Library of Congress Subject Headings, 21st edition, 1998

LC Subject Headings:

• Public schools -- North Carolina.
• Education -- North Carolina.
• Educational law and legislation -- North Carolina.
• North Carolina -- History -- Civil War, 1861-1865.

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HOUSE BILL NO. 20.] [SES. 1863.

Introduced by Mr. HARRIS, of Cabarrus.

W. W. Holden, Printer to the State.

A BILL TO PROVIDE FOR THE ESTABLISHMENT
OF GRADED SCHOOLS IN NORTH-CAROLINA,
AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES.

        SECTION 1. Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the
2 State of North-Carolina, and it is hereby enacted by the authority
3 of the same, That there may be established in each
4 county in the State, one or more Graded or High Schools,
5 as part of the system of Common Schools, und under the
6 regulations hereinafter prescribed. And the whole system
7 of Graded and Common Schools shall hereafter be
8 known and designated as The Public Schools of
9 North-Carolina.

        SEC. 2. Be it further enacted, That it shall be the duty
2 of the President and Directors of the Literary Fund to
3 set apart, of the annual proceeds of said fund, not more
4 than twenty per cent. of the amount due to each county,
5 for the support of one or more Graded Schools in the
6 same: Provided, Such appropriation can be made without
7 impairing the efficiency, or interfering with the usual
8 operations of the Primary or Common Schools; And provided,
9 A sum equally large is raised by county taxes for
10 the same purpose.

        SEC. 3. Be it further enacted, That any county of the
2 State may, by its County Court, a majority of the justices
3 being present, adopt this system of Graded Schools, without
4 waiting for the action of other counties; and the
5 clerk of the County Court may, at the request of the
6 State Superintendent of Public Schools, call the justices

7 together out of term, and the system of Graded Schools
8 may be adopted at such meeting, the proceedings of
9 which shall be recorded and authenticated by said clerk.

        SEC. 4. Be it further enacted, That when the system of
2 Graded Schools is thus adopted by any county in the State,
3 it shall be the duty of the County Court of the same to
4 lay a tax for its support, the amount of which shall be at
5 least equal to the amount appropriated for the same purpose
6 from the Literary Fund. And the said tax shall be
7 due and collected as other school taxes, and shall be payable
8 to the Treasurer of the Trustees of the Graded Schools
9 for the county. And the Sheriff shall be liable for default
10 as in case of other school taxes, and he and the Treasurer
11 shall agree in a statement of said taxes, to be filed with
12 the clerk of the County Court, under the same rules, regulations
13 and penalties as are prescribed in regard to other
14 school taxes; and the clerk of the County Court shall record
15 the same, and transmit it to the State Superintendent
16 of Public Schools, under the regulations above referred to.

        SEC. 5. Be it further enacted, That there shall be a
2 Board of Trustees for the Graded Schools in each county
3 adopting the same, to consist of five persons, to wit: of
4 the Chairman of the Board of County Superintendents of
5 Public Schools; of two persons, citizens of the county,
6 annually elected by the County Court, a majority of the
7 magistrates being present; and of two persons, citizens of
8 the county, to be annually appointed by the State Superintendent
9 of Public Schools, and liable to removal by him
10 for neglect of duty, incompetency, or misconduct in office;
11 and each member of the Board of Trustees shall continue
12 in office until his successor is appointed. And the said
13 board shall be and is hereby constituted a body politic
14 and corporate, under the name and style of "The Trustees
15 of the Graded School (or Schools) of -- county;"
16 and as such shall have succession, and power to sue and
17 be sued, to plead and be impleaded in courts of law and
18 equity, and to receive, hold and transfer real and personal

19 property, for the uses of said schools. And all the records,
20 books and papers of said Trustees shall be preserved for
21 the use of their office, and transferred to their successors.

        SEC. 6. Be it further enacted, That the said Trustees
2 shall annually elect, of their number, a President, Secretary
3 and Treasurer. The President shall preside at their
4 meetings, and shall have power to call the board together
5 at such times and places as he may designate. The Secretary
6 shall record all the proceedings of the board in a
7 book kept for that purpose, and file and preserve official
8 documents. And the Treasurer shall receive, hold and
9 pay out all the funds due to the board or to him as Treasurer,
10 but shall make no payment except on the warrant of
11 the president countersigned by the Secretary.

