education, local 2-year colleges, an extensive federally financed scholarship program. SDA realizes that the fundamental problem of our schools today lies in the inadequate salaries that are paid to America's teachers. We take comfort, therefore, in the unanimous endorsement of the principle of Federal assistance to supplement public school teachers' salaries by all groups that testified for Federal aid to education at the Senate Subcommittee on Labor and Education hearings. The National Congress of Parents and Teachers, the American Federation of Labor, the Congress of Industrial Organizations, the American Federation of Teachers, and the National Catholic Welfare Conference, all testified on behalf of appropriation for salaries of public-school teachers only. We urge the speedy resolution of the problems involved in the controversy over the public versus private school issue. Only in this way can a bill be passed by the Congress to provide this much needed, long awaited assistance now. It has SDA's complete philosophy demands intensive action on this measure. been the practice of well-meaning individuals in the past to point the finger of scorn at those States or areas that maintain pathetically high illiteracy rates and low educational expenditures. From their behavior the public has been led to believe that those States or areas were quite capable of raising their appropriations and that they didn't because of some peculiar reluctance on the part of the citizens there concerned. We know this to be untrue. We recognize that the plain fact of the matter is that they simply do not have the money to spend. The only way to provide that money is through the Federal Government. At a time when totalitarianism, in practice and ideal, is rife in the world today; at a time when the administration deems it essential to the well-being of democracy without as well as within the borders of the United States of America to send $400,000,000 to Greece and Turkey, we cannot well afford to forsake the education of our own people. Democracy flourishes only in the atmosphere of knowledge. If we are to have a well-informed people we must have a people so educated to the tenets of democracy, so capable of assimilating essential information that they may distinguish as between totalitarianism on the one hand and democracy on the other. This is a time for the strengthening of democracy at home as well as abroad. And to begin with the children of America is only good common sense. These arguments have been made before; this problem is one of long standing. Why then do we wait? The overwhelming majority of the people favor this measure. Business groups, labor groups, church groups, veterans organizations, northerners, southerners, easterners, and westerners are all agreed on this common ground; leading Senators and Representatives have approved the principle. And yet, the opinion of competent observers of the political scene is that, while the Eightieth Congress is generally favorable to the principle of Federal aid to education, it is not "must" legislation, it probably won't pass this session. This measure is as vital to our foreign policy as the Greek-Turkish aid bill, as important to our domestic policy as tax legislation. We say that we are interested in full employment, in full production an economy of abundance; how vividly the United States Chamber of Commerce has shown the direct connection between these important goals and an educated populace. The demand for radios, books, homes, clothing, better and more nourishing food comes only from an educated people; the skills to produce these commodities are learned in our public schools. SDA urges legislation from this session of the Eightieth Congress. In the words of Dr. Harold F. Clark, of Teachers College, Columbia University, if the present teacher shortage continues, "disastrous educational and social conditions will prevail in a few years.". It is the right and heritage of every American child to a decent education; we must not deprive him of this right any longer. STATEMENT OF THE NATIONAL FEDERATION OF BUSINESS AND PROFESSIONAL WOMEN'S CLUBS, INC., ON S. 472 The National Federation of Business and Professional Women's Clubs, Inc., representing 112,000 women in 1,852 communities endorses the principle of Federal aid to education and asks for Senate approval of S. 472. Our members are convinced that maintenance of a vigorous democracy demands a high standard of education throughout the country, for the school children of today become the voters of tomorrow. We know that State boundaries are no bars to ignorance. With the mobility of our population, the educational welfare of its citizens is the concern of the whole Nation and not merely of the State where the children temporarily reside. Citizens of tomorrow must be educated today. For years we have known that our entire educational system has many weak spots. The rejection by our armed services of over 750,000 men because of educa'ional deficiencies has dramatically focused the attention of the Nation on the shortcomings of our educational facilities. After careful study of the variations in educational standards throughout the Nation, we have concluded that the only way we shall achieve equality of educational opportunity throughout all of our States is to tax wealth where it is found and to educate children where they live. As businesswomen we look at the proportion of income in annual wage or salary compared to the amount of education