Among tho«« pratmnt of tha signing of th» 

 1949 Srofe Aid of Sehooli Bill by Oovernor 

 Adlal Stevenson (tealed) was John K. Cox 

 fsecond from righf), dlre€lor of rural 

 school relations for the llllnolM Agricultural 

 Association, Man behind the governor Is 

 Vernon L. Nitkall, Illinois ttatu superinten- 

 dent of public Intlrutllon. 



By JOHN K. COX, Director 

 lAA Rural School Relations 



lAA School Progress Rep» 



ILLINOIS RURAL SCHOOL REFORM FOUOWS PATTERN LAID DOWN BY lAA SCHOOL 



M 



ANY of the recommendations 

 of the lAA School Report of 

 1944 are now law. lAA school 

 policy has, in fact, been the 

 leading factor in school reor- 

 ganization legislation. 



To show how lAA School Report 

 recommendations have been written into 

 law we shall quote recommendations 

 from the Report, then point out the leg- 

 islation in which the intent of these 

 recommendations is carried out. 



1. "The lAA School Committee 

 urges people of every rural com- 

 munity to study their school prob- 

 lems." Page 51. 



The School Survey Act of 1945 pro- 

 vided for this local study. 



2. "State aid for transporting pu- 

 pils should be increased by raising 

 the maximum annual allowance 

 from the present $15 per pupil to 

 $20." Page 63. 



Legislation passed in 1945 raised the 

 amount per pupil from $15 to $20. 



3. "Reorganization of rural high- 

 way administration is much 



needed in Illinois." Page 30. 

 Legislation passed in 1947 and 



amended in 1949 provided a way to 

 make some progress in reorganizing 

 inefficient township road districts. 



4. (a) Grade Schools 



". . . . state aid should not be used 

 to subsidize and continue in exist- 

 ence small, inefficient schools. 

 The minimum average daily at- 

 tendance needed to qualify an ele- 

 mentary school for state aid should 

 be gradually increased. (The pres- 

 ent law passed previous to 1945 

 but postponed to 1945 will re- 

 quire a minimum of seven after 

 1945.) This should be increased 



14 



to 10 in 1949 and eventually raised 

 to 15." Page 64. 



The seven pupil law became effective 

 in 1945. In 1947 an A.D.A. (average 

 daily attendance) law was passed re- 

 quiring grade schools before receiving 

 state aid to have 10 pupils in A.D.A. 

 by June 30, 1949, 12 by June 30, 1951 

 and 15 by June 30, 1953. 

 (b) High Schools 

 "High schools having an average 

 daily attendance of less than 10 per 

 grade should not be eligible for 

 state aid after a short period. This 

 minimum figure should be in- 

 creased to 15 within a few years 

 and raised to 20 in not more than 

 10 years (1954)." Page 64. 

 Legislation was adopted in 1947 to 

 become effective after June 30, 1951 

 that would require high schools to have 

 an average of nine pupils in A.D.A. per 

 grade before making a claim for state 

 aid. House Bill 1072 passed in 1949 

 requires high schools to have an aver- 

 age of 15 pupils per grade after June 

 30, 1953, before receiving state aid. 

 5. "Positive steps should be taken 

 to prevent further divisions of 12- 

 grade districts and to encourage 

 the organization of new ones." 

 The Community Unit Act was passed 

 in 1947 and amended and improved in 

 1949, thus providing a simple method 

 of creating a 12-grade unit in place of 

 dual system districts. Also, the unit 

 district was popularized in the 1945 

 session of the General Assembly by 

 being allowed a lower qualifying rate 

 (37V2C) for equalization state aid as 

 compared to the qualifying rate (25c -\- 

 25c = 50c) required of dual system 

 districts. The legislature in 1949 went 

 still further in H.B. 1065, the state aid 



pROt 



7 





PR 



bill, by allowing the unit district a | 

 qualifying rate of 50c as compared to 

 40c for both grade and high school or 

 a total of 80c. 



6. "The Illinois Agricultural As- 

 sociation has repeatedly pointed 

 out the need for reducing the bur- 

 den of taxes on farmers and home 

 owners. The Association has also 

 emphasized the necessity of secur- 

 ing for the schools revenue from 

 sources other than property taxes." 

 Page 45. 

 The amount of state aid appropriated 



by the General Assembly for the bienni- 

 um beginning July 1, 1943 was $33,- 

 000,000. This figure was increased to 

 $44,000,000 in 1945, $65,000,000 in 

 1947 and 8100,300,000 ip 1949. 



7. "Aid to wealthy districts and 

 those weM able to carry their own 

 load should not be increased from 

 present levels. Page 45. 

 The state aid bill just passed and 



signed by the governor provides for no 

 increase in the flat grants, all the addi- 

 tional state money going into equaliza- 

 tion guarantees." 



8. "Legislation should be enacted 

 requiring all new high school dis- 

 tricts, except these created by the 

 consolidation of two or more pre- 

 viously existing districts, to in- 

 clude a population of at least 2000 

 persons and to have an assessed 

 valuation of at least $1,500,000." 

 Page 37. 

 The $1,500,000 assessed valuation 



when property was assessed at one-third 

 its full value on the average would be 

 comparable to $4,500,000 now. The 

 law now requires a 'minimum of $6,- 

 000,000 assessed valuation (full value) 

 {Continued on page }0) 



L A. A. BECORD 



J 



OCTOB 



