The Russellville Democrat., 1881-05-12
THE SCHOOL BOARDS SPEAKS


 To the voters and taxpayers of
 school district No. 14:
 As most of you have already learn ed from the posted notices, Saturday May 2lst is the day for the annual school meeting. On that day it is the duty and privilege of the voters and taxpayers of the district to as. semble and determine in the manner prescribed by law how much special tax shall be levied for the ensuing year, and the purposes for which the same shall be applied. The board earnestly hopes that there may be . general attendance at the school meeting, and that each one may come determined and willing to re- cord his choice in favor of the full maximum rate of taxation allowed by the constitution of tho state, which is five mills.
 In order that all may know hc. to vote advisedly in the premises the board deems it proper to lay before the public this account of their stew ardsnip, and to speak briefly of the wants cf the district, and of the in- tentions and plans of the board of directors.
 First, then, we state that the reve- nue of this district from all sources for the years 1s77-s-9 g amurnted to g., ,545. This fund mostly in state scrip on which the discount was S26o.29. This fund has been ex- pended scrupulously and carefully by the board, according to the very best of their judgment, as the best interests of the district has demand ed. The present school property consisting of the house and the most eligible block of ground in the city has been acquired by the board and the title thereto firmly vested in the district. For this purpose the sum of sl ,457 was used. Prior to the purchase Of the property the indebt- edness of the district was $S02. This debt has been paid, and up to the time the present new budding was commenced slS.55 was all that the district owed. In the years 1s7s-9 the special school tax was defeated here and no revenue went into the treasury except our apportionment from the general school fund of the state. The special tax of five mills was voted in 1880, and the school fund in the treasury for that year amounted to S1 ,425.
 The question now presented itself to the board in this shape: "What shall we do with this fund? How can we best use it for the best inter- ests of the people of this districtT
 The board found that there was now over three hundred school chil- aren in the district. The old school house would not accommodate more than one hundred of this number, and the board did not deem it fair and just to open public school in q house te which only about one-third of the school children could gain admission. They therefore conclud- ed to make an effort to build & new house which would be commodious enough to admit every child in the district, and as many from the sur rounding country outside of the dis trict as might be willing to pay tuition for the privilege of attending frstcla school, taught in com modious, healthy building. With only sl,425 in the treasury the un- aertaking was not an easy one, but trusting to the liberal public spirit of our people, and to their we'll known zeal in the cause of education the board determined to undertake the job. A committee was appoint ed to solicit donations, and list of subscriptions was secured amounting to about s2000. The town council came promptly and nobly to our relief with a donation of S70o. A raffie or two of articles donated to the cause brought h sl07. The Eureka baby company exhibited their image two days for the benefit of the cause and contributed s33 to the fund. A supper given for the cause yielded s162. From school tax in country treasury $S25. Only about Sl400 of the amount subscrib- ed by private persons has been paid in. The new building, which shows for itself, and repairs on the old house has thus far cost about S4200, and is yet unfinished. So the pres ent indebtedness on the new build ing is about Sll00. To meet this we have yet an available fund in the county treasury of about $500, about 5000 yet unpaid on the subscription list, and $500 more from the council. The list IS in the hands of our com. mittee who will soon call upon all those yet in arrears to pay up. We earnestly urge prompt payments. We also trust that there are yet many persons in the community who have not contributed anything who will yet put in their mite. It is a cause which appeals to the best and noblest feeling of the soul, and we ask such contributions as any may yet feel disposed to give. Is is esti- mated that 1t will yet require S1200 to complete the building, and say S400 to furnish it. The material to finish the building is already on the erranud and fhs xwnpk aInna rn,na;p.