PERCENT OF SALINA
CURRENT EXPENSE

OF EDUCATION

PERCENT OF KFCCS AVERAGE

CHART S3

SALINA TAX LEVIES/ADA AND TAX RATE VS
AVERAGES FOR KANSAS FIRST-CLASS CITY SCHOOLS
FY 1950-1963

7.

8.

Line 7 shows that total nonfederally connected tax levies (LT)
raised per nonfederally connected ADA by Salina have generally
kept up with or exceeded the base period reference point for
LT/ADA of 97.9%, except for the lag in FY 58 to FY 60.
The gap
between line 6 and line 7 shows that P.L. 874 entitlements (F)
did not entirely achieve intradistrict equalization with local
taxes for nonfederally connected ADA, a conclusion already
reached in Section II.

Line 8 on Chart S3 shows the annual total school tax rate for
Salina vs the average rate for all KFCCS.
In both cases, the

tax rates include all those levied by the school districts
themselves plus the applicable countywide school tax rates.
The two major points of interest with respect to the trend of
the relative Salina school tax rate are that its base period
average of 78.5% was well below the KFCCS average, and that by
FY 63 the relative Salina rate had decreased a little more, to
74.4% of the KFCCS rate. It would have required an increase

of 2.19 mills in FY 63 to restore the Salina tax to its base
period level, which would have raised $128,500 in additional
tax levies on the basis of 1962 assessed valuation.

Note that the relative Salina tax rate shows a jump in FY 53 from the average of the base period, and then declines almost every year until FY 63, when the 74.5% level is reached. This trend was caused by an increase of some 5 mills in the Salina rate in FY 53, followed by several years in which the Salina rate did not increase as rapidly as the average rate for all KFCCS.

9. Line 9 on Chart S3 merely shows P.L. 874 entitlement as a percentage of current expense of education (F/C) for Salina, to illustrate the gradual growth of the relative importance of P.L. 874 funds in the current school budget of Salina.

Chart S3 omits two revenue sources that were identified in Table S6, "state subventions" and "added county revenues," in order to simplify the analysis. It should therefore be noted that Salina has remained at approximately the same level in state subventions per ADA as a percentage of the KFCCS average. Comparative data for all KFCCS on added county revenues

are not available, but county revenues were only about 6,2% of Salina current expenses in FY 63 and the possibility of significant errors in the relative change is very slight.

Summarizing the foregoing analysis of Salina school finances, it will be recalled that current expenses of education were low by $368,000 in FY 63 compared with the base period (line 2, Chart S2), but that total school tax levies plus federal entitlement per ADA (line 6, Chart S3) had returned to the base period level by FY 63. Since Salina state revenues per ADA were also keeping pace with the KFCCS average, it is not easy to understand why C/ADA did not recover to the base period level by FY 63. The reason may be due to the large increases that took place in end-ofyear general fund balances for Salina between FY 60 and FY 63, as summarized in the following tabulation:

If the year-end balance in FY 63 had been only 34% of general fund expenditures, as in FY 60, it would have been only $1,096,000--or $354,000 less than the actual balance of $1,450,000. Therefore, the revenue was apparently available for raising C/ADA in FY 63 to approximately the base period level, but it was not used by the Board of Education,

Effect of Federal Connection on Educational Program

Although a good program appears to have been offered at both the elementary and secondary levels in Salina at the beginning of the study period, no significant changes in the elementary program were noted through FY 63. There was an increase in the level of academic preparation

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of elementary teachers and a lowering of their average age. The increase in the ADA/teacher ratio already noted was probably at least as great at the elementary level as the average for Salina, but separate statistics are not available. Double elementary class sessions were necessary in only one year, early in the 1950's. On the whole, there appears to have been little effect of federal connection pro or con on the Salina elementary schools, other than the availability of newer and better equipped schools in many parts of the city to house the added students. One of the new schools was the second junior high, for example, which certainly would not have been constructed except for the increased enrollment due to federal connection.

At the beginning date of the study, the high school was offering a generally comprehensive program, providing course work for the college preparatory student, the child who would be connected with agriculture as a vocation, and the one who would be entering nonagricultural occupations. Homemaking and commercial subjects were also given, as were laboratory sciences, foreign language, and four years of English. The subsequent changes observed in the curriculum tended to be changes in degree rather than kind, of which some highlights are noted below:

1.

2.

In the field of foreign language the offerings were both
broadened and deepened. At the beginning of the period two
years of Latin, French, Spanish, and German were offered. Some
of these were given only in alternate years and one might be
dropped for a short time. The end of the period indicated that
the above languages were given for three years, with the excep-
tion of Latin, which was offered for four years. Three years
of Russian had also been added to the curriculum. It would
appear that as the enrollment increased, the course offerings
in the advanced levels kept pace with the demand generated by
the larger number of students.

It is possible that the presence of children from Schilling AFB increased the demand for the languages, since many of these had been exposed either to a language on a foreign assignment or had seen a need for language as part of the work their parent was doing.

In the field of mathematics, the program also showed significant expansion. A four-year sequence of algebra, plane geometry, algebra II, trigonometry, and solid geometry for the collegebound, and a general and applied mathematics course for the terminal student were the offerings in the early 1950's. A fifth year of advanced mathematics is now offered, and the student

3.

4.

5.

6.

7.

desiring the caletics (calculus and analytical geometry) must complete plane and solid geometry in one year and algebra II and trigonometry in one year. The curriculum for the noncollege student has also been increased by an advanced general mathematics offering and a course in personal finance.

A strong science program existed at the beginning (laboratory courses in biology, chemistry, and physics), so that a student could obtain three years of instruction. During the study period enough science courses were added to allow a student opportunity to complete at least five years of science training at an introductory level. Electronics, physiology, industrial science, and laboratory techniques were added. The courses in chemistry and biology were modified on the basis of research accomplished by the Biological Sciences Curriculum Studies and the Physical Science Study Committee--both groups funded by the National Science Foundation.

Vocational or prevocational education also improved during the period examined. Courses on operation and maintenance of engines (auto shop), machine shop, and general trades were added to the program. The level of courses in mechanical drawing and drafting were upgraded by special equipment additions.

In the areas of homemaking and business education few new courses
were added. In this area, as well as others, the courses were
offered with increasing frequency, so that the ever increasing
number of students could receive instruction in moderate-sized
classes and avoid conflicts which would force choices between
two highly desired courses.

The percentage of Salina high school graduates entering other schools--chiefly 4-year colleges--ranged from 40 to 50% from FY 53 through FY 55; 46 to 62% from FY 56 through FY 60; and 54 to 59% from FY 62 through FY 64. While somewhat erratic, these statistics appear to indicate that the level of educational ambition of high school graduates did not suffer from federal connection.

The ratio of high school counseling hours per pupil showed approximately a 50% increase during the period. This increase may be related in part to the increasing percentage of students proceeding to education beyond high school. The pupil/teacher ratio in the high school increased slightly, from about 1 to 21 in 1954, to 1 to 23 in FY 63, which is still within the accepted range for quality education.

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