For other contingent expenses,.. "Balance, $4,000 00 5,184 25 $68,681 36 The following list contains the numbers and amounts of the several warrants upon the Treasury for salaries and other expenses, outstanding July 1st, 1866: Law Building Warrants outstanding and past due, $ 472 51 Outstanding Medical Building Warrants, maturing during the years 1866-7-8,. The Reserve Fund" now consists of eleven 7 Total,. $5,417 35 ... $11,000 00 385 00 $11,385 00 There was in the hands of the Steward of the University, on the 30th day of June, 1866, the following amounts of unexpended balances, to the credit of the various funds: ANNUAL REPORT OF THE STATE BOARD OF EDUCATION. The record of the Normal School, for the past year, has been similar to that of previous years. The Report of the Principal shows that the usual number of students have been present during the year, and that twenty-four have graduated. Everything has moved on very harmoniously and successfully. During the larger part of the past year the Normal School was without a Principal, Prof. A. S. Welch having resigned early in the fall term. The duties of the Principal were distributed among the several professors. The Board, at its last meeting, appointed Prof. D. P. Mayhew Principal of the Normal School, and that gentlemen has already entered upon the duties of the office. This school has now acquired a fixed character and reputation, and it will doubtless continue to do the same noble and thorough work that it has been doing in the past. There has been not a little complaint made that the graduates from the Normal School do not continue for any length of time in their profession. An impression prevails quite generally that, as a matter of fact, but few of those who graduate ever engage in the profession of teaching at all, and the number of those who continue to teach is a very small per cent. of the whole. In order to determine the truthfulness of this impression, and to learn whether there was ground for the complaint, I applied to Mr. C. L. Whitney, Principal of the Union School of Dowagiac, who is Secretary of the Society of Normal Alumni, and who is entirely familiar with the history of this institution. I am indebted to Mr. Whitney for the following table. It will be seen by the table that he divides the graduates into two classes-those who graduated before 1863, and those who have graduated since that time. The average number of years of teaching by those who graduated before 1863, and are still teaching, is 8 years. Many have left the profession from continued ill health. Nearly all the ladies, not married, are still teaching. Of the gentlemen who have left us, some have become ministers of the gospel, others lawyers, and others business men. We have here a full statement of the results of the Normal School thus far. When we take into consideration the fact, that five of the years counted here, have been years of war, and that numbers of those who were teaching, were called to the ranks, as soldiers, and that numbers have been laid aside by sickness, and others have died, we cannot esteem the record a bad one, that shows that of all who graduated years since thirty-three per cent. are still actively engaged as teachers, and of the more recent graduates sixty-one per cent. are in our schools. MUSEUM. The Agricultural and Normal Museum, is not yet completed from lack of funds. It is hoped and expected that during the coming year, arrangements will be perfected to secure its speedy completion. 70 REPORT OF BOARD OF EDUCATION. SCHOOL LIBRARIES. The Board held their usual meeting to revise the list of books for School Libraries, and at a future date another meeting was called to examine the bids, made by various dealers in books, for furnishing books to the school libraries of the State. Upon examination it was found that many of the bids were too imperfect to warrant any action upon them, and those that were perfect, were made at prices which the Board deemed too exorbitant to warrant any contract to be made; therefore the Board passed the following: As no party has presented a bid for furnishing books to districts or township libraries which the Board feel that they can consistently accept; therefore, Resolved, That no contract be made at this time, and that the whole matter be deferred indefinitely. WITTER J. BAXTER, President. EDWIN WILLITS. |