completed. We find that those limited to a grade-school education predominate in the lower income brackets. In interpreting income as relative worth of an individual to his community, then, the more and better his education, the more enriched his community, wherever he chooses to live as an adult. We know that there is a distinct relationship between educational levels and per capita retail sales. It is significant that there is a regular corrolary in the median break-down of States and areas on these two items. As professional women, and many of us are teachers, we are familiar with the exacting standards which should be required of those teaching future citizens. We are keenly aware that these possessing these necessary qualifications cannot be attracted to the teaching profession when business and industry offer more lucrative opportunities in modernized pleasant surroundings. We feel it is vital that sufficient national income be spent to bring the field of education into proper focus in our civilization; that expenditures be proportionate to the importance of the mission of education. We are in favor of S. 472 because it leaves control of expenditures to the State which is a fundamental American tradition. It provides for a fair, just, and sound distribution of Federal funds. Our conviction is that S. 472 is an urgently needed remedial measure in the critical situation which we face in education today. The welfare of our Nation's children demands its passage. The plight of the teaching profession makes such aid an evident necessity. Provisions for an adequate educational system throughout the Nation warrant the thinking and the support of all people in all States in the interest of maintaining and promoting a soundly functioning democracy. Hon. GEORGE D. AIKEN MASSACHUSETTS TEACHERS FEDERATION, Chairman, Senate Subcommittee on Education, Washington 5, D. C. DEAR SENATOR AIKEN: It is my understanding that hearings on S. 472, the Federal aid to education bill, are tentatively scheduled to be held in early April before the Senate Subcommittee on Education, of which you are chairman. I am writing, therefore, to request that you regard this letter as a part of the hearings on S. 472 and record it appropriately. After many years of taking no part one way or the other in attempts to obtain Federal aid to education, this organization, through its board of directors which has power to speak for it, voted on December 14, 1946, to support the then S. 181 which is now known as S. 472, with practically identical provisions as the earlier bills. Therefore, we should like to be recorded as in support of S. 472, and we do this realizing that it would cost Massachusetts money and that Massachusetts would receive no direct financial return. We feel, however, that the United States Government has a real responsibility for helping the poor States to attain a reasonable level of educational opportunity. Sincerely yours, HUGH NIXON, Executive Secretary. STATEMENT OF CHAT PATERSON, NATIONAL LEGISLATIVE REPRESENTATIVE OF THE AMERICAN VETERANS COMMITTEE (AVC), ON FEDERAL AID TO EDUCATION Mr. Chairman and members of the committee: The American Veterans Committee is earnestly interested in Federal aid for the public school systems of this country. At our national convention last June our membership endorsed a plank on education which urged national legislation to bring about improved educational facilities for all. Our members approved Federal aid on a per capita and not a State matching basis, with safeguards to prevent Federal control of what is taught. The convention urged, specifically, that the teachers of our Nation receive salaries commensurate with their position as leaders in the community. Federal aid to education is nothing new. In the ordinance of 1785, 2 years before the Constitution was adopted, parts of every township in the Northwest Territory were set aside for the support of public schools. I need not review for the members of this committee this history of Federal participation in school aid except to say that the policy of making land grants has been supplemented by money grants to add to State support of public education. Today this Nation faces a crisis in education, dramatically illustrated by the acute shortage of teachers, which calls for direct and courageous action by Congress. The present crisis in education, like the housing crisis, has beveloped over a considerable period, but it has been sharpened and made of emergency proportions by the war. Attracted by high salaries in nonprofessional fields during the war, our teachers have left the classrooms in droves. The exodus from the teaching profession is estimated to have totaled 350,000 since 1939. Approximately 60,000 positions have not been filled and thousands of teaching positions are now held by persons who are in no sense qualified for the responsibility of teaching the Nation's youth. A recent survey by the New York Times was highlighted by the story of a class taught by a "female ancient mariner" who informed the pupils in a discussion of "civics": "Wait until women get the right to vote and you will see an end to corruption in politics." There is no doubt that the major cause of the present crisis is the teacher's salary. In 1939 the average teacher's salary in this country, including the relatively high-paid principals and superintendents, was $1,408. Recently it has been raised to $1,950, although this gain is partially off-set by the fact that whereas most teachers formerly