Chap. 97.—An ACT to make effective the Constitutional provision to the effect
that the General Assembly shall establish and maintain an efficient system of
public free schools throughout the State, and to repeal all acts and parts of
acts inconsistent with this act. [S B 153]

Approved March 7, 1934

Whereas, section one hundred and twenty-nine of the Constitution
of Virginia provides that “The General Assembly shall establish and
maintain an efficent system of public free schools throughout the
State,” now, therefore, ,

1. Be it enacted by the General Assembly of Virginia, as follows:

Section 1. The school board of each and every school division in
the State is hereby empowered and required to maintain the public free
schools of such division for a period of at least eight months or one
hundred and sixty teaching days in each school year. In order that
each school division may have the funds necessary to enable the school
board to maintain the elementary and high schools thereof for such
minimum terms, it is hereby provided that when any county, city or
town has legally complied with the existing laws with reference to local
school levies, such school division or divisions shall be allotted out of
the public school funds held in the treasury of the State for each group
of twenty-five to forty pupils in average daily attendance, a sum equal
to the amount to be derived by dividing said public school fund by the
number of groups of twenty-five to forty pupils in average daily attend-
ance in the State, depending upon the density of population, to be ap-
portioned by the State Board of Education, as provided in section one
hundred and thirty-five of the Constitution and in conformity with the
provisions of the Code and of the Acts of the Assembly under such
rules and regulations as may be set up by said State Board of Education.

Section 2. That in addition the counties and cities shall provide.

from local school taxes, as provided in section one hundred and thirty-

six of the Constitution of Virginia, for the supplementing of their in-
structional programs such amounts as will insure the services of propet-
ly prepared and effective teaching personnel, and to the degree that
financial ability and community interest in education will permit; pro-
vided further, that the counties and cities shall provide, in keeping with
the laws already existing, such funds as may be necessary for debt ser:
vice, capital outlay, transportation, general operation and maintenance
2. All acts and parts of acts inconsistent with this act are Hereby
repealed to the extent of such inconsistency.