New Orleans Republican. [volume] (New Orleans, La) 1867-1878, 1872-02-04
THE SCHOOL TAX.

bill providing tax for the support OF pub
lie schools in this city, appears to have
been passed under misapprehension of
the object of that tax.
At the present time the Board of School
Directors is indebted to teachers and Others
in a sum not far from one hundred and
fifty thousand dollars. This Indebtedness
is the result of there having been no city
tax levied for the support Of the schools
during 1871, the sole resources of the year
having been one hundred and thirty thou
sand dollars. derived from the State school
fund, and one hundred and ten thousand
dollars, or thereabouts, received in city
bonds, while the expenses of the schools
during the year have exceeded four hun
the present Indebtedness is to teachers,
comparatively few Of whom have parted
with their claims, having preferred to bor
row money at heavy rates Of interest, on
the pledge of their certificates, rather than
submit to the ruinous discount demanded
by the brokers. The result is that nearly
one-third of the public school teachers of
New Orleans are paying four per cent per
month ON money borrowed on the pledge
The object of the tax of five-sixteenth of
one per cent, proposed in the House bill,
is to supply means to pay the present in
debtedness, and also to provide for the
support Of the schools during the year.
The whole sum resulting from such a tax
would not exceed three hundred and fifty
thousand dollars, but when supplemented
by the State apportionment, estimated at
one hundred and thirty thousand dollars,
it would be sufficient, with rigid economy,
to cancel the Indebtedness and maintain
the schools. on the present basis, till the
close of the current year.
The following statement will show what
have been the expenses of the public
schools of New Orleans for the year 1871:
Salaries of teachers portresses, etc. 1884 900
Rent of school buildings. ........... 3l,i2O
Suppl1tS To SchOOlS-DOOkS, otatOnefY, etc. IO,4tu
Repairs Of school buildings. $3.50
Total. S432 O9O
This expense has been incurred under
every inducement to the closest economy.
Not IA dollar has been expended for new
school furniture, while school apparatus
needed for efficient instruction has been de-
MED to every applicant, however pressing
the need, The sum to be provided for the
present year should be increased rather
than diminished The tax proposed in the
House bill, added to the State apportion-
ment, would yield four hundred and eighty
thousand dollars, which, after paying the
existing indebtedness, would leave but three
hundred and thirty thousand dollars to
meet expenditures estimated at four hun
dred and twenty thousand dollars. In
other words, tax of fiye-sixteenths of one
per cent will leave d deficit of ninety
eight thousand dollars. We solicit the at
tention of the friends of our public schools
to these statements, which can be substan-
tiated by reference to the records of the
Board of Directors The declaration of a
contemporary, that the proposed tax would
Weld revenue Of seven hundred thousand
dollars, is too absurd to require a refuta-
ton: it will realize barely half of that sum
if fully collected.