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and relating thereto, including a complete list of all applicants, with their postoffice addresses, and also a receipt from the county treasurer for the fees collected at the examination.

The holder of a first-grade certificate who shall present to the State superintendent evidence of having taught successfully twenty-four school months during the time said certificate has been in force, may have same renewed without further examination, and such renewal and succeeding renewals shall be for terms of five years; but such renewal certificates shall lapse upon the failure of the holder to teach for a period of two consecutive school years. A teacher holding a second-grade certificate, who has taught in the primary grades of the public schools of the State for not less than thirty-six months immediately preceding the expiration of said certificate, and who has taken at least one subject of the teacher's reading circle work each year, may have said certificate renewed once for two years as a primary teacher. All applicants for certificates above third grade who shall attain the required percentage in eight of the designated subjects shall be credited for those subjects in which they shall have passed, and upon passing the required percentages in the remaining subjects at the next subsequent examination shall receive a certificate in accordance with the result of both examinations. Any teacher to whom a certificate has been granted by any county board of examiners in this State, or by lawful examiners in any other State or Territory the requirements to obtain which were not less than in this State, or any teacher holding a diploma or certificate of graduation from any State or Territorial normal school, or from the normal department of the University of the State of Washington, may present the same to a county superintendent, who shall grant to said person a temporary certificate: Provided, That such teacher was not a resident of the county at the time of the last examination, or else was not able by reason of sickness or other unavoidable cause to attend said examination.

Any certificate may be revoked by the authority entitled to grant the same upon the determination of sufficient cause, after the holder shall have been given an opportunity of being heard.

Duties.-Every teacher employed in any common school shall make a report to the county superintendent at the time he contracts to teach such school, the number of the district in which he is to teach, the grade of his certificate, the date it expires, and the proposed length of term, and at the close of any school shall report to the county superintendent on the blanks prescribed by the State superintendent. Any teacher who shall be teaching at the close of the school year, or who shall teach the last term of any school year in any school district, shall make a report to the county superintendent immediately upon the close of such school year or term, for the entire time taught in said school district since the beginning of the school year. Copies of all reports made by teachers shall be furnished to the clerk of the district, to be filed in his office. No board of directors shall draw any order or warrant for the salary of any teacher for the last month of his service until the reports herein required shall have been made and received: Provided, That in all schools under the direction of a city superintendent the report of such superintendent shall be accepted by the county superintendent and the directors in lieu of a teacher's report, and that when there is no city superintendent the report of the principal shall be accepted in lieu of the teacher's report.

Every teacher shall keep a school register in the manner provided for, and no board of directors shall draw any warrant for the salary of any teacher for the last month of his service in the school, at the end of any term or year. until they shall have received a certificate from the district clerk that the said register has been properly kept, the summaries made, and the statistics entered, or until by personal examination they shall have satisfied themselves that it has been done. Teachers shall faithfully enforce in the school the course of study and regulations prescribed, and if any teachers shall willfully refuse or neglect to comply with such regulations their salaries may be withheld. Teachers maltreating or abusing any pupil by administering undue or severe punishment, or inflicting punishment on the head or face, shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor and shall be fined in a sum not to exceed $100.

Preliminary training.—There are established three State normal schools for the training and education of teachers in the art of instructing and governing the schools of the State. The schools are under a board of 5 trustees who manage the affairs of the schools.

Institutes.-Whenever the number of school districts in any county is 25 or more, the county superintendent shall hold a teachers' institute each year, and

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every teacher employed in a common school in the county must attend such institute during its whole time. In any county where there are less than 25 school districts the county superintendent may, in his discretion, hold an institute. Each session of the institute must continue not less than three days. When the institute is held during the time the teachers are employed in teaching, their pay shall not be diminished by reason of their attendance when certified to by the county superintendent. The county superintendent must keep an accurate account of the actual expenses of the institute, with vouchers for the same, and present the bill to the county commissioner, who will allow the same, but not to more than $200 in any one year. Any teacher who willfully neglects to attend an institute shall be deprived of his certificate.

3. SCHOOLS.

Attendance-Character of instruction-Text-books-Buildings.

