The Emporia news. [volume] (Emporia, Kan.) 1859-1881, 1874-02-27
COUPLING TIE COST
waste of Money in Public schools
a few Facts for Lyon County People to
Think About.

In my former article / took Lyon
county as a fair average of the State
in the expense of our public schools
1 have since received q copy OF the
annual report OF the State Superinten-
dent, from which find that the State
sent Il ,O62 pupils to school five and
one-third months, at an expense to the
people or 81 ,657 ,31s, %, or more than
tseeaty-three dollars each. This does
not include the salaries of county SUI
perintendents, and other minor ex-
penses. find from the same report
that the State has nearly three and one
half millions of dollars invested in
school houses, at over one thousand
dollars apiece.
Returning to our own county, / find
that the amount levied for school pur-
poses, exclusive Of principal and inter-
est on Indebtedness, was for 1873 $3l,
s79.Gs. Number of pupils attending
school, l,6l6 at a cost of S2l.O4 each
for q term of six months. Lyon coun-
ty has seVenty-one school districts.
II these were of uniform size, each
would contain twelve sections, or three
miles by four. With the school house
In the centre no enc would be over two
miles from school. OF these seventy
one districts JortV-tE0o report ttoenty
papils or less attending school. Some
districts do not report the number at
all. There are but twenty-five dis
tricts which report over twenty each
attending school. here present a
few examples of the cost of educating
the children Of this county, and will
state that all the figures are derived
from official sources open to any one
who will take the trouble to examine
them. The statements are made by
comparing the last levy of taxes, and
the last report of district clerks, in
every Instance excluding all levies for
principal and interest of bonds.
District No. 4 educates eleven chill
dren at cost Of S1s.05 each; No. 8,
twenty pupils at S45y05 each; No. z,
sixteen pupils at s34.31 each; No. 8,
eight pupils at $3.50 each; No. 8,
twenty-three pupils at 1854 each;
No. 10, sixteen pupils at s13 each. No.
q, nine pupils at 1883 each. The
above are some OF the older districts.
Now look at some OF the newer: No.
40, fifteen pupils at $25.06 each; No.
81, eight pupils at s6O.S7 each; No. 81,
i've pupils ct S37 each; No. 60, has
thirteen children. If all attend school
they cost $2l.46 each; No. 81, seYen-
teen children ct &37 each. The follow
ing districts do not report the number
of children enrolled, or attending
school, but If all of school age attend,
they will each cost as follows: No.
&c, $sY.66 each, (probably a mistake
somewhere) No. So, S21. SO each; No.
20, $52.05 each. When we consider
that each one of these schools, of less
than twenty pupils, las a house cost
ing an average of one thousand dol
lars, fitted with all the modern appli-
ances, capable of accommodating fifty
or sixty scholars, we begin to realize
the immense cost OF teaching the ru-
diments of an education, to u handful
OF children for perhaps one hundred
days per annum. have purposely
selected the above examples from
strictly agricultural districts, and /
ask you farmers to look these facts
squarely In the face, and answer me,
should not reform, like charity, begin |
at home? There are several school |
districts in this county in which the |
annual tax for the support of schools
is more than all other taxes combined. |
We are in the habit Of crying "reform,"
"cut down the taxes" but how few of
US take the trouble to inquire the ORR
gin of high taxes. The levy for school
purposes In this county, including the
one mill tax, exceeds the state tax by
nearly $4,000, and is more than three
timea the amount of the county tax.
While / would advocate the strictsst
economy in all expenditures, submit
that the greatest burdens OF which we
have justly complained, are at our own
doors, and OF our own making, and we
can, IL we will, remove large portion
OF them without Injury to the cause
of education.
Next week propose to submit few
facts and figures for the consideration
of the tax payers of this city.
REFoRN.