Page:History of Public School Education in Arizona.djvu/78

was 34.1 and 47.4 per cent, respectively, and when based on enrollment, 58.9 and 59.1 per cent. When these statistics are studied for the whole period it will be seen that, while there were ups and downs in enrollment and attendance, the general progress was upward. In these matters the Territory during the period compares well with some of the States. The total receipts rose from $159,956 in 1885–86 to $295,884 in 1898–99; the total expenditures from $135,030 to $241,556 in the same years, and school property from $176,238 to $490,504. The schools had increased from 169 to 347; the teachers from 175 to 373. Salaries, however, had fallen from $81 to $67.77 per month, this being due in part at least to a general fall in prices; and the school term fell from 143 days to 127 days. Laws had been passed providing for the organization of school libraries and high schools, and some progress had been made on those lines, but in general the schools were going on in the same way in 1898–99 as they were in 1887–88. They needed systematic organization, correlation of parts, and authoritative supervision.