Attendance.-Every common school shall be open to all children from 6 to 21 years of age; and all parents, guardians, and others having immediate charge of any child or children between the ages of 8 and 15 years shall send the same to school at least four months each year, and in graded school districts in incorporated cities and towns such children shall be sent to school at least six months each year. All school districts in this State shall maintain school at least five months each year, and in incorporated cities and towns the minimum length of term for each year shall be six months, and in cities of 10,000 or more inhabitants, 8 months. The school day shall be six hours in length, inclusive of a noon intermission, but the time may be reduced by the board of directors, except that for primary pupils it must not be less than four hours.

Character of instruction.-In every school shall be taught, in the English language, the following subjects: Reading, penmanship, orthography, written and mental arithmetic, geography, English grammar, physiology and hygiene, with special reference to the effects of alcoholic stimulants and narcotics, history of the United States, and such other studies as may be prescribed by the board of education. Attention must be given during the entire course to the cultivation of manners, to the laws of health, physical exercise, and ventilation and temperature of the schoolroom. The high schools (also normal schools, State university, and other State educational institutions) are a part of the public school system. The work is divided into twelve grades. The first eight cover the work of the common school, and the ninth, tenth, eleventh, and twelfth grades constitute the high school work. Two or more common school districts may unite to form a union high school. The State gives, aside from the regular apportionment for attendance, $100 a year for each grade maintained by such union high school district.

Text-books. In each district of the first class (i. e., one maintaining a high school with not less than a two years' course of study) there shall be a text-book commission composed of five persons, namely, the city superintendent (or, if there be none, the principal of the high school) as ex officio chairman, and two members of the city board of education or district board of directors, and two teachers teaching in the district, to be designated by such city or district board for a term of five years. Text-books shall be selected by said commission covering the course of study issued by the State superintendent for such schools, together with any books supplementary or additional thereto which may be deemed necessary, and such books when adopted shall continue in use for three years and until displaced by order of the commission.

In each county containing any school district of the second class (i. e., one not maintaining a high school) there shall be a county board of education composed of five members, namely, the county superintendent as ex officio president, and two teachers and two citizen taxpayers of the county, to be designated by the county commissioners for a term of four years. The State superintendent shall prescribe a uniform course of study for all schools of the second class, and each county board shall adopt books covering the same and may adopt any books additional or supplementary thereto when deemed necessary, which books shall continue in use for five years and until displaced by order of the said county board. A second-class district lying in two or more counties shall be under the jurisdiction of the oldest county.

Each member of the text-book commission of a first-class district shall receive $3 a day as compensation while so employed, and each member of a county board 10 cents per mile traveled in attending meetings of the board. The commission

and board shall advertise by newspaper for proposals to furnish books, which proposals shall state an exchange, a wholesale, and a retail price at which such books will be furnished. A sample copy of each book contracted for shall be deposited by the publisher with the State superintendent.

Buildings. The control of school property is vested in the board of directors, and such property may be acquired or sold by the board when authorized by the district meeting. Any pupil who shall in any way cut, deface, or otherwise injure any schoolhouse, furniture, fence, or outbuilding thereof, or any book belonging to another pupil or to the district library shall be liable to suspension and punishment, and the parent or guardian of such pupil shall be liable for damage on complaint of the teacher or any director and proof of the same.

4. FINANCES.

Funds (permanent and special)—Taxation.

Funds (permanent and special). The principal of the common school fund shall remain permanent and irreducible. The said fund shall be derived from the following-named sources: Appropriations and donations by the State to this fund; donations and bequests by individuals to the State or public for common schools; proceeds of lands and other property which revert to the State by escheat and forfeiture; proceeds of all property granted to the State, when the purpose of the grant is not specified or is uncertain; funds accumulated in the treasury of the State for the disbursement of which provision has not been made by law; proceeds of the sale of timber, stone, minerals, or other property from school and State lands other than those granted for specific purposes; all moneys received from persons appropriating timber, stone, minerals, or other property from school and State lands other than those granted for specific purposes, and all moneys other than rentals received from persons trespassing on said lands; 5 per cent of the proceeds of the sale of public lands lying within the State which shall be sold by the United States subsequent to the admission of the State into the Union, as approved by section 13 of the act of Congress enabling the admission of the State into the Union; the principal of all funds arising from the sale of lands and other property which have been or hereafter may be granted to the State for the support of common schools. The legislature may make further provisions for enlarging said fund. The interest accruing on said fund, together with all rentals and other revenues derived therefrom, and from lands and other property devoted to the common school fund, shall be exclusively applied to the current use of the common schools.

