public schools are supported by funds raised partly by the State, and
partly by the county or the township. They are frequently called
common schools or free schools. It is the duty of the State to provide
all children with the means of acquiring a plain English education, and
the State discharges this duty by dividing the county into districts of
such size that a school-house and a public school arc within reach of
every child.

FORMATION.--The limits of the school district are usually fixed by the
chief school officer of the county, by the town, by the school board,
or by the people living in the neighborhood. In most of the States
districts vary greatly in size and shape; but in some of the States
they have a regular form, each being about two miles square.

FUNCTIONS.--The functions, or work, of the school are solely
educational. The State supports a system of public schools in order
that the masses of the people may be educated. The country needs good
citizens: to be good citizens the people must be intelligent, and to be
intelligent they must attend School.



MEMBERS.

The members of the school district are the people living in it. All
are interested, one way or another, in the success of the school. In
most States the legal voters elect the school board, or trustees, and
in some States levy the district school taxes. Those who are neither
voters nor within the school age are interested in the intelligence and
good name of the community, and are therefore interested in the public