        SEC. 7. Be it further enacted, That before the Treasurer
2 enters on his duties he shall give a bond, in such sum and
3 with such sureties as the Trustees may designate and approve,
4 payable to the State of North-Carolina, conditioned
5 for the faithful performance of his duties; which bond
6 shall be filed, recorded and renewed as bonds of Chairmen
7 of Boards of County Superintendents of Public or
8 Common Schools. And the Treasurer, so qualified, shall
9 be entitled to demand and receive from the Treasurer of
10 the Literary Fund of the State, from the Sheriff of the
11 county, and from others, the funds due to the Graded
12 Schools, he presenting to the Treasurer of the Literary
13 Fund a warrant similar to that of the Chairman of the
14 Board of County Superintendents of Public Schools,
15 authenticated by the clerk of the County Court, with his seal
16 of office.

        SEC. 8. Be it further enacted, That the said Treasurer
2 shall pay to his successor in office all the funds in his hands,
3 under the same rules and penalties as are required in case
4 of Chairman of County Superintendents of Public Schools,
5 and shall annually, at such time as may be designated by
6 the State Superintendent of Public Schools, make a report
7 to his Board of receipts, credits, disbursements and debts,

8 which report shall be examined like reports of Chairmen
9 of County Superintendents of Public Schools, recorded by
10 the Secretary and sent to the State Superintendent of
11 Public Schools, authenticated like the reports of said
12 Chairmen, and under the penalties and regulations prescribed
13 in their case. And for his services herein he shall
14 be allowed to retain five per cent of the earnings which
15 pass through his hands; and all the Trustees shall be paid
16 from the public fund whatever reasonable expenses they
17 may incur in the discharge of their duties, to be credited
18 and approved by the Committee of Finance for the County.

        SEC. 9. Be it further enacted, That it shall be the duty
2 of the Trustees of the Graded Schools to select locations
3 and to receive buildings for the use of the Schools, they
4 being required to locate them in the county, when it is
5 possible, and to have reference to the economy of living,
6 to health, and to the convenience of the people of the
7 county. And it shall be the further duty of said Trustees
8 to determine the number of pupils which may be admitted
9 into such School, to arrange the sessions of the same, to
10 select teachers and fix their salaries, to fix the rates of
11 tuition for paying pupils, to visit the Schools and aid in
12 preserving discipline, to select the pupils, under the regulations
13 hereinafter prescribed, to meet at least three times
14 in each year, and to make to the State Superintendent of
15 Public Schools a semi-annual report, at such time as he
16 may prescribe, and in the forms prepared by him, setting
17 forth the number, sex and character of the pupils of each
18 School, the number of teachers employed and their salaries,
19 the prices of tuition, the studies pursued, the value
20 and character of the buildings and school apparatus, the
21 receipts and disbursements of the Treasurer, and such
22 other information as the said State Superintendent may
23 require.

        SEC. 10. Be it further enacted, That the Trustees shall
2 in no case pay for buildings for the use of said Schools or
3 for apparatus or furniture.

        SEC. 11 Be it further enacted, That it shall be the duty
2 of the State Superintendent of Public Schools to prescribe
3 the course of studies for the Graded Schools, to furnish
4 instructions and blanks to trustees and teachers, to fix the
5 times for the annual reports of Trustees and Treasurers,
6 to determine the forms of reports from teachers to the
7 Trustees, to arrange, in connection with teachers, the forms
8 of certificates of scholarship to be issued and signed by
9 teachers and trustees; to exert himself to have the provisions
10 of this bill carried out in each county of the State;
11 to appoint an agent in each county to solicit donations for
12 the use of the Schools, and to be paid to the Treasurers of
13 Boards of Trustees; to decide all questions arising in
14 regard to the meaning of this bill, and which shall be
15 binding until reversed by a court of record, having jurisdiction
16 in the premises; and to embody in his annual
17 report a summary of the statistics of each Graded School,
18 with the report in full of each Treasurer.

        SEC. 12. Be it further enacted, That it shall be the object
2 of the Graded Schools to furnish a thorough business education,
3 and to prepare good teachers for the Public
4 Schools; and the Schools shall be male and female, the sexes
5 having separate apartments for study, and when important,
6 for recitation, and separate grounds for recreation
7 and amusement.

        SEC. 13. Be it further enacted, That two classes of pupils
2 may be admitted into the Graded Schools, to-wit: pupils
3 who pay tuition and those who do not; but there shall be
4 no distinction in the studies or discipline of these classes.

        SEC. 14. Be it further enacted, That the Trustees of the
2 Graded Schools, in order to procure suitable buildings,
3 furniture and apparatus, may allow those who supply the
4 same, to furnish not more than one-fourth of the pupils of
5 the school to which they so contribute, the pupils to be
6 apportioned among them by their own agreement, and if
7 they cannot agree, by the Trustees; and these pupils shall
8 in all cases pay the tuition charged to paying pupils of all

9 classes, and which shall be fixed by the Trustees of each
10 school at reasonable rates, according to the studies pursued.

