Rural North Carolina Schools Consistently Short-Changed, Feb. 25, 1920

From the University of North Carolina News Letter, Chapel Hill, N.C., Feb. 25, 1920

Town and Country

According to the latest publish report of the State School Superintendent, for the school year 1917-18, four-fifths of North Carolina’s entire school population of 846,000 are rural and live in the country regions. The other fifth live in towns and cities.

The total available school fund for each rural child was $7.71; for each town or city child it was $16.23.

The value of the school property provided for education for the four-fifths was $7,800,000; while the value of the school property for the one-fifth was 6,000,000.

The annual salary of the teachers of rural children was $244. The annual salary of the teachers of town and city children was $468.

The rural children went to school 113 days. The town and city children went to school 165 days.

The town and city children had more than twice as much spent for the supervision as was spent for the supervision of the country children.

Nearly three times as much was spent for the operation and maintenance of the schools for city children as was spent for the operation and maintenance of schools for the children of the rural regions.

So long as these conditions continue, can we have the children of North Carolina’s, the often boasted equality of educational opportunity?

--E.W.K.