Page:The American Cyclopædia (1879) Volume XI.djvu/522

 504 MICHIGAN A board of township school inspectors is elected annually, the township clerk being ex officio clerk of the board, with power to divide the township into districts. Each school dis- trict has a board elected by its voters, con- sisting of a moderator, a director, and an as- sessor, one being elected annually for three years. Any district having more than 100 children of school age may by a two-thirds vote decide to have a board of six trustees, two being elected annually for three years. These boards, when directed by a vote of the people, have power to establish graded schools and high schools. For graded schools two or more contiguous districts having together more than 200 scholars may unite. The in- come of the primary school fund is appor- tioned by the superintendent of public instruc- tion to the townships and cities in proportion to the number of youth in each between the ages of 5 and 20 years. The act of April 15, 1871, requires all children between 8 and 14 years of age to be sent to the public schools at least 12 weeks in a year (six weeks at least of which shall be consecutive), unless taught at home or in a private school. According to the report of the superintendent of public in- struction for 1873, the number of school dis- tricts was 5,521 ; children between 5 and 20 years of age, 421,322; between 8 and 14, 181,- 604; whole number attending school during the year, 324,615 ; number in attendance un- der 5 or over 20 years of age, 5,854 ; average attendance, 162,300; average length of schools, 7 months; number of school houses, 5,572 (80 stone, 641 brick, 4,246 frame, 605 log) ; seats, 399,067; value of school houses and lots, $8,- 105,391 ; number of teachers employed, 11,950 (3,010 males and 8,940 females) ; number of township libraries, 207, with 49,291 volumes; of district libraries, 1,099, with 115,331 vol- umes. Of the schools 311 were graded, with a total attendance of 118,616. The amount on hand at the beginning of the year was $530,- 580 27; receipts, $3,212,772 43, viz. : township tax, $465,912 84; primary school fund, $194,- 479 58; tuition of non-resident pupils, $31.- 199 81; district taxes, $2,095,220 17; other sources, $412,253 87. The expenditures were $3,148,885 52, viz.: wages of male teachers, $681,565 24; of female teachers, $1,071,309 43; construction and repairs, $597,006 68; oth- er purposes, $788,902 96 ; balance on hand at the close of the year, $594,467 18 ; total debt of school districts, $1,707,700 16. The state nor- mal school at Ypsilanti was established by the act of March 28, 1849, and went into full oper- ation in the spring of 1853. This is managed by a state board of education, consisting of the superintendent of public instruction, who is ex officio secretary, and three members elected by the people for six years, one retiring biennially. There are three courses of study : one of two years, designed to prepare students to teach in the common schools ; another of three years, embracing higher English studies ; and the third of four years, including ancient or modern languages. A model school is connected with the institution. Applicants for admission, if females, must be not less than 16, or if males not less than 18 years of age, and are required to sign a declaration of intention to devote themselves to the business of teaching in the schools of the state. Two students from each representative district are exempt from the pay- ment of tuition ; others are required to pay $10 a year. The diploma of the school enti- tles the possessor to teach in the public schools without examination. The number of instruc- tors in 1873-'4 was 14; of students in the normal department, 364; of pupils in the model school, 122; of volumes in the library, 2,000. According to the United States census of 1870, the number of schools was 5,595, with 2,999 male and 6,560 female teachers, 128,949 male and 137,678 female pupils, and an income of $2,550,018 ($81,775 from endowment, $2,- 097,122 from taxation and public funds, and $371,121 from other sources, including tui- tion). Of the whole number of schools, 5,414 (3 normal, 37 high, 62 grammar, 570 graded common, and 4,742 ungraded common) were public, and 181 not public, having 582 teach- ers, 11,799 pupils, and an income of $385,529, of which $81,775 was from endowment, $77,- 500 from taxation and public funds, and $226,- 254 from other sources, including tuition. The schools not public were divided as follows : classical, 12 (9 colleges and 3 academies) ; pro- fessional, 3 (1 law, 1 medical, 1 theological) ; technical, 18 (1 agricultural, 6 commercial, 1 for the blind and the deaf and dumb, 10 of music) ; day and boarding, 119; parochial and charity, 29. The statistics of the colleges of Michigan for the year 1873-'4 are contained in the following table : INSTITUTIONS. Location. Date of or- ganization. Denomination. No. of in- structors. Students. in libraries. University of Michigan. . . Ann Arbor 1841 None 44 1,105 30000 "HHlsdule college.. Ilillsdale t!855 Freewill Baptist 7 606 4500 "Kalamazoo college Kalamazoo tl855 Baptist 9 192 2,2-V) Lansing. . . . 1&57 None 7 148 2,800 Adrian college Olivet college Adrian Olivet 1R59 H859 Methodist 10 14 174 Ufl 400 5 <)00 Albion college Albion tl860 8 201 2000 Hope college Holland 1S66 10 188 1 200 Young ladies' seminary and col- Monroe 1861 None 8 109 1,200 Michigan female seminary. . 1866 10 57 600 t Date of reorganization under general law.
 * State agricultural college
 * 1872-'3.