18 . MARYLAND MANUAL.

He is the executive officer of the State Board of Education, which,
in addition to having general control of the State School System, is
charged with the duties of interpreting school laws and acting with-
out expense to the parties concerned in all controversies and disputes
involving the proper administration of the public school system. He
carries out the educational policies of the State Board of Education.
He conducts conferences of school officials and teachers, issues teachers’
certificates, passes upon proposals for the sale of school sites and
buildings, and the plans for the construction of new buildings. He di-
rects the taking of the bi-ennial school census, prepares courses of
study and an annual report. He also issues bulletins from time to
time on the conditions and needs of the schools.

Either in person, or through his assistants, he has general super-
vision over the education affairs of the counties, co-operates with
county school officials in welding together school interests in a State
system. He certifies to the Comptroller each year a list of schools
entitled to receive State aid, and the amount due each county in part
payment by the State of the salaries of superintendents, supervisors
and attendance officers. He audits the accounts of the county boards
of education and sees that their expenditures conform to the law.
The appointment of the county superintendents and supervisors and
attendance officers is made by the county boards of education subject
to the approval of the State Superintendent.
All communications pertaining to the supervision and administra-
tion of the State School System (Baltimore City not included) should
be sent to him either as State Superintendent of Schools, or as secre-
tary to the State Board of Education.

Work of the State Department of Education.

The twenty-three counties of the State in 1925-26 enrolled in
school 155,000 pupils in nearly 2,200 schools in charge of over 4,700
teachers. Nearly 20,000 of these pupils were in the 167 high schools
distributed in the twenty-three counties of the State. In the same
year the counties expended on schools approximately $7,150,000 for
current expenses and $2,600,000 for capital outlay. Of the former
amount, nearly $2,250,000, or 31.5 per cent, was received by the twenty-
three counties from the State of Maryland and the federal vocational
fund. Baltimore City received over $1,000,000 from the State school
funds.
High school enrollment and attendance in the counties increased last
year approximately eight per cent, necessitating fifty additions to the
teaching staff. The larger amount of State aid provided annually merely
takes care of this necessary and normal increase required by greater
enrollment.
There were 8,653 graduates from county white elementary schools
and 2,619 from county white high schools in 1926. Of the white girl
graduates from county high schools, 19.8 per cent entered the Towson,
Frostburg, and Salisbury Normal Schools. These normal schools had
an enrollment for 1926-27 of over 1,100 students. This enrollment in-
cludes 275 from Baltimore City, since the State Normal School at Tow-
son has taken over the work of teacher training for the elementary
schools of Baltimore City.
Nearly one-half of the high school graduates of 1925 continued
their education beyond high school in colleges, universities, normal
schools, hospitals, commercial schools, etc.
Towson, Frostburg, and Salisbury Normal Schools gave diplomas
in 1926 to 540 young men and women, of whom 214 were from Balti-


more City. Of the county normal school graduates, 63 per cent, went
out to teach in one and two-teacher schools in the fall of 1926. Two-
thirds of the county graduates returned to teach in their home counties.