5 hhh E(liic$fion in New Hmpshm - tl*SI 1 ^^3 ^^^k^Sm S^^^^» .-^^B^Bi^^^Pm? "''• ^^^ ^^3Pf^Si,k w" ^Hh. S ; fl ^^^^^Bf^pBBlIf Ij^^l ^ ir.,».M!!W^ ^^^5 ""^^ EHfp^^ "^^^^ li ■ 1^' • ^^jiy yj/? tconom AppfM Harold C. Grinnell ^T&ity of New Haii.p.ski'e Station Bulletin 481 AGRICULTURAL EXPERIMENT STATION UNIVERSITY OF NEW HAMPSHIRE DURHAM, NEW HAMPSHIRE ^^1 • fee 10. v^/ Public tduc^im in Nb\/i/ Hmpshite - An Economic Appt$i$0l Harold C. Grinnell ■^^ty of Nsw llau^gd^., Station Bulletin 481 AGRICULTURAL EXPERIMENT STATION UNIVERSITY OF NEW HAMPSHIRE DURHAM, NEW HAMPSHIRE Foreword T^HE Constitution of the State of New Hampshire. Article 83, provides that: "Knowledge and learning, generally diffused through a community, heing essential to the preservation of a free government; and spreading the opportunities and advantages of education through the various parts of the country, being highly conducive to promote this end; it shall be the duty of the legisla- tors and magistrates, in all future periods of this govern- ment, to cherish the interest of literature and the sciences, and all seminaries and public schools, to en- courage private and public institutions, rewards and immunities for the promotion of agriculture, arts, sci- ences, commerce, trades, manufactures, and natural history of the country ..." For carrying out the intent of the Constitution, the public laws now provide that each town shall constitute a school district. Except for a few multi-district towns, minor offsets, and the organization of cooperative schools from pre-existing districts, therefore, school dis- tricts are coterminous with their respective towns. Each district, however, is a subdivision of the state and func- tions as a corporate body politic. Through permissive legislation there is a limited local autonomy over the ad- ministration of pul)lic schools, but under general state supervision. MARCH 1964 Contents Page Foreword 1 The Situation 3 Purpose and Plan Of Study 6 Economic Variations Among Districts 6 Total Equalized Valuation 7 Equalized Valuation Per Capita 7 Costs Per Pupil 11 Dropouts 14 Relation Between Size of High School and Progress in College 16 An Analysis of Some Areas Currently Considering Reorganization 16 The Proposed A.R.E.A. Plan 20 Summary 24 Public Education in New Hampshire- An Economic Appraisal By HAROLD C. GRINNELL The Situation TN 1961-62 there were 230 school districts maintaining 478 schools as compared with 585 in 1950-51 (Tahle 1). Most of this decline is the result of a decrease in the niimher of one-room elementary schools. There were only eight one-room schools offering instruction in as many as six to eight grades in 1961-62, hut there were 27 with fewer than six grades, or a total of 35 one-room schools still in operation. Thirteen dis- tricts, however, maintain no schools, and send more than 350 pupils to other districts for hoth elementary and secondary education. In 1961-62 there were 56 senior high schools, a reduction of seven since 1957-58. Junior high schools have heen on the increase since 1955-56 when there were only ten — now 17. The comhined junior-senior high schools in- creased from 18 to 22 during the same period. There appears to be general agreement among professional edu- cators that a secondary school, grades 9-12, should have at least 300 pupils for an effective and efficient comprehensive program. In New Hampshire 31 of the 86 secondary schools had an enrollment in excess of 300 in grades 9-12 (Tahle 2). These 31, however, accommodated 75 percent of all the pupils above the eighth grade. New Hampshire is the only state in New England which does not have a broad base tax, and consequently depends on the local property tax for the support of public education to a greater extent than other New England states. The following comparison of the New England states with respect to federal, state and local support in 1960 was taken from the final report of the Interim Commission on Education to the state legislature: State Federal Aid State Aid Local Tax (Each Source as Percentage of Total) Percent Percent Percent Connecticut 3.1 34.6 62.3 Rhode Island 6.5 23.2 70.3 Massachusetts 5.3 19.9 74.8 Maine 5.9 25.8 68.3 Vermont 3.1 24.8 72.1 New Hampshire 5.0 5.6 89.4 Table 1. Distribution of New Hampshire Public Schools by Type of School for Selected Years* 1961-62 1957-58 1950-51 One-room one-teacher rural schools, 6-8 grades 8 17 