$600,616 was received for administration and as the State's aid toward the
contributions of county teachers and teachers in several State institutions.

There were *12,389 graduates from county white elementary schools and
7,179 from county white high schools in 1942. Nearly 1,630, over 23 per
cent of the white county high school graduates of 1941 continued their edu-
cation beyond high schools in 1941-42 in colleges, universities, hospitals,
commercial schools, and other institutions. Of the white girl graduates
from county high schools in 1942, less than two per cent entered the Tow-
son, Frostburg, and Salisbury Teacher Colleges. Three teachers colleges
for white students had an enrollment in the fall of 1942 of 638 students which
included 172 enrolled from Baltimore City at Towson.

Towson, Frostburg, Salisbury, and Bowie Teachers Colleges offer
a four-year course to students preparing to teach in the elementary
schools. Through the training of the teachers colleges, which until
1935 were normal schools, it has been possible to fill 98 per cent of
the positions in county elementary schools with teachers who have
had from two to four years of professional training. The financially
poorer counties have been able to finance the higher salaries for these
trained teachers through aid from the State Equalization Fund. Any
county which could not carry the minimum requirements of the State
program on a county school current expense tax rate of 67 cents plus
other forms of State aid received the additional amount necessary
through the State Equalization Fund from 1923 to 1933. As a result
of legislation in 1933, the 67-cent county school current expense tax
rate required of counties sharing in the Equalization Fund was reduced
to 47 cents during the period from 1934 to 1939. In accordance with
the legislation of 1939 enacted to take care of the requirements of the
new minimum salary schedule for teachers based on preparation and ex-
perience the county tax rate required for participation in the Equalization
Fund has been 51 cents since 1940. Equalization of salaries of colored and
white teachers took effect in January, 1942, as a result of legislation in 1941.

The 1943 legislature provided a bonus of $20 a month to be paid to teach
ers for a maximum of ten months as a means of holding the present staff of
teachers and of attracting qualified teachers to fill the vacancies which ex-
ist.

During the school year ending in June, 1943, there was at least one super-
vising or helping teacher in every county in Maryland. This is the twenty-
first year that this satisfactory situation has existed. The State pays two-
thirds of the salaries according to the minimum schedule of the county
supervising and helping teachers and of county superintendents. The im-
provement in the results of the tests in reading and arithmetic is one evidence
of effective supervision.

In the fall of 1942 there were 47 county supervising teachers employed for
the 2,935 white elementary teachers scattered over the 9,870 square miles
in the Maryland counties, an average of 63 teachers for each supervising
teacher. Since there are very few non-teaching principals in the Maryland
county elementary schools, the counties are helping teachers to improve
instruction with a relatively small corps of supervisory officials.

The average current expense cost in 1942 of educating a day public school
pupil in the twenty-three counties was $70.36. Graded schools having three
or more teachers, with better trained teachers, more equipment and ex-
penditures for transportation, cost less per pupil than rural schools having
one or two teachers, chiefly because the classes are larger. Transportation
was provided at public expense for over 74,000 county pupils at a cost of
$1,411,110.00.

* Includes eighth grade promotions in junior high schools.