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 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.

Work of the State Department of Education.

The twenty-three counties of the State in 1943-44 enrolled nearly
180,500' pupils in 1,011 public elementary and secondary schools in
charge of 5,297 teachers. Nearly 42,800 of these pupils were in the
last four years of work of the 174 high schools distributed over
twenty-three counties. In 1943-44 the counties expended on current
expenses of public schools approximately $14,165,000 from public
funds, of which $6,376,000 or over 46 per cent, was received by the
twenty-three counties from the State of Maryland and Federal voca-
tional funds. Baltimore City received $1,709,000 from State and
Federal school funds for the maintenance of schools and in addition
$603,000 from State funds toward the City retirement system on
account of teachers. For the Maryland Teachers' Retirement System,
State aid of $710,650 was received for administration and as the
State's aid toward the contributions of county teachers and teachers
in several State institutions.

There were 12,142 graduates from county white elementary schools
and 6,532 from county white high schools in 1944. Only 1,011, 13.7
per cent of the white county high school graduates of 1943, continued
their education beyond high school in 1943-44 in colleges, universities,
commercial schools, and similar higher institutions. Hospital train-
ing took 255 or nearly seven per cent of the girls who graduated in
1943, a much larger number and per cent than was ever reported
before. Of the white girl graduates from county high schools in
1944 only 74, less than two per cent, entered the Towson, Frostburg,
and Salisbury Teachers Colleges. The three teachers colleges for
white students had an enrollment in the fall of 1944 of 423 students
which included 103 enrolled from Baltimore City at Towson. As one
means of attracting more students to the teachers colleges, the 1945
legislature eliminated annual tuition' fees of $100 which have been
charged the white students at the teachers colleges since 1934.

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 lias 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 re-
duced 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

*Includes eighth grade promotions in junior high schools.