Montgomery County sentinel. [volume] (Rockville, Md.) 1855-1974, 1876-06-30
The Public School Tax.


Comptroller, the following letter, being an
answer to letter addressed TO him by Jas.
W. Pearre, VIM. Reese, W. NJ Isaac and Wm.
Raglan, Presidents of the Boards of School
Commissioners of Frederick, Carroll, Balt-
more and Washington counties, in reference
to the distribution of the public school tax.
CoMpTRoLLERs OFFICE,
Annapolis, June 18th, 1876.
Gentlemen Your joint letter in regard TO
the distribution of the school tax, was re-
ceived sometime ago and answer has only been
delayed by the pressing official engagements
TO which have been necessarily subjected.
1t is evident that you have by some means
obtained the impression that the revenue from
the public school tax is not distributed ac-
cordug to law, and that balance is kept on
hand in the Treasury from year TO year. This
is not true. The revenue from the public
school tax is distributed four times year, and
in the four distributions all the receipts are
distributed and nothing by way of balance or
otherwise is carried over unless some portion
of the scLool-tax revenue from the levy
of the current year comes into the Treasury
before the fifteenth of June in that year. If
this happens whatever amount is so collected
being applicable only to the next school year
is retained for distribution ia that school year,
on the first day of October. The first distri-
button for instance, of the receipts from the
school levy OF 1875 was made in October, 1875,
another was made in January, 1876, the third
was made in March same year, and the last
distribution of revenue from school tax for
1875 will be made in June (present month
when the school year 1875 ends.
The fiscal year of the Treasury ends Sep
TENDER Both, and between fifteenth of June,
which is the end of the school year, and that
day, there has generally been IL sufficient
amount of the school tax levied for the cur
rent year collected, TO equal one fourth OF the
whole levy, consequently one-loL:th OF the
whole amount of the levy is distributed on
the first day of October. The same is gener-
ally the case at each of the other days of dis
trbution appointed by the law, until the
June or last distribution, when not only the
balance of the amount received on the levy of
that school year, bui a lso received on account of
the levies of previous years, is also dislr
buted
The receipts during the fiscal year ending
September Both, 1875, were very large, owing
10 the fact that this department had been UNI
usa!ly successful In making collections and
especially of taxes in arrears for former years.
The whole receipts from school tax during
the fiscal year 1875 aggregated the amount Of
1904, 7l3 %, sum largely in excess Of the
whole amount of the school lax levy for the
said wear 1875. OF these receipts the sum OF
$68 1872 IA being receipts from levy for years
prior to 1874, was distributed in June, 1875.
The whole receipts during the year from the
levy for the year 1874, had also been dstri-
bued on this aud the previous days Of dstri-
button for the school year then ending, eav-
ing nothing in the Treasury of school tax but
the receipts on account of the school levy OF
1875 which were only applicable to the school
year 1875, which year commences sixteenth Of
June, 1875. The same is true of the Gstri-
button already made in the school year 1878
and 10 be made in June, 1876, which will be
the last distribution of the present school
year, and this distribution will be unusually
large for the reasons heretofore assigned
There have been of necessity large abate-
mcnts for insolvenci s, erroneous assessments,
&c, allowed on the levy of each year, since
the school tax was originated, but MS the col
Iectons for no single year have been entirely
completed and Attachments continued to be
allowed every year, it is impossible at this
time to say how much these Attachments amount
to for any year. This can only be done when
the whole collections for any given year are
concluded and all the Attachments incident
thereto, are allowed.
The amount of school tax distributed dur
ing the fiscal year 1875 was S5l6, II 26, be-
81, Sl3. 10 in excess of the whole levy for the
v
The distribution during the year SIC will
exhibit a much larger excess than that of 1878.
Before closing this communication, | will
advert to the fact that some persons connected
With the School Boards, nave imagined that
The Law of 1874, increasing the school tax to
twelve cents instead of ten as formerly, would
make the distribution TO the white schools
larger than it had been under former acts
This is not the case, but on the contrary, the
distribution to white schools has been lessen
ed by the change. The additional two cents
were added to the school levy in 1874 to pro-
vide the means for paying the specific appro-
prialion TO colored schools, which was also in
creased that year TO the sum of one hundred
thousand dollars. This appropriation being
unqualified and specific, was required by the
law to be paid, whether the increased levy
raised that amount or not: whereas, the adj
ditional levy of two ceGts on the property OF
the State would only raise Ss5, $50 81, which,
(if all collected would still abate theamount
allowed to white schools, by the sum of Sl4,
449 49, 1t is well known to you, however,
MS to every one else that there are necessarily
large Attachments every year allowed by the
County Commissioners and Appeal Tax Court
for iusovencies and erroneous assessments
which make it unsafe to calculate on the col
ectons of the entire levy in any year.
hope have succeeded, gentlemen, in max
ing il plain to you that The public school tax
is properly distributed and | assure you that
shall continue as long AS remain in office,
to make the distribution as nearly as possible,
in exact conformity with the provisions of the
law governing such distribution.
am, gentlemen, very respectfully, yours,
LEVIN WooLFoRD,