Iowa Old Press
Clinton Advertiser, January 9th, 1922
CAMPBELL IN FACTS ON CONSOLIDATED SCHOOLS
Professor Macy Campbell, head of the department of rural education at the Iowa State Teachers college, has just edited a bulletin on "Consolidated Schools in Iowa." He is, without question, the best posted man on this subject in the state. The bulletin is published by the State Teachers college and contains the following facts as the latest on "Consolidation."
The farmers have voted 439 communities to organize consolidated schools.
The first consolidated school in Iowa was at Buffalo Center. Transportation of pupils was begun in 1897. Tipton has the largest consolidated school district. Seventy-three sections of land and a town of 2000 comprise it.
The average cost per pupil per month of transporting pupils to school in typical consolidated schools has been $4.90 on horse drawn routes and $5.11 on motor routes.
Motor vehicles for transporting children make 12 miles an hour as readily as horn drawn vehicles make 6.
In 1920, 8147 pupils were transported to the consolidated schools in motor vehicles, or approximately one-fourth of the pupils transported.
Consolidated schools lead all schools in regularity and punctuality of attendance; the percentage being consolidated schools, 80 per cent; town schools, 79 per cent; country schools, 72 per cent.
The average cost of Iowa Consolidated schools in 192 was 87 cents per acre. The average cost per acre since then has diminished because of lower prices following the war.
The eggs sold from consolidated school districts in Iowa during 1920 more than paid the total expense of these schools.
It is a conservative estimate that in 1920 the people living in consolidated school districts in Iowa spent from two to five times as much money on their autos as they spent on their schools.
Ohio has 960 consolidated schools and Indiana has over 1000.
[transcribed by NML, Mar 2021]