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Show BILL PASSED I ON EDUCATION Several bills for the extension of the educational s stern oi the State and for the purpose of making the present excellent system more efficient effi-cient have alreadv become laws. Other Oth-er educal lonal measures are In the hands ot the governor awaiting his signature Two or three failed to become be-come laws. Among the mOSi important of the educational hills passed by the legis lature is the teachers' pension bill. This bill amends the present law to extend the provisions of the law to the entire state and to make It operate oper-ate to better advantage and to make possible an extension of the life of the retirement association. Under the present law the teachers of any district may form a retirement association and pay Into the retirement retire-ment fund 1 per cent of the teachers' I salaries to provide a fund from which ! retirement pensions may be paid In ian amount equal to 50 per cent ot the salary drawn by the teachers at the ; time of retirement The retirement age was fixed at 60, and to qualify for a pension one must have taught school thirtv years ten years of which i time was In the state The only retirement organisation formed under the present law was in 1 Salt Lake, where the teachers have had B retirement organization foi 1 ll I earH It was found that in most of the other districts of the state there were so few teachers that it was not feasible to form a retirement assocli tlon At the last state teachers' convention con-vention the teachers of the stale ro ed unanimously to ask that the bl I permitted to organize as a whole The 1 legislature therefore so amended the present law as to permit the teachers of all the school dlstrii is outside of i Salt Lake City to form e retirement association Thus there will be tv i associations in the state whrre orln Inally many more were contemp! t I Experience has taught the teachers that the payment of a pension equal I to one half the salary of the teacher, irrespective of the amount of the s;il ary, was Impracticable and might eal I up the available funds within n few years The new bill therefore amend.-, the present law so as io i n :i k the maximum pension 1800 p r year ami It levies an assessment ol 1 per cent on all salaries up to $1200 fjndei 1 the present law a teacher drawing $2000 per year salary would pay Into the retirement fund 1 per cent on the total salary aud would draw ?100't per year pension on retirement. The new bill provides that a teacher draw Ing $2000 per year pays into the fund l per ' iit of $1200 and on retirement draws $600 per year This reduction Insures a longer lif--for the retirement fund and prevents an extra heavy drain on the fund However, It Is likely that within a few years the teachers will again find themselves In danger of having the fund wiped out by the pensions It may then be necessary to Increase the assessment, but the teachers hope to he able to keep the fund large enough by revenue from entertain-me entertain-me nt s and ol her sources Most of the educational measure? which were passed by the legislature this year were lathered by Senator Joseph Kckersley of Wayne county Senator Ecker6lcy has been an edu cator for many ypars and takes an active Interest In all matters connected connect-ed with educational affairs. An Increase in the salaries of teachers in rural districts where the revenues are insufficient to maintain school seven months in the year is provided by another Eckersley bill which has been signed by the gover nor. This bill provides for a sin"? appropriation of $10,000 for these dls tricts and specifies that it is to be used for increases in teachers' salaries. salar-ies. The courses of instruction uniform throughout th state are to be estab llshed in the schools at state expense hereatter One of the hills of Senator Sena-tor Kckersley which became a law provides that this arrangement bo made. Hitherto these courses have been provided ;.f actual cost instead of at state expense Another bill changes the plan of electing members of boards of education in cities of the second class and permits an increase in the tax levy for school purposes. The bill has also been signed by the governor and is now a law. oo |