        SEC. 15. Be it further enacted, That the pupils who do
2 not pay tuition shall, if so many apply, constitute the other
3 three-fourths of the schools; and these shall consist of the
4 following classes to be entitled to priority of admission
5 in the order in which they are here named, to-wit:
6 First, persons not over thirty-five years of age who have
7 been disabled in the military service of the country from
8 manual labor, and who are dependent on their own exertions
9 for a living. Secondly, indigent children whose
10 fathers, and if they were fatherless, whose supporters have
11 died or been killed or disabled in the service of the State
12 or of the Confederate States, during the present war, and
14 who are between the ages of 12 and 21. Thirdly, the
15 indigent children of soldiers of the State or of the Confederate
16 States during the war, but have not lost their
17 fathers or supporters, and who are between the ages of
18 12 and 21. Fourthly, persons who wish to teach
19 Public Shools, and who are unable to pay tuition, and
20 who, if females, are between the ages of 15 and 27, and if
21 males, between the ages of 16 and 30. Fifthly, the children
22 of any class who are unable to pay tuition, and who
23 are between the ages of 12 and 21.

        SEC. 16. Be it further enacted, That if any Graded
2 School is not filled by the classes of pupils described in
3 sections XIV and XV, then paying pupils may be received
4 between the ages of 12 and 21, from any class within the
5 county, and if not filled by pupils from the county, by
6 paying pupils from other counties. And all non-paying
7 pupils shall come from the county in which the school is
8 located unless these do not fill it.

        SEC. 17 Be it further enacted, That all applicants, of
2 every class, for admission into the Graded Schools, shall
3 be examined by the committee to examine teachers of
4 Public or Common Schools, and shall be required to exhibit
5 the evidences of moral and mental qualifications required

6 in teachers of Common Schools, and to receive certificates
7 to that effect before they can enter said Graded Schools.

        SEC. 18. Be it further enacted, That the committee to
2 examine Common School Teachers, shall hereafter consist
3 of the Chairman of the Board of Superintendents of Common
4 Schools, who shall be ex-officio, Chairman as heretofore,
5 and if there is one Graded School in the county, of
6 its principal as a second number, if there are two, of the
7 principals of these, and if more than two, then of the two
8 who may be selected by the Board of County Superintendents.
9 And if there is but one Graded School, or none,
10 said Board shall fill out the committee as heretofore.

        SEC. 19. Be it further enacted, That the Committee of
2 Examination, in each county where there is a Graded
3 School shall meet at least four times a year to examine
4 applicants for admission into it; they shall give public
5 notice of the time and place of such meeting, and shall
6 receive the same compensation paid for examining Common
7 School Teachers. And it shall be the duty of the
8 State Superintendent of Public Schools to issue annual
9 letters of instructions and suggestions to these Committees.

        SEC. .20 Be it further enacted, That the Trustees of the
2 Graded Shools shall, under the directions of the State
3 Superintendent, and in the forms prescribed by him, give
4 notice through the N. C. Journal of Education, in the
5 newspaper having the largest circulation in the county and
6 in four public places, including the court house door, of
7 the commencement of each session of the Graded Schools,
8 of the number of pupils to be admitted, and of the terms,
9 and also, of the times and places where the Trustees will
10 meet to receive applicants for admission. And when
11 there are more applicants, duly qualified, of any one class
12 entitled to admission, than will fill the School, the selection
13 shall be made by lot.

        SEC. 21. Be it further enacted, That donations and subscriptions
2 on the part of individuals or bodies for the use
3 of the Graded Schools shall be invested in the name of

4 the Trustees, and the proceeds used as the public fund,
5 unless said contributions are needed for the annual support
6 of the schools; and all income of all classes, contributed
7 without conditions, shall be first devoted to the payment
8 of teachers, salaries, and to the expenses of the
9 Trustees, and the purchase of necessary fuel. If there is
10 any balance left, after the payment of these expenses, the
11 portion arising from county funds and from private contributions
12 shall be invested for the use of the schools, and
13 that coming from the Literary Fund be held subject to
14 the order of the President and Directors of said fund.

        SEC. 22. Be it further enacted, That the Common and
2 Graded Schools of the State shall be called The Public
3 Schools of North-Carolina-- the former to be distinguished
4 from the latter by the term Primary, and the latter to be
5 known by the name of Graded Schools.

        SEC. 23. Be it further enacted, That it shall be the duty
2 of the State Superintendent of Public Schools to have this
3 Bill published in pamphlet form and circulated among the
4 people and authorities of the State; and, also, to furnish
5 for publication in the newspapers a digest of its provisions
6 with a numbered list of the classes of persons for whose
7 benefit the Schools herein provided for are designed.

        SEC. 24 Be it further enacted, That this Bill shall be in
2 force from and after its ratification.