67 One-room one-teacher elementary schools, grades 1 to 5 27 32 77 Elementary schools having two or more teachers 348 359 346 Approved junior high schools, grades 7-8, or 7-8-9 17 12 12 Senior high schools, grades 9-12 or 10-12 56 63 60 Junior-senior high schools 22 18 23 Total number of schools 478 501 585 * Taken from State Department mimeo No. 6383. In 1961 the Research Division of the National Education Associa- tion piihlished a Research Report, 1961-Rl, "Rankings of the States, 1961." These rankings are concerned with such matters as composition of the population, personal income, retail sales, puhlic school enrollment and revenues for pvihlic education. According to this report New Hamp- shire ranked second among all the states with respect to percent of reve- nue for pul)lic elementary and secondary schools received from local Table 2. Enrollments in Grades 9-12 in New Hampshire Public Schools and Approved Public Academies, September 1961* Total number of pupils, grades 9-12 49 1,217 4,554 1,693 5,317 16.941 Range in number of pupils Number of schools 50 or less! 51 to 100 101 to 200 201 to 300 301 to 500 More than 500 2 15 31 7 14 17 Totals 86 29,771 * Computed from State Department mimeo No. 6375. The total enrollment includes pupils attending grade 9 in junior high schools. t One school had ten pupils, grades 9 and 10 only, but none the less a high school. governments, and ranked 49th in percent of revenue from state sources for public schools. In spite of the low state support, New Hampshire ranks 16th in pupil-teacher ratio and 29tli in school expenditures per pupil. Since New Hampshire ranks 23rd in per capita personal income, 16th in personal income per child 5 to 17 years of age, and 19tli in per capita retail sales, it would not seem that New Hampshire's meager state support for public education is because of incapacity to provide a larger proportion of public school costs. To partially equalize the local tax burden the legislature, prior to 1962, has provided two major forms of state aid (RSA 198). The first provides for an annual payment "... in an amount equal to the remain- ing costs of the required programs of puljlic elementary and high school education over and above the proceeds of a tax of fourteen dollars per thousand dollars of equalized valuation (hereinafter called the "Local Effort" ) of each district ..." Forty percent of the districts qualified for this form of state aid in 1961-62. The second form of state aid concerns itself with the assistance to local school districts for the payment of debt services created by school construction. The annual grant is equal to 30 percent of the payment of principle or outstanding loans. In the case of a cooperative school dis- trict (RSA 195) the annual grant is 40 percent plus five percent for each pre-existing district in excess of two, but not exceeding 55 percent in any case. In the interest of furthering the principle of providing equality of educational opportunity the state legislature in 1947 passed "An Act to Permit the Estalilishment of Cooperative School Districts," thereby en- abling two or more school districts to establish a cooperative district for elementary and or secondary education. Except for 1949 the General Court has amended the 1947 act in each subsequent session. In 1951 the act was rewritten, and extensive amendments were made in 1953 and again in 1955. No provision was made in the original act for additional state aid as a special incentive for reorganization. It was not until 1955 when the legislature provided for an annual grant for the partial pay- ment of debt service for school construction as described above. Acceptance of the cooperative school district act has not been spectacular. Prior to 1961 only six such districts were organized, and these between 1952 and 1957. Fifteen districts were involved in these re- organizations. The number of elementary schools in the six cooperative districts was reduced from 16 to 10, whereas the number of junior and or senior high schools remained at five. Of the five involving sec- ondary education only two had an enrollment in grades 9-12 in excess of 300 pupils in September, 1961. Purpose and Plan of Study TT is the purpose of this study to make a partial appraisal of selected as- pects of public education in New Hampshire in the interest of a sys- tem which will provide a more nearly equal educational opportunity