ings, for grading and standardizing all public schools, for the certifi-
cation of public school teachers, for taking the bi-ennial school cen-
sus, and for a uniform series of forms and blanks for the use of
county superintendents, school officials and teachers.

Tile State Superintendent of Schools is the executive officer of the
Board. The members of the State Board of Education and the State
Superintendent of Schools are ex-officio trustees of the State Normal
Schools.

State Superintendent of Schools.

The State Superintendent of Schools is appointed by the State Board
of Education for a term' of four years and is ex-officio secretary and
treasurer of the Board. 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 without 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 build-
ings. He directs 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 supervi-
sion over the educational conditions in the counties and 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. His
approval is necessary in the appointment of county superintendents,
supervisors, and attendance officers by the County Boards of Education.
The State Superintendent is a member ex-officio of the Board of Trus-
tees of the State Teachers' Retirement System, and also performs the
duties formerly entrusted to the Maryland Public Library Commission,
giving advice and counsel to all public and school libraries and organizing
traveling libraries.

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 1929-30 enrolled in school
over 162,200 pupils in 1,868 schools in charge of 4,927 teachers. Over
28,700 of these pupils were in the 177 high schools distributed in the
twenty-three counties of the State. In the same year the counties ex-
pended on schools approximately $8,456,000 for current expenses of
which $2,159,000, or 27.8 per cent, was received by the twenty-three
counties from the State of Maryland and the Federal vocational fund.
Baltimore City received $1,240,000 from State and Federal school and
teacher retirement funds.

White high school enrollment and attendance in the counties in-
creased last year 6 and 8 per cent, respectively, necessitating fifty-four
additions to the teaching staff. The larger amount of State aid provided