New Orleans Republican. [volume] (New Orleans, La) 1867-1878, 1875-03-11
A BLOW Ar EDUCATION.

One OF the items Of reform proposed
by Mr.. Burke and adopted by the Cit,
Council, runs as follows:
8. An act to limit the expenses of The
pubic schools of the city OF New Orleans
10 sum not exceeding two hundred thou
sand dollars. "
This for city containing more than
seventy thousand educable children, seems
to us very inadequate provision. 1t is
less than one-third Of the amount actually
neededto put our public schools upon a
first class footing.
According to the latest statistics, there
are now SO, $50 children in actual attend.
ance at the schools in New Orleans, of
which 25,215, nearly fve-eighths, are in
the public schools, leaving IA, 235 for pri-
vate schools. There are 442 teachers in
the public and Al in the private schools.
1t Will thus be seen that there are more
pupils to the teacher in the public
service than i'll the private, the
former being a fraction more than
htty-seven to each, and for the latter
fraction over thirty. The average salary
paid teachers per month is s73 II, max
ing an aggregate fer the year of $3.50, 900.
other items, such as rent, supplies, res
pairs, salaries of officers, portresses. etc.
swell the total expenses to about $3.50, 900
year. To limit the expenditure to
$780, 900, therefore, it will be necessary
to force reduction in the attendance of
pupils, cut down the pay Of teachers, re-
duce the rent, which can only be done by
accepting inferior tenements or crowding
tue children into smaller rooms,
The four hundred teachers employed
represent nearly as many poor families
dependent upon public employment for
means Of existence. The $4,000 paid
for rent of buildings 60 directly to prop
erty owners and taxpayers, thus render
ing substantial benefits to those in whom
the city Administrators ought to feel a
deep concern. But these are merely
Incidental or resultant benefits, after
all, and of course subordinate to the
greater one of redeeming the rising youth
OF the city from natural ignorance. The
public schools are in no sense of the
word charitable institutions. The DESIGN
OF their organization is to afford a !
cheaper means of securing certain OBJ !
Ject than can be had in any other man
ner They are open alike to the rich and |
the poor, and are used by all classes,
Every parent in the city has the right at
any time to withdraw his child from pri-
rate schools and claim a place for it in
he public 1t is the duty of the repre-
of the people. not only the
members of the School Board, but of the
the Council and all Others
harged in any manner with public duty,
o make ample provision for all children
Who may apply for admission. 1t
not to prepare for the proper dis
barge of this duty by cutting off
he necessary supplies more than one
alf. 1t would be quite as proper and
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honey at all, and thus violate the man.
ate of the constitution outright, as to
roceed by indirection, and by niggard {
ohcy SO cripple our educational institu-
ons that Shey will become practically l
There are already more than S
lirty thousand young people, between
q IS | -
} not attend any school in this city, and a
any of them are from ten to fourteen,
e very time in their lives when they S
light to be learning something. Igno-
nee Is the handmade of poverty, and =
tends it almost inseparably. Yet Mr.. b
rke and the Council want even more of
than we now have. The four hundred a,
d fifty thousand dollars thus paid is n