for all youth. Economic variables among school districts are examined along the resulting costs per pupil. Some attention is also devoted to an analysis of eight areas which have lieen considering reorganization into cooperative districts. The Authorized Regional Enrollment Area plan proposed by the Interim Commission on Education is compared with the cooperative district plan with respect to apportionment of costs among the pre-existing districts. The State Department of Education attempts to keep the public in- formed on matters pertaining to public education. This is accomplished through the preparation and distribution of mimeographed material of high order. Local committees could profitably supplement their studies with an analysis of the Department's material to determine an appropri- ate pattern for reorganization. A study of the Department's mimeograph- ed material — supplemented by the census. State Tax Commission re- ports, and a report of the Planning and Development Commission — forms the nucleus of this study. The initial plan of study was to establish a procedure for analyzing information necessary for local decision-making with respect to reorgan- ization of school districts. This plan was based on the assumption that school districts had turned down proposals for reorganization because local studies had been inadequate to convince the voters of the benefits to be realized. A conference with the Deputy Commissioner of Educa- tion revealed two reasons why districts fail to organize cooperatives: (l)fear of higher costs, and (2) reluctance to give up control of local schools. An investigation of two areas which have attempted to organize a cooperative district over the past 12 or more years supports the Com- missioner's appraisal. Reports of local study committees were examined and they appeared to be quite adequate. Some areas employed the ser- vices of professional consultants whose carefully prepared comprehen- sive reports are excellent, but have met with only partial success. ECONOMIC VARIATIONS AMONG DISTRICTS OWNS vary greatly in many respects, economically, socially and poli- tically, but more specifically in taxable wealth and population. Were it not for these variations all pupils would have equal opportunity and there would be no need for state aid except that which might be initi- T atcd because of limited sources of revenue available to local govern- ments, in which case all districts would share alike. Total Equalized Valuation The statutes provide for state aid to school districts based on equal- ized valuation and average daily membership (ADM) in approved pub- lic schools. The equalized valuation is the amoiuit of taxable property computed by the State Tax Commission for each town or school district. It is based on full market value. Like other economic factors, equalized valuation varies tremendous- ly among school districts. The grouping of school districts according to total equalized valuation tends to separate urban and rural districts. All of the 12 cities included in the tabulations and four other urban centers are concentrated in one group having a valuation of $25 million or more. Moreover, the proportion of districts which qualified for foundation aid declined as total valuation increased. Of the 16 urban districts having a taxable wealth in excess of $25 million only one qualified for any foun- dation aid. Towns having an equalized valuation of less than $2 million are quite distinguishable from the towns of higher taxable wealth (Table 3) . A large majority of these towns experienced a decline in population from 1950 to 1960. Eleven of the 48 districts with a valuation below $2 million maintain no schools and send both elementary and high school pupils to neighboring districts on a tuition basis. Costs of education per pupil are higher for elementary pupils, and somewhat lower for high school pupils, than for groups of districts with higher valuation. There is a general tendency for elementary costs per pupil to de- cline as total taxable valuations increase, indicating relatively poorer efficiency of smaller elementary schools. Such a relationship between taxable wealth and costs per pupil is not so apparent for the high schools. There is evidence here, however, that larger high schools can offer a much more comprehensive program of studies at a cost per pupil quite similar to that of maintaining a