paid little if any income tax, they now pay approximately $250 in Federal taxes. I might add that in a bill introduced by Senator Pepper it is estimated that a bonus of $800 would be a reasonable grant to teachers to compensate for the increase in the cost of living. It is true that there is a great disparity in our State educational systems. However, it is also true that the States with the poorest schools are also in many cases the States that are spending the highest proportion of their income for education. If we wish to improve our State educational systems we cannot escape the conclusion that Federal aid is demanded. In investigating the question of Federal aid to education AVC was told by one nationally known educator that $1,000,000,000 a year for this purpose would not be excessive. In S. 199 introduced by Senator Aiken I understand that provisions are made for $400,000,000 for 1948 with yearly increases until aid reaches $1,200,000,000 by 1952. It would appear to us that this amount is the minimum needed to make a real frontal assault on the deterioration in our educational system, so vivildy illustrated by the teacher crisis previously described. In regard to the other issues involved in the question of Federal aid, AVC supports the provisions of S. 472, introduced by Senator Taft and others. We believe that the apportionment of the funds among the States should be made on the basis of the number of potential pupils rather than on the basis of the actual attendance in the schools, since the latter provision would operate to the detriment of some of the States where aid is most desperately needed. We do not believe that public funds should be used for the support of private schools. We believe, rather, that all our efforts must be concentrated upon improving our public school systems. We are therefore opposed to the provisions for aid to private schools in both the Aiken and Taft bills, but would endorse as the more conservative proposal the provisions of the Taft bill limiting the allotment of funds to private schools in States where State aid to these schools now exists. We are glad to see provisions in both bills for an equitable apportionment where separate public schools are maintained by law for minority races. Our national platform opposes any segregation in schools, and we feel that until it is possible to eliminate any discrimination in our schools because of race, creed, color, or national origin, we must make every effort to see that minority groups are guaranteed equal educational opportunities in the facilities afforded them. The veterans of this country are grateful to Congress for affording them an opportunity to attend college under the GI bill, I am sure that they will be equally grateful to Congress if it assures that their children will be offered not a second or third rate education, but education which is in keeping with the great heritage of our country. WEST VIRGINIA STATE EDUCATION ASSOCIATION, Hon. GEORGE D. AIKEN, Senate Office Building, Washington 25, D. C. DEAR SENATOR AIKEN: The West Virginia State Education Association, acting on behalf of its 15,000 teachers and the 40,000 school children of this State, submits to you as chairman of the Senate Subcommittee on Education a statement concerning the need for Federal aid to education. It is our hope that this statement will be incorporated in and made a part of the printed hearings on S. 472. During the past 20 years West Virginia has put forth great effort to improve its public-school system. We know that we have made progress, but the facts provide conclusive evidence which shows that far greater effort must be exerted if we are to rise above our relatively low educational rank. WEST VIRGINIA'S FINANCIAL EFFORT According to information provided by the United States Office of Education and by the National Education Association, West Virginia in 1943-44 ranked second among the 48 States in effort to support its public elementary and secondary schools. Effort as measured for the States was based upon the percentage which the total current expenditures for education was of the total income payments. At that time, New Mexico, which was spending 2.61 percent of its total income payments for education, ranked first among the States in effort to support education. West Virginia, spending 2.47 percent of its total income payments for education, ranked second. Over the Nation as a whole the percentage was 1.53. The least effort was put forth in Maryland, where the percentage was 1.08. In other words, West Virginia's effort to support education at that time was over one and one-half times the average effort put forth throughout the United States and approximately two and one-half times the effort put forth in Maryland. Even with this high degree of effort in financial support West Virginia lagged far behind the United States average and the State of Maryland. In 1944-45, West Virginia's expenditures for education amounted to $93.18 per pupil as compared to a national average of $125.41 and a Maryland average of $113.98. The same year West' Virginia's average teacher's salary was $1,526 as compared to a national average of $1,846 and a Maryland average of $2,080. Next year's expenditures for education will greatly increase in West Virginia. The increase is due largely to a $14,700,000 increase in State aid to counties granted by the 1947 legislature. Extra tax levies voted by the counties during the present year also will serve to increase school