All schools maintained or supported wholly or in part by the public funds shall be forever free from sectarian control or influence. All losses to the permanent common school fund which shall be occasioned by defalcation, mismanagement, or fraud of the agent or officers controlling or managing the same shall be audited by the proper authorities of the State. The amount so audited shall be a permanent funded debt against the State in favor of the particular fund sustaining such loss, upon which not less than 6 per cent annual interest shall be paid.

Taxation. In addition to the provisions for the support of common schools hereinbefore provided, it shall be the duty of the State board of equalization annually, at the time of levying tax for State purposes, to levy a tax that shall be sufficient to produce a sum which, when added to the estimated amount of money to be derived from the interest on the State permanent school fund for the current fiscal year, shall equal $10 for each child of school age residing within the State, as shown by the last report of the several county superintendents to the State superintendent, provided said tax shall not exceed 5 mills on the dollar. Said tax levy shall be certified to the several county auditors in the same manner as other State taxes are required to be certified, and shall be collected and transmitted to the State treasurer at the same time and in the same manner as other State taxes are required to be collected and transmitted; and it shall be the duty of the State auditor, within thirty days after the date at which county treasurers are required to transmit State funds to the State treasurer, to certify to the State superintendent the amount of all State annual school funds in the hands of the State treasurer subject to apportionment.

For the support of the common schools there shall also be set apart by the county treasurer all moneys arising from fines for breach of any penal law of the State, and it is hereby made the duty of all county clerks, justices of the peace, or other officers receiving any moneys arising from such fines or licenses,

or any other moneys belonging to the school fund as above provided, to turn the same over to the county treasurer within thirty days after the date of its collection, taking his receipt therefor; and all such officers shall make a report to the county superintendent quarterly.

The board of directors may, for the purpose of furnishing additional school facilities for the district, the payment of teachers' wages, or for the building of one or more schoolhouses, or for the repairing of any school house or houses, or for the building of additions thereto, or for the purchase of fuel, supplies, globes, maps, charts, books of reference, or other appliances for teaching, levy a special tax not to exceed 10 mills on the dollar: Provided, That no tax exceeding 5 mills shall be levied until such levy shall have been ordered by a majority vote of the legal voters of the district at an election called for the purpose.

In cities of 10,000 or more inhabitants the board of education shall annually report to the county commissioners an estimate of the amount of funds required for the school system, in addition to the estimated receipts from the State, which sum the county commissioners are required to levy and collect; but the aggregate school tax shall never exceed 1 per cent upon all the taxable property of the district. No county tax for school purposes shall be levied upon the property situate within the limits of any school district provided for in this act, nor shall any such district be entitled to or receive any portion of the common school fund raised by county tax. In case the purchase of sites and erection of buildings shall require more than $50,000 in any one year, the matter shall be submitted to the voters.

The board of directors of any school district may borrow money and issue negotiable coupon bonds therefor to an amount not to exceed 5 per cent of the taxable property in such district, as shown by the last assessment roll for county and State purposes: Provided, That in incorporated cities the assessment shall be taken from the last assessment for city purposes, for the purpose of funding outstanding indebtedness on bonds, or for the purchase of schoolhouse sites, or for building schoolhouses and providing the same with all necessary furniture' and apparatus, when authorized by vote of the district so to do, but the bonds so issued shall bear a rate of interest not to exceed 6 per cent per annum, payable and redeemable at such time as may be designated in the bonds, but not to exceed twenty years from the date of issue.

The county commissioners must ascertain and levy annually the tax necessary to pay the interest upon such bonds as it becomes due; and at the expiration of one-half of the time for which said bonds are to run, and annually thereafter until full payment of said bonds is made, they may, if deemed advisable, levy, in addition to the tax required to pay the interest, such amount for sinking fund to meet the payment of said bonds at maturity, to be determined by dividing the amount of bonds outstanding by the remaining number of years to run, and the fund arising from such levy shall be kept as the bond-redemption fund of said district, and each of said tax levies shall be a lien upon the property in said district, and must be collected in the same manner as taxes for other school purposes.

WEST VIRGINIA.