more restrictive program in small high schools. There is no general tendency for school tax rates, percent of tax as- sessment for schools, property tax per pupil, or valuation per capita to increase or decrease as the total amount of taxable property increases. Equalized Valuation Per Capita The previous discussion was deducted from tabulations for 211 school districts grouped according to total equalized valuation. Similar tabulations have been completed for school districts grouped according to equalized valuation per capita. By this grouping it was observed that /-s *h CO Q "3 0 JS u CD til S o H h in s «« 05 C > « a « cr n c w .S "5 "^ 0 « i ^ via li .2 '^ 0 CT! s 0 c« o tl 'u a 0 M sc . c 9J C B Jr c = e •!: .o ON ^ ^ Ci '^ 4J = S ,-» S O 2^ ^•c a. . C ~ to ^ <^ *« L 1/5 t~- c— f TO .^1— i'<#foooeo'^'vOi— ivc 1— I i-H I— I Cvl fO On ^J* ^T ^J* ^^ ^^ ^J* ^J ^S* ^J* ^J* •^ONCNiLOT?«r~-ONcot--fo O LC M CC 00 r-^ CC r—I t--^ CO soroOi— iCt^r~-ONO\00 00 i— H CO O M LT! IC 1— i f-^ Tj-' i-H f-H r— OCNrOt~-l-Ct^\000000 COOOnCnJVOi— IC>0^OO 1— I 1— I M fC fO 1/5 ^H l/5Lf5t— ir^NCt— OOONeNjcC OOCNI^'^fO'— 'CvIcrst—OO I— I(MCO'^i/500t— iOOOn evic S. *^ W» :« m 0 e 0 0^ wj M .M 0 o en a. C 6cO\ S -C 1/5 ti_ ^j On, t j; so a.. 2 — < o • ■I* to 9j c/2 ha «) « S <« S s »5 «5 L(^ •^ Tt Cv Tj; -* rt IM <~-^ Ti" OO M On Irt 2 — ff^ ^ ""I ■^ t^ M so On (M O vo i-H ^ "* r— ( ^' CNI rf< 1/5 F— I Tji 1/5 OO CNI CNI 1/5 t-- r-- r-- o CNi ro rt fO CN] o fC CN) On Tj> On 1/5 CO t— 00 r— I t^ fO •«*'■«*'■* 'S' LO Tf CO ■— I f— I SC CO OC <=: OO On ON t— LC t-- 1/5 •^ CO On t~~- CO 1/5 1^ NO C~- On O CNl CNl On J^ CN| CN] CO CO -^ CO r^ 'j; t-- 1— I CO (M CO t^- t~- c; CO r~- CO f^ nC NC so 1/5 LO Cn] CNJ '^ so -^ CNJ OO r-; I— H o r^ oo •>*' o ON CO ■ ^ CC O' F— I ^^ CC CO «o Tf> ^ ir-] l^^ F— I F— I — O » O w O' u » O ^ O » C: V > '-^ c ^ rc T^ LC ^O CO o o ^z 1-^ ^ o •tZI ^'^ ^> 4^ ^ ^J ^^ p^l »i ^ ^z> «»;i Ci. 5 ® c o o o r* c; •^ 's^ -n *- 7i ••«, "^ K rS c: O <^ !^ O O C^ V. ^ ~ -— ,^ ,—. — . C ^ >-*. a. CTj !7^ o o o — j; CO .>* 1/5 SO CO o 1-^ «fe ^ €^ ^^ ^^ €/> s o V cs V I— I A ca >< C8 a o 60 > C8 cc 4iJ a 4) u S c: u S 3 virtually all urban districts appeared within the narrow range of $3,321 and $5,474 valuation per capita. Consequently, the 16 urban districts (those having a total equalized valuation of more than $25 million) were deducted, leaving 195 non-urban districts for inclusion in tabula- tions. In general, the number of resident elementary and secondary pupils — and the population — decline as the amount of equalized valuation per capita increases (Table 4). It is also noticeable that costs per pupil tend to be higher among districts having a large amount of equalized valuation per capita. The 31 districts having an equalized valuation per capita of $8,000 or more are very sparsely populated communities. Fourteen of these 31 towns actually declined in population from 1950 to 1960. There are only three high schools maintained among the 31 dis- tricts and none of these had a high school ADM of more than 66 pupils in 1960-61. Much of the property in sparsely populated rural communi- ties having a high equalized valuation per capita of $10,000 or more is owned by non-residents. In 1957 the Planning and Development Commission made a survey of all town properties. The published report provides a classification of taxable properties using assessed valuations. The classes and percentage distribution of these properties for the 13 districts having a taxable wealth per capita of $10,000 or more is shown in Table 5 with a com- parison for the state as a whole. For these 13 towns "recreational" and "electric plant" properties together comprise 70.4 percent of the total assessed valuation, whereas, for the state as a whole, only 21.8 percent of the total appear in these two categories. Farms and manufacturing establishments in the 13 dis- Table 5. The Distribution of Five Classes of Property for 13 Towns Having an Equalized Valuation Per Capita of $10,000 or More, Compared With State Totals TheUDi 'stricts State Totals Classes of Property Total Valuation Percent of Total Total Valuation Percent of Total Recreational Farming Manufacturing* Electric Plant Homes, Businesses, etc. $12,405,445 1,329,667 658,555 11,084,187 7,882,335 37.2 4.0 2.0 33.2 23.6 100.0 $ 115,292,848 55,743,470 135,434,068 113.295,823 626,897,800 11.0 5.3 13.0 10.8 59.9 Totals $33,360,189 $1,046,664,009 100.0 * This class of property existed in only seven of the 13 towns, and 90 percent of the total is concentrated in one town. tricts are quite negligible. The recreational category includes seasonal residences, accommodation indvistries, and business properties which derive their income primarily from recreation, and vacation-travel. This class of property, and that classed as "electric plant," are predominantly owned by non-residents who have no vote on appropriations, but who pay a large proportion of the property tax. This group of 13 relatively wealthy towns are most fortunate in being so located that they have large amounts of recreational and electric plant properties. The average tax rate for these towns was $3.43 per $100 of assessed valuation in 1957. The school tax rate based on equalized valuation was probably less than 90 cents per $100. Obviously, this small group of towns can continvie to retain a low property tax rate while giving much more liberal support for town and school purposes than can less fortunate communities. How- ever, none of these 23 districts maintains a high school because of the small number of resident pupils. The report of the Planning and Development Commission also in- cludes a table enumerating the number and valuation of "Seasonal Resi- dences," which for the 13 towns comprise 58.1 percent of the assessed valuation of all properties classed as "recreational." In two of the 13 towns seasonal residences are negligible, and electric plant or manufac- tures are nnich more significant. For the state as a whole, permanent homes, rental housing, and non-recreational commercial businesses com- prise a major proportion (59.9 percent) of assessed valuations. The existence of the above extreme variations in taxable assets a- mong school districts, when education is predominantly financed from a local property tax, is of great significance with respect to the appor- tionment of costs among pre-existing districts of a cooperative district. As equalized valuation per capita increases the amount of property tax per pupil also increases, but the average school tax rate declines (Table 6). For 34 districts with an equalized valuation per capita of less than $3,000, the property tax per resident pupil was only $279, but the school tax rate per $1,000 of equalized valuation was $20.67. For 13 districts having an equalized valuation per capita of $10,000 or more the school tax rate was only $8.18, ])ut the property tax per pupil was about double that of the former group, $548. Obviously, these 13 dis- tricts, while enjoying a low school tax rate, were able to provide better facilities, pay teachers higher salaries, have fewer pupils per teacher and provide more transportation at public expense. Material provided by the State Department of Education shows that 95 (or 40.4 percent) of the state's 235 school districts qualified for some "foundation aid" in 1961-62. Of the 195 non-urban districts, all but two of the 34 having a per capita valuation of less than $3,000 qualified for 10 Table 6. Comparison of Property Taxes for Schools Among Districts Grouped According to Equalized Valuation Per Capita Exclusive of Major Urban Centers* Property Taxes Equalized Average A verage Average Valuation Number of percent school property per capita districts for schools tax rate'** tax per pupil Less than $ 3000 34 66.257o 120.67 $279 S 3000 to S 4000 48 68.22 20.54 346 S 4000 to 8 5000 40 71.02 19.29 397 S 5000 to $ 6000 21 67.99 16.61 431 $ 6000 to $ 8000 21 58.38 12.84 453 $ 8000 to SIOOOO 18 61.49 11.25 514 SIOOOO or more 13 51.78 8.18 548 * Excludes 16 urban centers having a total taxable wealth in excess of 125 million. ** Per SIOOO of equalized valuation. this form of state aid. However, there are 73 of the 195 districts having an equalized vahiation per capita of $5,000 or more, and none of these received any foundation aid. A summary of this situation follows : Equalized Valuation Per Capita Less than 83,000 $3,000-84,000 $4,000-85,000 $5,000 or more Total Number of Towns or Districts 34 48 40 73 195 Costs Per Pupil Receiving Foundation Aid 32 40 (94.1%) (83.3%) 13 (32.57c) none 85 (43.6%) "/^OSTS per pupil" merely expresses a ratio between the number of resident pupils and current expenses exclusive of transportation costs, capital outlay and debt obligations. They vary tremendously among school districts. Whereas some