II. CITY SCHOOL SYSTEMS.

[See Part III of this report for the school statistics of individual cities.]

The most conspicuous of the facts brought out by the following tables is the relatively reduced expenditure for city schools during the year covered by this report.

In view of the stringency of the times, this was to be expected. Retrenchment has been the rule in all lines, and the schools have been no exception. It is rather a matter of congratulation that they have fared so well, for in the cities of only a few States has there been an actual decrease, and in the country at large the increase in expenditure in cities has been 5.92 per cent upon the same basis which shows an increase in enrollment of 8.68 per cent and in average attendance of 10.37 per cent. The total cost of the city schools per capita of average attendance has been $30.64 in 1893-94, or a reduction of $1.28 from that of 1892-93.

It is worthy of note that instances have been rare in the cities of actual decrease in the salaries paid to individual teachers. Necessary retrenchment has been as a rule secured by postponing the erection of new buildings, by increasing the number of pupils allotted to each teacher, and by curtailing the expense for all incidentals that could be spared without serious detriment to the schools. Thus it happens that the average amount paid to supervisors and teachers was substantially the same in 1893-94 as in 1892-93, being about $614 in both years, and that the expense for teaching and supervision has increased in a much greater ratio than the total expenditure.

The States in which there has been an actual falling off in the total amount spent for schools in the cities are Tennessee, Mississippi, Arkansas, Wisconsin, Missouri, South Dakota, Nebraska, Colorado, Utah, Washington, and California. In only three of these, namely, Tennessee, Arkansas, and Missouri, has there been a similar reduction in the amounts paid for tuition.

In the consideration of the statistics of cities the fact should not be overlooked that the list of places which are represented in such tables is constantly increasing as communities reach the minimum limit of population prescribed for classification as "cities." The limit of 8,000 inhabitants followed by this office is an arbitrary one and differs from that recognized by the laws of some of the States. But its adoption was based upon reasonable assumptions, and since uniformity of prac tice is, after all, the most essential consideration, and other statistical bureaus have adopted the same rule, its use by this office has been entirely satisfactory.

It is impossible to determine accurately every year just what communities have reached the required numbers, and it necessarily follows that the annual revision of the list is attended with perplexities and doubts. The collection of school statistics of cities and villages of

between 4,000 and 8,000 inhabitants was begun for this report, and a means is thereby obtained of determining with a fair degree of certainty just what additions should be made to the list of cities. Eightyone new communities appeared from their school statistics to be worthy of rank among the cities of 8,000 inhabitants, and their statistics were accordingly incorporated in the city table. This number (81) was much greater than the number of new cities in the report of 1892–93, and in this fact must be found the explanation of the increase in enrollment of 8.68 per cent for the last year as against 4.86 per cent for 1892-93. These two quantities are not comparable with each other, but are to be used only in comparison with other ratios for the same years.

One of the effects of the infusion of a greater proportion of small cities into the list is to be seen in the heavy increase in the number of schoolhouses and the smaller average size of each. Small houses are necessities for scattered settlements, in order that the schools may be sufficiently accessible to the pupils. As the territory fills up the small buildings are gradually replaced by larger ones, the small houses being demolished or sold; thus it happens that cities of 8,000 inhabitants have usually as many schoolhouses as cities three or four times their size.

To the introduction of 81 new small cities, therefore, must be ascribed a great part of the increase of 786 in the number of buildings. Six of the new places added to the list in Massachusetts alone have 108 schoolhouses. Nevertheless there are several instances in which larger cities have made extensive additions to the number of their buildings. Buffalo, N. Y., reports 21 more than last year and Brooklyn 30 more.

The increase of 7.58 per cent in the value of school property appears anomalous in view of the reduced expenditures for such purposes and of the general stagnation in business which has checked the normally steady increase in the value of city real estate. The only explanation is to be found in the supposition that the increase mentioned is the result of the unusually heavy expenditures for buildings during 1892–93.

The following notable differences appear in the valuation of school property as reported in the years 1892-93 and 1893-94: New York, increase, $1,485,221; Chicago, increase, $2,143,000; Cincinnati, increase, $2,000,000.

The increase of 480, or 16.58 per cent, in the number of supervising officers during the year is remarkable. The following table shows that the greater part of the increase comes from a few cities:

It is gratifying to note that the average length of the school term for all the cities shows an increase of 1.3 days over last year. For the previous three years there had been a steady diminution in this respect, and this evidence that the apparent tendency toward an unnecessarily short school year has been checked must be regarded as encouraging.

TABLE 1.-Summary of statistics of school systems of cities containing over 8,000 inhabitants, showing increase from previous year.

[NOTE.-No correct list of cities of a given population can be made in other than census years. The percentages of increase shown below, therefore, are relative only, and are intended to be used for no other purpose than comparison with each other.]

TABLE 2.—Summary, by States, of enrollment, attendance, supervising officers, and teachers in cities containing over 8,000 inhabitants. (a)

a In the preparation of this table omissions and deficiencies in the returns of individual cities were supplied from the best sources available. If no accurate information could be bad in any particular case, an estimate based upon the ratios developed in the other cities of the same State was used unless it appeared that the conditions were essentially different in the city for which precise data were lacking.

Blanks indicate that the number of cities which reported the item was not sufficient to justify an estimate to supply the deficiency.

TABLE 3.-Summary, by States, of school property and expenditures in cities containing

over 8,000 inhabitants. (a)

a In the preparation of this table omissions and deficiencies in the returns of individual cities were supplied from the best sources available. If no accurate information could be had in any particular case, an estimate based upon the ratios developed in the other cities of the same State was used unless it appeared that the conditions were essentially different in the city for which precise data were lacking.

Blanks indicate that the number of cities which reported the item was not sufficient to justify an estimate to supply the deficiency.