1. ORGANIZATION OF THE SYSTEM.

State superintendent-State board of examiners-Board of the school fundCounty superintendent-District board-Subdistrict trustees.

State superintendent.-There shall be elected a State superintendent of free schools, whose term of office shall be the same as that of the governor. He shall be a person of good moral character, temperate habits, of literary acquirements and skill and experience in the art of teaching, and shall be paid $3,000 annually, and necessary expenses not to exceed $500 per year. He shall have his office and residence at the capital, have an official seal, sign all requisitions on the auditor for the payment of State money for school purposes, supervise all county superintendents and free schools of the State, see that the law is executed, prepare and forward all blanks required, correspond with educators and school officers abroad, collate the result of his investigations, make himself acquainted with peculiar wants of each section of the State, and annually report to the governor. He shall have general control of all matters relating to the examination of applicants for teachers' certificates and the issuance of the same.

State board of examiners.-There shall be a State board of examiners, consisting of five competent persons, one from each Congressional district, to be appointed by the State superintendent, to serve for four years. (See also Teachers-Appointment and qualifications.) Each member receives a per diem of $5 for time actually spent in discharge of duty and 6 cents a mile for distance traveled.

State board of the school fund.-(See Finances.)

County superintendent.—A county superintendent of free schools shall be elected every four years by the county electors. He shall visit each school within his county at least once during the school year and note its scholastic character and physical surroundings, and shall labor steadily to procure uniformity of instruction throughout the county and promote the efficiency of the teaching force, reporting concerning these facts annually to the State superintendent. He shall make up a report to the State superintendent from the district reports to him concerning the condition of schoolhouses, the value of apparatus, and the volumes in and value of school libraries, and, further, to report the districts failing to make a return of the number, etc., of youth within them, and those that have failed to make the annual district levy for support of primary schools. County board of examiners.-There shall be in every county a board of examiners, composed of the county superintendent and two experienced teachers, who shall be nominated by the county superintendent and appointed by the presidents of the district boards of education for a period of two years, one retiring annually. They shall each receive pay at the rate of $3 per day of actual service, to be paid out of the fees collected from applicants for certificates. The county board of examiners are under the government and control of the State superintendent, who shall designate the time of examinations, to be held simultaneously in all counties of the State, not exceeding five in any one year, for which the State superintendent shall prepare questions and send them under seal to the county superintendent, who, with the other examiners, shall open them in the presence of the applicants assembled for the examination. The examiners shall collect the manuscripts and send them under seal to the State superintendent, who shall grade them and issue the certificates. All applicants pay an examination fee of $2.

District board.-The district board of education shall be composed of a president and two commissioners, elected by the voters of each school district (coextensive with each magisterial district of the county) for terms of four years, the two commissioners to retire at biennial intervals. They shall appoint for each subdistrict three intelligent trustees, each to hold for three years, one to retire annually. The board of education shall fix the salary of the teachers and elect a secretary, who shall not be a member. The board shall have general control and supervision of the schools and school interests, determining the number and location of its schools, provided that every village of 50 or more inhabitants shall be included in one subdistrict. The district board shall cause a sufficient number of primary schools to be kept, require every teacher to enumerate the youth (6 to 21), and report the following facts: Youth 6 to 16 years of age, youth 16 to 21 years of age, distinguishing sex and race, determine the rate of taxation necessary for teachers' and building funds, and furnish record books and blanks to teachers. The members receive $1.50 per diem, not exceeding $10.50 a year, one day of which shall be spent in attending a teachers' institute. Subdistrict trustees.-The trustees of the subdistricts are three in number, appointed for three years by the board of education, one retiring annually. They shall have charge of the schools in their district and appoint teachers, making a written contract; visit every school under their charge, once within two weeks after the opening and again within two weeks before its close, thoroughly inspecting the premises, the character of instruction, and the proficiency of the pupils; may purchase fuel, brooms, and other things incidental to schoolroom use, and make repairs, rendering an account to the secretary of the board of education.

2. TEACHERS.

Appointment, qualifications, and duties—Preliminary training—Meetings. Appointment, qualifications, and duties. No teacher shall be employed_without having a certificate of qualification to teach and govern a school. Examinations are conducted by the county board of examiners under the direction and control of the State superintendent, who issues the certificates. No college

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