districts maintain no schools and send all pupils elsewhere on a tuition basis, many others continue to provide local education for a small number of pupils. Table 7 gives a compar- ison of the range, average and median costs per resident pupil in elemen- tary schools by districts grouped according to average-daily-membership (ADM). The group of 44 districts with an ADM between 50 and 100 pupils has an extreme range between the lowest ($212.26) and highest ($683.01) costs per pupil. The ADM for these two districts at each end of the range are 59.7 and 88.0 respectively, and the school tax rates per $1,000 of equalized valuation are $15.35 and $8.44 respectively. Both dis- tricts are sparsely populated rural communities and neither maintains 11 Table 7. Comparisons of Per Pupil Costs of Elementary Education by Districts Grouped According to Average Daily Membership (ADM) in Residence ADM in Number of districts ADM per Costs per ADM residence district Range Average Median 0 to 50 33* 27.9 S253.19-S626.35 S402.78 $394.21 50.1 to 100 44* 73.4 S212.26-S683.01 $325.67 $316.36 100.1 to 150 31 122.9 S215.68-S466.53 $300.01 8288.14 150.1 to 200 28 174.7 S217.07-$346.82 S292.44 $291.36 200.1 to 250 13 222.7 S221.75-S287.74 S254.06 S249.49 250.1 to 300 10 270.1 S214.94-S278.40 S248.49 $248.06 300.1 to 400 11 356.2 S201.58-S343.19 $254.56 $256.31 400.1 to 500 13 452.7 S231.76-S350.48 $273.00 $265.20 Over 500 28 1544.8 S201.35-S373.88 S269.12 $263.82 * Ten of the 33 districts and one of the 44 districts maintain no schools. a high school hut sends pupils elsewhere for secondary education at a standard or contract tuition rate. Consequently, there is not much differ- ence in high school costs per pupil. The extreme difference in costs per elementary pupil for these two districts is largely a matter of taxahle wealth. The low-cost district has a total equalized valuation of $988,601 and the high-cost district has a total equalized valuation of $11,229,754. This means that the high-cost district can give liberal support to its ele- mentary school with no appreciable effect on the tax rate. Moreover, vir- tually all of the taxahle property in the high-cost district is classed as "electric plant" whereas in the low-cost district two-thirds of the taxahle property is in farms and other permanent homes and small husinesses, all of which is resident property. In the former case, most of the taxes are paid by non-residents, while the amount of appropriations is deter- mined by resident voters. The 33 districts with fewer than 50 elementary pupils had an aver- age cost per pupil of $402.78 (Table 7). The average costs per pupil de- cline with an increase in the number of resident pupils for all groups of districts having fewer than 300 elementary pupils. For districts having more than 300 pupils the average cost per pupil tends to increase slightly. Table 8 indicates the extremely high costs of maintaining small high schools. Eight districts with fewer than 50 high school pupils in residence had a per-pupil cost of $704.28 compared to $421,21 for 15 districts having more than 300 pupils in residence. Again, the quality of high school education is of utmost importance. The larger high schools are able to offer more comprehensive programs in academic and voca- tional subjects at lower costs per pupil than could smaller districts which support only very limited programs of study. 12 Table 8. Comparison of Per Pupil Costs of High School Education by Districts Grouped According to Average Daily Membership (ADM) in Residence ADM in Number of districts ADM per Costs per ADM residence district Range Average Median 0 to 50 50.1 to 100 100.1 to 150 150.1 to 300 Over 300 8 23 17 10 15 37.3 72.4 127.8 220.1 765.0 S397.22-S888.67 $389.00-S902.22 S362.05-S711.41 S297.58-S683.94 8312.11-S700.67 S704.28 $542.04 $474.76 S427.06 S421.21 S753.72 S515.14 S459.00 S404.52 S397.07 Contrary to the predominant pattern among New Hampshire school districts, there are 10 of the 195 districts in which costs per pupil are actually higher for elementary pupils than for high school pupils. Of these 10 districts none maintains a high school and two maintain no schools at all. Since all high school pupils were sent to neighhoring dis- tricts at either a contract or standard tuition rate, plus puhlic transpor- tation in most instances, the costs per pupil for secondary education were much helow those of