are in an industrial revolu- 

 tion on the farm," said Hughes. He 



continued, "We have seen the advance 

 in the production of land. It has meant, 

 folks, that we have had to farm larger 

 units, to do more work and to use ex- 

 pensive tools to get the job done. We 

 have seen gradual increases in farm op- 

 eration. ... It means we have to keep 

 up to date in organization. It means 

 larger units to get the job done on an 

 economical basis. . . . We realize that 



school patrons should consistently de- 

 mand the best service possible under the 

 12 grade district. 



In regard to the building programs 

 made necessary by the wearing out of old 

 buildings, by the increased enrollment 

 due to war babies, and by reorganization, 

 Cox advised caution against voting large 

 bond issues, the period of payment of 

 which might extend beyond the period of 



^cnoold (conference 

 Scans Recent Progress 



the <lay of the small one-room school 

 mag be fast approaching an end." 



School Legislation Progress 



Chairman Hughes then called on John 

 K. Cox, lAA director of the department 

 of rural school relations, to discuss brief- 

 ly recent school legislation and trends in 

 school reorganization to date. Cox called 

 attention to the strong preference ex- 

 pressed in the 44 tentative reports on 

 file at that time for the 12 grade district 

 either on the county or large community 

 basis. 



He referred to the School Survey Act 

 and the Community Unit Act as being 

 the two key acts of the school reorganiza- 

 tion program. He mentioned the need 

 of a collection of information to be 

 placed in the hands of new school board 

 members regarding duties, good school 

 policies, etc., and added that not all of 

 the advantages or possibilities of a new 

 12 grade district would be apparent or 

 possible the first year or two but that the 



high incomes. He urged local people in- 

 cluded in a new district to defer voting 

 bond issues for buildings until the stabil- 

 ity of the district and all its boundaries 

 could be established. Said Cox: "We 

 suggest that school districts make the 

 most possible use of present buildings, 

 consistent with sound educational prac- 

 tices, and consider the practicability of 

 temporary housing where feasible." 



Community 1 2 Grade Unit 



Hugh Rowden, chairman of the Mont- 

 gomery County School Sur\'ey Commit- 

 tee, was asked by the chairman to dis- 

 cuss some of the problems encountered 

 in setting up community 12 grade dis- 

 tricts. Rowden mentioned the lack of 

 understanding between town and coun- 

 try and the difficulty of drawing bound- 

 ar)' lines as two of this committee's big- 

 gest problems. In referring to one of 

 their recommendations which failed to 

 carry, he attributed the failure to the 

 {.Continued on page 43) 



Schools is the subjact as Henry Hussor, Henry county, talks with 

 John K. Cox, lAA director of rural school relations, during the 

 rural schools conference held in coniunction with the lAA annual 

 meeting in St. Lewis. At left Is Dennis Larson, Henry, and at 

 right Harry FIste, Bureau. 



In animated conversation on the Illinois school situation is Mrs. 

 W. S. Bennett of Flora, vice president of the Illinois Federation 

 of Women's Clubs, with Harlan Beem, Coles county superintendent 

 of schools. At upper left Is John Butterfleld of Christtan c ou n ty. 

 Others ore unidentified. 



JANUARY. 1948 



