Page:History of Public School Education in Arizona.djvu/70

64 when compared with 1887. Gov. Zulick confined his attention to efforts toward securing from Congress the privilege of selling the school lands, in which he failed, and actual legislation was practically negligible. A compulsory school law was framed, which was substantially a reenactment of the law of 1875, but in 1895–96 it was declared to be null and void by the attorney general, and the Territory was without compulsory legislation until 1899, when a new law, differing but little from those of 1885 and 1889, was enacted.

Supt. Cheyney discussed in his report for 1889–90 the difficulties and tendencies of the period. A question then of much importance was that of providing funds for new schoolhouses. The older custom, begun in 1877 and brought to mature stature in the eighties, was by issuing bonds under special acts. A general act passed in 1891 (ch. 16) made this no longer permissible. Under the new act the district trustees might still issue bonds not to exceed 4 per cent of the assessed value of their property and there must be provisions for a local tax on the property of the district for repayment. In some places the burden of this additional tax was regarded as excessive and resulted in the rental or erection of unsuitable houses and of inadequate accommodations. As a way out of the difficulty Supt. Strauss suggested that the Territory create a Territorial loan and building fund based on the idea of the building and loan associations.

In 1889 four new schoolhouses were erected; in 1890 the number was 15.

At this time the finances of the schools were generally good. The Territorial administrative expenses were paid out of the 3-cent Territorial tax; in the counties the minimum county tax was levied and in all except one a surplus was reported. But the administration of the county school funds was complicated and unsatisfactory, because they were collected and expended by 187 local boards of trustees, 10 county treasurers, 10 county superintendents, and the Territorial superintendent, and all on different plans of accounting. The Territorial superintendent plaintively adds: “The result is inevitable. Confusion reigns, and tabulation of records at given dates as the law contemplates and requires is simply impossible.” He recommends, therefore, that a uniform system of record of school moneys be adopted and used and that the Territorial superintendent be required to visit each county at least once a year and audit the records of school moneys in each. He urged that the Territorial superintendent’s office be made elective and thought that while the schools had as much money as necessary, the school attendance, being 36.5 per cent only, was less than it should be. He intimates that a stronger compulsory law might be necessary, but points out that many children were so located that attendance was impossible; that in the