districts maintaining a small high school. Tahle 9 compares the above 10 districts (Group A), which maintain no high school and have costs per pupil higher for elementary pupils than for high school pupils, with 13 districts (Group B) maintaining a high school for fewer than 60 pupils in residence. The average popula- tion of the two groups was 314 and 876 respectively in 1960. The change Table 9. Comparison of Two Groups of Rural School Districts: A. 10 districts maintaining no high school, and having per pupil costs for elementary pupils higher than for high school pupils. B. 13 districts maintaining a high school with fewer than 60 pupils in residence. Group A Group B Items for comparison (10 districts) (13 districts) Population: 1960 average 314 876 % change 1950-1960 —6.0% 1.2% Average equalized valuation per capita $9882 $5501 Average ADM: Elementary 46.6 128.3 High School 18.6 43.2 Average costs per pupil: Elementary $ 542 S 315 High School $ 425 S 676 Average school property tax per pupil $ 591 $ 504 Average school tax rate per 81,000 of equalized valuation $ 13.70 S 19.47 13 in population from 1950 to 1960 indicates relative stability, the A group declining 6.0 percent and the B group increasing 1.2 percent. The aver- age equalized valuation per capita for Group A was 80 percent greater than for Group B, but the average number of resident pupils for the 13 districts was nearly three times as great as for the 10 Group A districts. Costs per elementary pupil for the A and B groups were S542 and $315, respectively, indicating greater support by the ten districts having a higher taxable wealth per capita, and not maintaining a high school. High school costs per pupil were $425 and S676, respectively, thcreliy in- dicating extremely high costs for maintaining small high schools. The average property tax for schools was $591 for the Group A districts and $504 for Group B. Because of the greater taxable wealth per capita, however, the school tax rate was only $13.70 per $1,000 of equalized val- uation for small districts not maintaining a high school, compared to $19.47 for the small poorer districts maintaining a high school for fewer than 60 pupils. DROPOUTS TN New Hampshire, all children between six to 16 years of age are re- quired to attend a public school to which they are assigned unless ex- cused because of a physical or mental condition. The statvites further provide that a pupil more than 14 years old who has completed the studies prescribed for elementary schools shall not be required to attend high school if the district in which he resides does not maintain a high school. Although public transportation is required for elementary pupils through the eighth grade, districts are not required to provide transpor- tation to high school except for pupils under the age of 14 in grades above the eighth. The problem of dropouts is a serious matter, not alone from the point of view of the individual boy or girl, ])ut also in the interest of the national and state economy. In this age of automation the demand for skilled workers exceeds the supply, while the demand for unskilled workers has declined absolutely. Dropouts generally fall in the category of unskilled workers. They are the last to be employed and the first to be discharged. There is every evidence that advanced education pays handsomely over one's productive lifetime, and in a technical society there is urgent need for young men and women to advance their educa- tion to the extent of their capabilities. If all pupils starting in the first grade were to remain and complete secondary education, the number of high school pupils, grades 9-12, would be one-half of elementary pupils, grades 1-8. But actually the number of high school pupils in New Hampshire is approximately one- 14 third the number of elementary pupils, indicating a significant dropout rate. There are many reasons why pupils leave school immediately after reaching the compulsory attendance age. Aside from low aptitude, health or emotional condition, and economic conditions at home, many capalile pupils possess a poor attitude and lack of interest in academic subjects. They have no incentive. Encouragement from parents is not always forthcoming and, particularly among small high schools, there is a lack of guidance. Also, the small high schools do not ordinarily offer voca- tional programs for the development of skills. To