expenditures. Expenditures next year are estimated at $53,500,000, an increase of 80 percent over the $29,742,512 spent in 1943-44. It is estimated that in 1947-48, West Virginia will be spending for education 3.24 percent of our estimated total income payments. In comparing this percentage with our effort in 1943-44, it seems quite probable that West Virginia in 1947-48 will rank first among the States in effort to support education. Even with this greatly increased effort, it is not likely that West Virginia will exceed the national average in school support. In spite of the strong financial effort that is being exerted, there is much evidence that West Virginia has not provided and, on the basis of her economic ability, cannot provide a thorough and efficient system of free schools. According to 1940 census data, West Virginia adults rank low educationally. The average adult · did not finish the seventh grade. The State ranks forty-seventh in the percent of adults who completed 1 year of high school. The erosion of West Virginia's human resources continues. Today, out of every three boys and girls who enter the first grade, one quits before reaching high school and another quits before finishing high school. Why don't we have better schools-schools that will hold our boys and girls? The No. 1 reason lies in West Virginia's economic inability to provide sufficient money to buy the better schools. We can have better schools only when we solve these problems: (1) Better teachers; (2) modern buildings; (3) adequate program of maintenance and operation; (4) additional supervisory services. None of these problems can be solved unless a much greater investment in education is forthcoming. We are convinced that West Virginia cannot. do the job without Federal assistance. Problem 1-Better teachers How well trained are West Virginia teachers? Of the 15,000 teachers employed for the 1946-47 school year, 308 did not finish high school, 662 more have never gone to college, 500 more have less than 1 year's college training, 2,000 in all have less than 2 years' college training. One out of every seven boys and girls. in this State has a teacher with substandard training a teacher who could not qualify according to 1940 training requirements. How many teachers are leaving their jobs? Since July 1, 1941, 8,509 teachers. have resigned-a 56-percent turn-over in the entire teaching force. Within the current year, if resignations continue at the present rate, 2,548 teachers will have quit the profession. The resignation rate for this year is up 43 percent over last year. Problem 2-Modern buildings Most of West Virginia's school buildings are of wood-frame construction. An estimated 100,000 boys and girls are housed in substandard school buildings. Many of these are a constant threat to the health and safety of our children. West Virginia ranks thirty-sixth in its investments in school property. On the basis of a school-building survey, it is estimated that $50,000,000 would be necessary to provide for the needed school building construction program. Practically all money made available for educational purposes must be turned into the current school program rather than into permanent improvement. Only through Federal aid can the pressure for current school needs be released so that a reasonable school building construction program can be got under way. Problem 3-Adequate program of maintenance and operation The need of paint, the leaky roofs, broken windows, and general run-down conditions of many of our school buildings are evidence of the effect of a starvation diet in maintenance and operation funds. The cost of maintaining and operating our schools has increased as much as the cost of living. Salaries of nonteaching personnel are also miserably low-too low to maintain efficient service. The only solution to this problem is that of additional money. Problem 4-Additional supervisory services Although adequate training is the foundation for good teaching, it is true that teachers learn to teach while teaching. The guidance and assistance of a staff of supervisory experts is a wise investment. The average supervisor of instruction in West Virginia has the impossible task of guiding and helping 250 or more teachers. To a large extent this problem can be solved with adequate financial aid. WEST VIRGINIA'S INVESTMENT IN EDUCATION West Virginia is short $32.23 per child in current school expenditures. As previously pointed out, the Nation spent an average of $125.41 per pupil in 1944-45. We were spending $93.18 per pupil. West Virginia's unit for school administration is the county. Out of our 55 county districts, 51 counties with 95 percent of West Virginia's 400,000 school children provide below national average investments in education. Eric A. Johnson, speaking in Chicago, March 1946, stated: "Business needs trained workers which only education can supply, and education must have operating funds which business can provide.' There is set forth herein conclusive evidence that West Virginia, through its local and State effort, has recognized its responsibility for providing a thorough and efficient system of free schools. The evidence also pointed conclusively to the fact that West Virginia is making an effort to financially support her schools that is second only to one other State. Again it should be pointed out that in spite of this effort we are not providing the kind of educational opportunities that must be provided if America is to 60144-47-pt. 1- -38 |