of at least $10,000,000 have the same taxing power. In second class cities with less than $10,000,000 assessable property, school boards may levy eight and one-half mills for general maintenance and one and one-half mills for buildings. The members of the boards of education in county school districts of the first class are elected for a term of four years. The elections are so conducted that some of the members are always experienced in their duties. The boards have authority to levy from ten mills to fifteen mills for general maintenance and building purposes, according to the assessed valuation of their respective districts. The local or common school district boards consist of three members, one elected annually for a term of three years. These local boards have a taxing power of ten mills. In addition to the taxing power of the boards in these respective units of organization, additional funds may be raised by a vote of the qualified electors. All cities and districts receive their pro rata share of the three mill state tax for graded schools and of the county school tax, which may not be more than four mills on the assessable property of the county. All high schools in the state which are maintained upon the standard fixed by the State Board of Education receive their pro rata share of the funds derived from the state high school tax, which consists of one-half mill of the eight mill state tax. From these sources of revenue come the $4,000,000 which are raised and expended annually among the public schools of Utah. SCHOOL BUILDINGS The school plant, as before intimated, is one of the factors which has much to do with a school system. With school buildings this state is well supplied. The little one room rural school house is now almost unknown in Utah. There are perhaps not more than a dozen such buildings in the state. Practically every community has a school building which adds to the beauty of the place and which contributes to the health and comfort of the child. With the exception of the Salt Lake City high school building, which is being erected at a cost of one-half million dollars, the accompanying likenesses are of buildings such as are being constructed in many parts of our commonwealth. It will be noted that some of these buildings are more or less remote from the centre of population. During the last five or six years nineteen high school buildings have been erected ranging in cost from $25,000 to $100,000. In every case these buildings have been fully equipped with modern conveniences. A brief description of one of them may aid the reader to form a more ade THE NEW SALT LAKE CITY HIGH SCHOOL-COST, APPROXIMATELY $500,000. During the past six years new buildings for high schools have been erected, aside from this one, quate idea of the buildings in which the children receive their school training. The Carbon county high school building with its furnishings cost approximately $100,000. It is built of reinforced concrete and is absolutely fireproof throughout. It covers three-fifths of an acre of ground and contains more than one and one-half acres of floor space. Outside, it is cement plastered and finished with Caen stone color water proofing. The ground floor contains the gymnasium, the domestic science and art department and the manual training department. The gymnasium is 50x75 feet. It has a running track, a number of shower baths, and a 25x40 foot swimming pool. It also has a spectators' balcony. The domestic science rooms are equipped with electric, gas, and coal ranges. In connection with the domestic science department there is a model dining room and also a lunch room for the boys and another for the girls. The building contains its own gas plant used chiefly for the chemical laboratories and for the domestic science department. The first floor has an auditorium with a seating capacity for five hundred persons. Leading from the gymnasium on the ground floor to the auditorium is a spiral stairway, over which the gymnasium performers may pass to and from the stage of the auditorium without in any way disturbing the audience. On the floor also are two locker rooms equipped with steel lockers, two retiring rooms for teachers, and the principal's office. The second floor contains the physical and chemical laboratories, a lecture room, and music and art rooms. Throughout the building there are the latest designs in plumbing and heating. The building is equipped with an electric plant. This lighting is of the indirect type which approaches more nearly to daylight than any other artificial light known. Besides the rooms already mentioned, there are eighteen regular class rooms. The likeness of the building shows that it is a structure of architectural beauty. TEACHERS Much as are to be desired commodious and comfortable school buildings, attractive and sanitary surroundings, the most modern and improved equipment, still they are all of secondary importance to the character and qualifications of the teachers. During recent years somewhat rigid legal requirements have enhanced the teaching efficiency in the schools. No person is now eligible to take the examination for the purpose of securing a teaching certificate valid in the common schools until such person has acquired either three years of successful teaching experience or four years of high school training and about one-half year of normal school work. Graduates of normal training schools which require their students to complete two years of work beyond SPANISH FORK, UTAH COUNTY, HIGH SCHOOL a four year high school course, or its equivalent, are given teaching certificates without examination. A greater number of such qualified persons are entering our schools each year. They are well prepared, especially after one or two years of experience, to give valuable service. The increased preparation required of teachers has contributed to a rise in teachers' salaries. The average monthly salary of the common school teachers in Utah is, male, $85; female, $65. HIGH SCHOOLS A remarkable impetus was given to the high schools when in 1911, state aid was secured and the high schools were placed under the direction of the State Board of Education. Utah is one of the few states giving state aid to high schools; last year the state contributed $20.90 for each student who had been in attendance at least twenty weeks during the year. To be eligible to participate in the state high school fund, schools must follow the prescribed course of study; they must provide adequate equipment for the courses which they offer; they must remain in session at least thirty-six weeks during the year, including holidays; they are required to employ teachers who hold state highschool certificates or diplomas. As these certificates represent scholarship equivalent to a degree from a standard college, including credits in the professional subjects, it is apparent that high school teachers are required to undergo thorough preparation for their work. A state high school inspector works under the direc tion of the State Board of Education, who visits the schools frequently and gives such aid as may be required. The course of study aims to train for efficient citizenship. In the course of study, the fact is not lost sight of that the high school owes a duty to those seeking higher education, but the dominant idea is not that the function of the school is performed merely in preparing its students to enter college. It takes into account the fact that many high school students do not enter college at all, but that practically all of them enter civic and industrial life and that they should, therefore, receive the best possible training for civic and industrial success. It is recognized also that the schools should train young men and women for useful |