counteract this situa- tion it might be assumed that the more urban centers, in which the larger high schools are located, offer more opportunities for employ- ment at an earlier age. It is not possible to measure statistically all the reasons why pupils drop out of school. Information has not been available to study the sit- uation beyond the material obtained from the State Department of Edu- cation. Rather extensive tabulations were completed in an effort to deter- mine whether or not maintaining a high school and providing pul)lic transportation would have any effect on withdrawals as determined by the number of high school pupils per 100 elementary pupils. Districts are grouped according to total equalized valuation in each case. There is no significant relation between the size of the district as measured by equalized valuation and the number of high school pupils as percent of elementary pupils. Because of many factors not taken into consideration, obviously the results should not be interpreted as all conclusive. A sum- mary of the results of these tabulations follows: No. of High School Pupils per 100 No. of Districts Elementary 211 32.2 117 34.0 94 29.3 73 32.6 138 30.3 58 34.4 78 28.6 All Districts Transportation Provided Transportation Not Provided High School Maintained High School Not Maintained High School and Transportation Both Provided Neither High School nor Transportation Provided It appears here that providing pulilic transportation increased the number of high school pupils per 100 elementary pupils liy 16 percent, whereas maintaining a high school increases the number by only eight percent. The effect of providing both a high school and public transpor- tation amounts to 20 percent, an appreciable amount. 15 RELATION BETWEEN SIZE OF HIGH SCHOOL AND PROGRESS IN COLLEGE '^1 "'HE registrar at the University of New Hampshire prepared a tahle to show the progress of college students classified by the size of their high school graduating class. Tahle 10 summarizes this material. A much smaller proportion of students from small high schools graduate from college with honors than from larger high schools. Also, the proportion of college students who experience academic failure is relatively larger among students from the smaller high schools. Voluntary withdrawals for non-academic reasons are about the same for all groups — about one-third. The difference between small and large high schools are be- yond the chance level and cannot be attributed to random factors. The reasons why college students make poorer progress when com- ing from a small high school can not be identified here. However, it seems safe to assume that quality of secondary education is an important factor. Small high schools cannot offer as broad a j^rogram of studies, and they do not have a teaching staff of sufficient size so that each teach- er is a specialist in the subject matter for which he or she is responsiljle. AN ANALYSIS OF SOME AREAS CURRENTLY CONSIDERING REORGANIZATION T7 IGHT areas were pointed out by the Deputy Commissioner as having given some evidence of interest in organizing a cooperative school district. Using available material selected figures were tabulated to de- termine the possible results of such reorganization. Tabulations include population trends, enrollments and average-daily-membership (ADM) in residence, per-pupil costs, valuations and tax rates, transportation costs, and other relevant material. A summary of these extensive tabula- tions follows, giving special attention to secondary education. The eight areas involve 52 school districts. Nineteen are currently experiencing a decline in population, but in only two areas as a whole has such a decline occurred. Sixteen of the 52 districts maintain a high school. The distribution of these 16 districts by ADM follows: Range in High School Number of Pupils in Residence Districts 1 to 50 1 51 to 100 8 101 to 200 5 201 to 300 1 301 to 400 1 Fourteen of the 16 high schools have fewer than 200 pupils in resi- dence — much too small for a comprehensive high school program. 16 ._ I ____ W3 1 (^ 1 ^^ ^^^^ t?^ n o 0= oo eo ^ to vO Tf 1— 1 >o ro iM ,J3 S r-t 1—1 ^ ^ <^ L. 0 fee o ■S b -< 2 2 V) ^S ^S^^ # 6C o o to to g CO ro 1— 1 r- CO vo o in r-^ e<5 ^' CO 1— 1 (M tf3 in 1— 1 m 1—1 oo in 1"-H CO 1**1 « -C s •S? -r « i< u M-. O o ^a V ^ — . , , ^^ , , ,_, .^^ ^Ci 0 © «j ^^^ ^^^^ ^ 0^ « ■*. CO — H % ai