Say Schools Face Serious Problem

From The Indianapolis News, Thursday, November 28: The Indianapolis public schools are starving from the lack of money for necessary maintenance and for providing a living wage for a competent teaching staff. If the next state legislature fails to provide financial relief, the city schools will not be in full operation when they open in September 1919. While there is an urgent need for more school buildings with proper sanitary conditions, the most pressing need is funding to employ enough qualified teachers to provide the city pupils with the kind of instruction to which they are entitled. Surrounding cities such as Detroit, Chicago, and Cincinnati are drawing away the best Indianapolis teachers because of the city’s inability to offer competitive pay. The Indianapolis educational tax levy is limited to 67ȼ (2017: $11.12) which is much lower than other Indiana cities.

“Say Schools Face Serious Problem,” The Indianapolis News, 28 November 1918, p. 1:2