Page:History of Public School Education in Arizona.djvu/20

14 last assessment roll of the county assessor.” This tax was to be collected by the county tax collector and paid into the county treasury. The supervisors were to determine the site of the schools, purchase, build, or hire rooms suitable for school purposes, “furnish the same with proper desks, tables, books, and seats, and shall, from time to time, hire competent teachers for such schools, for such periods as the funds on hand may allow.”

It does not appear that much was accomplished under this law, for then, as later, many communities in Arizona could not qualify in population requirements. It is probable, however, that the framers of the act of 1867 had in mind the organization of schools in the towns and cities, and if the law had been faithfully carried out public schools might have been organized in the four county seats and in one or two of the larger mining camps. Nothing seems to have been done, for the United States Bureau of Education said in its report for 1870 that it was unable to ascertain “whether any schools have gone into operation under this law.”

Gov. McCormick had nothing to say on the subject in his message to the fifth assembly (1868), but nevertheless on the 16th of December, 1868, the legislature tried its hand on a more detailed school law than had been hitherto attempted.

This law had in view an elaboration of the act of 1867. It provided that the county board of supervisors should be constituted a county board of education and have under its authority all matters pertaining to education. The board was to recommend legislation, alterations, and amendments and make annual reports. They were to select and adopt the textbooks to be used and divide counties into school districts of not less than 20 children.

The counties were to choose at their annual election a county superintendent of public schools, who was to make an annual report and have charge of the public-school interests of the county. He was to apportion the school fund in proportion to the number of school children living in each district between 4 and 21 years of age, visit the schools, examine into their progress, and advise with the teachers. He was to hold at stated times public examinations for all persons offering as teachers and grant certificates for not more than one year to such as were qualified to teach orthography, reading, writing, arithmetic, geography, and English grammar.

The voters in a school district meeting had authority to vote such tax as necessary to furnish the schoolhouse with blackboards, outline