REPORT OF THE PRESIDENT.

To the People of St. Louis:

I herewith present the Thirty-ninth Annual Report of the Board of President and Directors of the St. Louis Public Schools, submitted pursuant to section eight of the original charter of the Board of Public Schools, which provides that said Board shall, at least once every year, cause to be printed and published a true statement of the condition of the public schools under their charge."

In the general report of the Superintendent herewith submitted, will be found a statement of the number of teachers, the number of pupils in the various departments of the schools, as well as in each of the several grades, the cost per pupil for tuition and incidentals, the ages and birth-places of pupils, the occupations of the parents and other statistics and statements concerning the schools for the past year.

In the appendix will also be found tables showing the names of all the schools, the location, capacity,' date of erection and value of each, together with the enrollment and attendance of each school and the ages and birth-places of the children who attend the same.

This report contains a special report on the Normal and High Schools; the Sumner High School, which is the High School for the colored people of St. Louis; the school for the deaf; the L'Ouverture Manual Training School and a report on the condition and management of the Public Library.

The joint report of the Secretary and Auditor (see appendix), presents all matters concerning the finances of the Board, and contains a detailed statement of the bills receivable held by the Board at the close of the year, the balance sheet for the year, real estate and improvements for school purposes, receipts and expenditures for the year, and leased and unleased lands.

REVENUE.

The funds of the Board are classified under the following general heads: General Fund, Permanent Fund, Building Fund, and New High School Fund.

GENERAL FUND.

The General Fund is made up of receipts from taxes (general taxes, merchant's tax, railroad tax), the State school fund and receipts from all other sources except fines assessed by the courts, and sales of real estate belonging to the Permanent Fund and to the Building Fund. Out of the General Fund are paid all general. expenses, such as teachers' salaries, officers' salaries, janitors' salaries, rent of school houses, repairs, text-books, insurance, printing, etc., and also, from this fund appropriations are made at the beginning of each fiscal year for the erection of school buildings and the purchases of school sites authorized by the Board through the recommendation of the Teachers', Ways and Means and Lands and Leasing Committees.

PERMANENT FUND.

A large proportion of the revenue-producing real estate of the Board belongs to the Permanent Fund, and it was from the sale of real estate belonging to this fund, which, at the time, was not producing revenue, that the Board of

Education Building located on Ninth and Locust streets was erected.

BUILDING FUND.

The Building Fund is created anew at the commencement of each fiscal year for the purpose of erecting new school buildings to supply accommodation to the increasing school population of the city.

THE NEW HIGH SCHOOL FUND.

The New High School Fund was created some six years ago by an appropriation from the General Fund of $50,000 for the purpose of erecting a new High School building, which would meet the requirements both as regards location, and increased accommodation for pupils desiring to continue their education beyond the eighth grade of the district school course. The fund was gradually added to by special appropriations from the General Fund, and by the sale of the old High School and Normal School properties, until a sufficient amount had been accumulated to proceed with the erection of the structure now located on Grand and Bell

avenues.

The Board of Education building on Ninth and Locust streets was completed and taken possession of by the Board in January, 1893. The total cost of the building, including heating apparatus, elevators, architect's fees, gas and electric light fixtures, furniture and library equipment, was $416,733.84. The assessed value of the ground on which the building stands is $119,400.00.

The New High School building, completed in July, 1893, was accepted, and opened for school purposes on the 4th day of September following. The total cost of this building, including heating, gas and electric light fixtures, seating, grading, architect's fees, etc., was $311,378.21.

The original contract for the erection of the building alone amounted to $253,112.04.

In addition to this, the Board had previously expended the sum of $81,919.55 for a site, plans, excavation, stone masonry, etc., on the new High School building, so that the actual expense to the Board for the new High School, as it stands to-day, is $393,297.76.

The chief sources from which the Board derived its revenue for the year 1892-1893 were general taxes, $1,062,698.38; State school fund, $150,766.69; rents, $60,658.82; railroad taxes, $26,018.80; merchants' tax, $11,400.96.

The principal items of expenditure were, for teachers' salaries, $798,292.15; school buildings (including heating apparatus), $151,836.07; for janitors' salaries, $78,420.65; for general repairs (including painting, whitening, carpenter work and furnace repairs), $77,287.34; for officers' salaries, $36,872.30; for rent of school houses, $27,432.53; for fuel, $21,514.19. In addition to this, there was transferred from the General Fund to the New High School Fund $75,500.00, and to the Permanent Fund, $25,818.26.

Tabular statements giving a detailed account of the receipts and expenditures for the year will be found in the appendix to the annual report and, also, in the report of the Committee of Examiners.

LEGISLATION.

During the past year several important changes were made by the Legislature in the laws applicable to the School Board. Contests for places on the Board were decided by the School Board itself under its rules, but the last Legislature passed a law by which the Circuit Court instead of the School Board, hereafter shall decide all such contests. By some error the law concerning contested elections previously passed, by the Legislature of Missouri, failed to provide for contests for seats in the School Board. This omission has been a frequent source of trouble in the Board, creating needless antagonisms and causing unnecessary complications when contests have arisen.

Another important change in the laws of the State applicable to School Board affairs concerns the merchants of