Page:Oregon Historical Quarterly vol. 24.djvu/253

 High School Legislation In Oregon 231 County High School Law in 1908. The county high school board had operated under that section of the law which provides that, instead of establishing a central high school for the county, the board may contract with an existing high school to take care of the students at an agreed rate of tuition. County Superintendent W. B. Dillard worked out a detailed plan for administering the law and not only did the plan seem to work well in Lane County, but it attracted considerable attention in other sections of the state. This matter of subsidising high schools with coun- ty funds instead of establishing them as county institu- tions had not been set forth in detail in the county high school law. The county superintendents and the state superintendent expressed themselves as favorable to the adoption of a new law along the line of the Lane County plan. Such a measure was prepared and was introduced by the Lane County delegation at the legislative session of 1909 and passed without opposition. This law did not supercede the County High School Law but was a com- panion to it. Superintendent Ackerman presents a brief statement of the plan of operation of the law in his re- port of 1911. It is as follows : "The people at the general election vote 'yes' or 'no' on the establishment of a county high school fund. If the measure carries, the county court after a careful estimate levies a tax for the maintenance of high schools. A county high school board is organized composed of the county court, the county treasurer and the county school super- intendent. The board contracts with each district in the county that maintains a high school up to the standards set by the State Board of Education, as specified in sec- tion 7, page 177, General Laws 1909, or section 261, Ore- gon School Laws. The contract states that the basis of the distribution of the county high school fund shall be upon the average daily attendance during the school year. The total amount of money paid to any district during the school year shall not be less than $40 per pupil for the first 20 of such daily attendance, and $30 for the second 20; nor more than $12.50 per pupil for all the remaining pupils."