The Baltimore County union. [volume] (Towsontown, Md.) 1865-1909, 1875-04-17
Correspondence of the Baltimore Co. Union.

BALTIMORE County, April 18th, 1875.
NeSsrS. Editors In last weeks Union appear
ed communication, headed "The Public Schoo
System" so full of misstatements that Justice de-
mands that they should be noticed. "Lookinp
over the reports one finds the expense of each pu.
pill has doubled in twenty years" Going back
to the school reports for 1854 and 1855 we find
the average cost per pupil for the year first named
was S9.26, and for the year last mentioned $lO
For the year 1874 the average cost per pupil was
SIG. sIn 1853 $2S, 900 conducted 81 schools
&C." From the report for 1853 we make the fol
lowing extracts "We were compelled to borrow
money to meet our current liabilities. We owe
and are paying interest on $3,lll.43." There.
fore the schools in 1853 cost more than 1928, 900
We quote again from the communication referred
to- ''In 1859 the entire cost of maintaining 81
schools, including building, &C., was $35, 900. u
What says the report "The total cost OF the
school system for the year 1859 was $37, 346 Is
and the total income was $33, Cos So being So,
7406 less than the total expenses" independent
Of the amount expended for building, which the re-
port states was 9,3l4.52. We quote again from
your correspondent "Total amount disbursed
for 1860, including building, &C., 1--WE italicise)
was $38, 000." The report for 1860 says: "The
total expenses Of the school system for the year
1860 were $38, 399. 92-thiS does not include Mt
Board was IN debt to the amount of SIS, 562 81 fol
that year. ga part of this amount, So, 500, has
been borrowed on the School Commissioners
notes, 81 1897 SO is due for books and stationery
and the balance has been paid by loan from the
school house fund" 'There was disbursed fol
school houses Sill, 247.l6."
Your correspondent says justly that the in
creased number of school houses is mainly re.
sponsible for such piled up expense " The italics
are his-I do not know what he means by them
Is there man, with any knowledge Of the sub.
ject, who will say that there are too many school
houses in the county, that any of them are larger
than necessary, or that more than fair price has
been paid for building them At this moment al
least twenty new houses are needed in the county
There are one hundred aud twenly-four schools
in the county for white children. There are Ills
square miles in the county. We have, therefore
one school to every six square miles, nearly As
your correspondent is willing to have one school
for every square of two miles, which would con.
tain four square miles, it would require one hun.
bred and seventy-nine schools for the county
This writer, like some others, has been troubled
with a High Scheel nightmare. So much has
been written on this subject that it is not deemed
necessary to retrace the ground. When il can be
shown that it costs the county more to educate q
child in High School than in others, the Board
will doubtless re-orgsnize them
Without noticing the slurs and nnuendoe;
contained in your correspondents letter, an ex
tract from the report dated Jan. lst, 1855, and
signed by Joab Bernard, President, and Walter
T. Allender, john Scott and John T. Council
man, committee, will close this article:
"There are certain class ofindividuals that car
never be gratiied. 1t is their nature TO croak,
and it is useless to hold them accountable. 1t is
apparent that it is much easier to find fault with
system or administration than it is to remedy
the evil. 1t is an easy matter to find defects, bu
it is generally difficult TO fill their places without
substituting something equally detective" E