The value of school property in Athens in 1917-18 was $123,000 The number of pupils enrolled in that year was 2,945. Therefore, the value of school property per pupil was $42. Compared with 340 other cities of the same population group, Athens stood twenty-first from the bottom of the list in the amount of its school property.21

In other words, these facts show that Athens is far behind other cities of the same population group with respect to the amount of

2 9

VALUE OF SCHOOL PROPERTY PER PUPIL ENROLLED, 1917-18.

360 AND OVER

CHART VI.-Athens stands 21st from the bottom in a list of 240 cities in the amount of its school property.

money that it spends annually on its schools, and with respect to the amount of money that it has invested in its school plant.

The usual answer to such facts is that the community has not sufficient wealth to finance its schools adequately. But this is not true of Athens.

Athens has sufficient wealth to give the children of the city the kind of school plant they need.-In 1917-18 the taxable wealth of Athens was $10,000,000. This, however, was on 67 per cent valuation of property. The true value of the taxable wealth, on a 100 per cent valua

See Statistics of City School Systems, H. R. Bonner, U. S. Bu. Educ. Bul. 1920, No. 24, pp. 467, 324, and 123. See about quoting individual cities, p. 467.

tion, was $14,925,000. Compared with 23 other cities whose wealth is also estimated on a 100 per cent valuation, Athens stands highest in the amount of wealth behind the school dollar." (See Table 3.)

The following table shows that Athens spent $1 for school purposes for every $217 it possessed, whereas the average city in the group expended $1 on schools for every $120 of wealth it possessed.

TABLE 3.-True wealth behind every school dollar in 24 cities.1

1 See Statistics of City School Systems, H. R. Bonner, U. S. Bu. Educ. Bul., 1920, No. 24.

Furthermore, cities with one-half the wealth of Athens spent more upon their schools than Athens. For example, Traverse City, Mich., with a smaller population and one-half the wealth of Athens, spent more on its schools than Athens; i. e., $1 out of every $101 of wealth as compared with $217 in Athens. Traverse City's true wealth was $7,756,000, and she spent $77,013 on her schools; whereas the true wealth of Athens was $14,925,000, and she spent $68,797 on her schools. Hackensack, N. J., with about the same population and with slightly larger wealth than Athens spent about three times as much on its schools. Her taxable wealth was $16,038,000 and she spent $214,660 on her schools.

Even if it were contended that property in Athens is assessed at 100 per cent valuation, the city had $145 behind every dollar expended for the schools, as compared with an average of $120 in cities

22 See Statistics of City School Systems, H. R. Bonner, U. S. Bu. Educ. Bul., 1920, No. 24, pp. 427-439; pp. 467-477.

where property is assessed at 100 per cent valuation. In fact, compared with these other 23 cities listed, where the property valuation is on a 100 per cent basis, it is found that only 5 cities out of the 23 had more money behind the school dollar.

Athens spent a smaller proportion of her wealth upon her schools in 1920 than in 1917-18.-It might be thought that these figures for 1917-18 do not represent conditions at the present time, and that in 1920 Athens was spending a greater proportion of her wealth upon her schools. On the contrary in 1920 Athens spent a smaller proportion of her wealth upon her schools than in 1917-18. For example, in 1920 the taxable wealth of Athens, on a 100 per cent property valuation, was $22,500,000.23 This does not include the territory annexed to the city in 1921. The expenditures for public schools for that year were $90,500. This means that in 1920 the number of dollars behind every school dollar had increased from $217 in 1917-18 to $248.

Even on the basis of the existing 60 per cent valuation of property, the taxable wealth of Athens in 1920 was $13,500,000. The expenditures for schools were $90,500. Therefore, the number of dollars behind the school dollar, even on a 60 per cent valuation of property, was $167 as compared with $145 in 1917-18.

For every $1,000 of true wealth Athens spent about one-half as much on her schools as the average city in a list of 23 cities of the same population group. The following chart shows that not only did Athens have more wealth behind the school dollar than any other city in the group, but also that she spent for every $1,000 of true wealth less money on her schools than any other city in the group. In 1917-18, for every $1,000 of true wealth, the average amount expended for public schools by 23 cities of the same population group as Athens was $8.30, whereas Athens expended only $4.61 for every $1,000 of true wealth in the community. Even on the basis of 67 per cent assessed valuation of property, Athens spent only $6.87 out of every $1,000, or about three-fourths of the average of cities taxed on a 100 per cent valuation.

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From 1917-18 to 1920 Athens actually decreased the amount per $1,000 which she spent on schools.

Although the true wealth of Athens has increased by $7,575,000 since 1917-18, yet Athens in 1920 spent less money on her schools in proportion to her true taxable wealth than she did in 1917-18; i. e., $4.02 for every $1,000 in 1920, as contrasted with $4.61 in 1917-18 for every $1,000 of true wealth.

2 See Appendix V, Taxable wealth of Athens, Ga., 1920.

* See Appendix VI, Expenditures for all city departments, Athens, Ga., 1920.

1 See Chart VII. True Wealth Behind Every School Dollar.

SUMMARY.

Athens was the pioneer in bringing higher education to the youth of Georgia. Will it lead in reconstructing its public school plant so as to bring modern educational advantages to the children of the public schools?

This question states the real significance of a school-building program for Athens at the present time.

Up to the present time Athens has spent far less on her public schools than other cities of the same size.

Athens is fortieth from the bottom of a list of 327 cities of the same population group in its tax rate for schools.

Athens stands tenth from the bottom of a list of 25 cities of the same population group in its per capita expenditure for schools.

Athens stands twenty-first from the bottom of a list of 340 cities of the same population group in the amount of its school property. Athens' school plant is in deplorable condition.

Athens is to be congratulated upon the fine, progressive spirit of its superintendent, board of education, and teaching force. They are doing their best to give progressive education to the children, but they are trying to do it in the face of almost insuperable obstacles in the way of inadequate buildings and equipment.

There has been no new elementary school building for 12 years. The schools are so badly congested that there are 439 more children than there are school seats.

With the exception of two poorly equipped cooking rooms, there are practically no modern facilities in the elementary schools. There is not a single auditorium or gymnasium. There are no shops, no science laboratories, no drawing rooms, no music rooms, no libraries. There are only two principals' offices in all the eight elementary schools, and no teachers' rest rooms. In nearly every school the playground space and equipment are entirely insufficient.

A building program costing $318,091 is recommended as the minimum required to meet the most pressing needs of the public schools at the present time.

It is further recommended that in order to give not only adequate classroom accommodations to the children, but also a flexible program of work, study, and play in shops, science rooms, drawing rooms, music rooms, auditoriums, and playgrounds, the schools be organized on the work-study-play or balanced load type of organization. Under this plan it will be possible to give these modern facilities to children for $318,091, whereas under the traditional plan it would cost $570,091. This expenditure of $318,091 is, however, only a beginning of what the city ought to do in order to develop a modern school plant.

As a matter of fact, if Athens is to relieve existing congestion, provide for the growth of at least 10 years, and consolidate her