the nationwide pattern; 30 States do not. 3. The ratio between average enrollment and clerical staff becomes more favorable as school-size increases (Table 6). The consistency of the pattern is evident from the 750-999 size range upward. High schools in the 500-749 size group have a more favorable ratio between average en- By Size of Place 1. Size of community may be less of a factor than type or size of school in the average number of clerical staff per secondary school. Nevertheless, the number of clerical workers per secondary school shows a general pattern of increase as size of place becomes larger (Table 7). Wide variation by State appears in all size groups. The widest range was reported for the places of 100,000 to 249,999 population, with Arizona reporting the largest number of clerks per school (an average of 11.8) and Tennessee the smallest number of clerks per school (an average of 0.9). 2. The ratio between number of professional staff members and number of clerical staff fails to reveal a consistent pattern when size of place is the variable. The nationwide ratio for all public high schools over 500 enrollment is 18.9 to 1 and the size categories exceeding this ratio are communities in these ranges: less than 2,500; 5,000-9,999; 10,000-24,999; 100,000-249,999; and 500,000-999,999 (Table 8). Inspection of State-by-State data reveals large variations within specific categories. The largest variation within a size-group appears in places of 2,500 to 4,999; these extend from 10.7 to 1 in California to 113.0 to 1 in Louisiana. The smallest variation, as would be expected, appears in places of 1,000,000 or more population; these extend from 12.3 in California to 20.9 in Illinois. 3. The ratio between average enrollment and clerical staff members, by size of place, fails to reveal any consistent pattern of decrease or increase in nationwide data (Table 9). The usual State-by-State variations also appear; with the smallest ratio (198.0 to 1 in Arizona) in places of 100,000 to 249,999 population, and the largest ratio (1,915.0 to 1 in Tennessee) in places of 2,500 to 4,999 population. 1. Most favorable ratios between number of custodial staff and type lar high school (7.5 to 1), the junior high school (4.8 to 1), and the junior-senior high school (4.7 to 1) (Table 10). By State, the most favorable ratio between custodial staff and individual school exists in Nevada, the District of Columbia, and in Illinois. 2. The ratio between number of professional staff and number of custodians is most favorable in the regular 4-year high schools and increases by type of school in this order: (2) senior high school, (3) junior high school, (4) junior-senior high school (Table 11). By State, the senior high school has a proportionately greater number of custodial staff in 19 States, the junior high school in 13 States, the regular high school in 10 States, and the junior-senior high school in 2 States. Nevada is not counted because it has only one type of high school. Four States (Iowa, Maine, Michigan, Minnesota) are not counted because two types of schools are reported as having the same ratio. 3. Average enrollment per custodial staff member in public high schools over 500 enrollment reveals a pattern of increase by type of school in the following order of most to least favorable: (1) regular high school, (2) senior high school, (3) junior high school, (4) junior-senior high school (Table 12). By enrollment criteria, the junior-senior high school has a proportionately smaller custodial staff than any other type of school. But the States reveal a wide variation in pattern. By average enrollment per custodian, the senior high school is most favored in 20 States, the regular high school in 13 States, the junior high school in 11 States, and the juniorsenior high school in 4 States. Again, Nevada is not counted because it has only one type of high school. By Size of School 1. Basic data on the number of custodians employed in public high schools over 500 enrollment show that schools in the 500-749 size range employ on the average 3.5 custodians (Table 13). As school size increases, the number of custodial staff increases at a somewhat lower rate than does the size of school. State-by-State figures vary greatly; for example, Illinois reports almost twice as many custodians per public high school as In this case, however, size of individual school is a probable factor not readily revealed by averages. The State-by-State deviation in any one size group can be large. In the enrollment size 1,500-2,499 the nationwide ratio between number of custodians and school is 11 to 1; the range by State extends from 18 to 1 in Rhode Island, to 3 to 1 in Maine and to 4 to 1 in Alabama, South Dakota, and West Virginia. Ohio. 2. As school size increases, the number of professional staff members per custodian steadily decreases (Table 14). This means that the larger the school, the greater number of custodial staff it is likely to have, beyond the ordinary proportionate increase one might logically expect. Public high schools in the 1,000-1,499 enrollment range most nearly approximate the national averages. Only 9 States reflect the pattern of nationwide averages. to decrease slightly as school enrollment increases (Table 15). The schools actually fall into two groups: those under 1,000 and those over 1,000 enrollment, the ratios being about 173 to 1 and 166 to 1 respectively. Certain States show a consistent reverse trend; that is the ratio of enrollment to custodians becomes less as school size increases. New York, North Carolina, and South Dakota are examples of this reverse pattern. By Size of Place 1. The average number of custodial staff per secondary day school, by size of community, shows a sustained and steady increase from the 2,5004,999 size-of-population group upwards (Table 16). State-by-State variations, though of some degree, are not as significant by size of community as by size or type of school. 2. Average number of professional staff members per custodian, by size of place, discloses no marked trends as community-size increases (Table 17). The most favorable ratio obtains in cities of 100,000-249,999 and of 500,000-999,999 population. Significant variations occur from State to State. 3. Average enrollment per custodial staff member, by size of place, reveals three cluster-patterns: cities under 10,000 where the ratio is about 190 to 1; cities between 10,000 and 50,000 where the ratio is around 175 to 1; and cities between 50,000 and 500,000 with a ratio of about 154 to 1 (Table 18). State-by-State data indicate variations that are less significant than in other tables. COMPREHENSIVE DATA In the following pages are presented 9 tables of basic information and 18 tables of derived statistics. In addition, there is a summary table of nationwide data. Highlights of information contained in the derived statistics have been given in the text. A tendency to extend this type of comment has been resisted because an interested person can scan the comprehensive statistics for the particular purpose he wishes, as the tabular presentation is believed clear and easy to read. Further comment by the authors would add little to the circular and would lengthen it considerably. It is hoped that this publication will fill a gap in professional literature and at the same time stimulate objective inquiry into additional quantitative and qualitative study of clerical and custodial staff in secondary day schools. |