Page:History of Southeast Missouri 1912 Volume 1.djvu/466

 406 HISTORY OP SOUTHEAST MISSOURI be under the official direction of a board of three trustees in each district, who were em- powered to employ teachers, appoint visitors, and make other necessary arrangements for the school. The report also arranged a cur- riculum for the schools aud directed that reading, writing and arithmetic, geogra- phy. English grammar aud other branches should be taught as the funds might justify. Theology was excepted and excluded in posi- tive terms from the list of si;bjects which might be taught in these schools. Sale of Lands In 1837 the general assembly provided that the funds derived from the sale of the saline lands and the fund known as the United States revenue fund, should be invested in stock of the Missouri State Bank. The in- come from this stock was set aside for school piirposes, but it was directed by the legisla- ture that it should not be distributed among the schools until the amoimt invested amoimted to $500,000. This amount was reached in 1842 and the first distribution of the fund among the schools was made in that years. Sixty cents for each pupil was dis- tributed among the thirteen counties of the state at that time. In spite of these things which had been accomplished in the matter of education the people of the state were still concerned over the question and the legislature still gave attention and time to public schools. In 1839 it was enacted that a common school fund should be constituted and permission to sell the sixteenth section of the state lands was again given. Out of this provision of the law have grown the permanent school funds of the state. It was further provided that there should be chosen a state superintendent of schools who was to be elected by the senate and house of representatives for a term of two years. One of the duties of this state superintendent was the distribution of the state school moneys among the several coun- ties of the state which maintained public schools. Laws of 1853 These were the important provisions which laid the foundation for a public school system in the state, but they have been added to and the whole of the school law revised in 1853. At that time the schools were imder the supervision of the state superintendent elected by the people and there was provided in each county a coimty commissioner of common schools. It was the duty of the latter ofiScer to license teachers and to visit the schools in his coimty. The unit for the schools was still the congressional township, which, however, could be divided into school districts by vote of the people, and each dis- trict was authorized to select three trustees who were empowered to employ the teachers and supervise the financial affairs of the dis- trict. It was provided, too, at this time, that twenty-five per cent of the general revenue of the state and the dividends from the fimds invested in the Bank of the State of Missouri were to be apportioned to the several counties on a ratio based on the enumeration of chil- dren of school age. It was also provided that orphans and children of indigent parents might attend school free. An effort was made at this time by the state superintendent to provide a imiform course of study for the schools ; the effort, however, was unsuccessful. At this time there were in the entire state about 2,500 school districts and 300,000 children of school age, of whom only 125,000 were enrolled in the schools. It