Green-Mountain freeman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1844-1884, 1881-10-19

Al an educational meeting held under
the direction of the state superintendent at
Andover, October 9th, 1881, L. Jaquith
presented the following: "How shall Yer
mont support her common schoolsp" This
subject has been extensively discussed by
the friends of education for many years,
most of them advocating the town system
and showing the inefficiency of the old
district system in its true light. In the
meantime, legislative enactment has
Deen made, presenting very good town
system of schools which leaves it optional
with each town to adopt, but thus far it
has remained nearly dead letter upon the
,tatute for want of support. The state, for
its own welfare, should give every child
intellectual and moral culture 1t is MOI
wealth that makes state prosperous and
happy. but it is the intelligence of her
ctizens but Intelligence will create
wealth by properly directing the avenues
VI industry, whether upon the farm, in the
shop or the factory. According to stats-
ties. crime and pauperism decrease in pro-
portion to The educational facilities which
the people enjDy. A state holds all of her
citizens anenabe to her statute enact
nent, which is rs much as to say: Be
honest and vlrtuous or you will suffer suit
.ble penalties. Now, inasmuch as the
tate is the guardian of her citizens morals,
$ she doing her duty by her citizens il she
!ails to use her con stitutional powers to
insure to every child such IN education as
will make him the best citizen? Does not
sound common sense dictate that a state
| should take the educational training of her
| children into her own hands and not leave
- important trust to districts who are
long the work so poorly? Most of the
states have state system of schools; al
east thirty-one states of the union support
theiricomm on schools in part or wholly by
state tax.
If the State of Vermont would give a
liberal support to her schools, we should
not only have far better and more efficient
schools, but it would equalze the burden
Of taxation. With the present school sys
tenn, some districts raise three times as
much upon the grand list for the support
of schools as others and receive very pool
schools at that. In the Senate, near the
close of the legislature of 1873, bill wa.
introduced, but no final action was taken
for want of time. The main features of i
was As follows An annual tax of twenty
five cents on dollar of the grand list o
the state to belassessed for school purposes
or rather the annual state tax to BIZ in
creased this amount and both collected b,
one assessment. The state treasurer is t
divide, annually, one half of said schoo
fund among the towns and cities of tn,
state according to the population, and tn
other half among the several towns anc
cities to be divided according to the aggre
gate attendance of scholars between tiv,
and twenty years of age. The prope
officers in each of the several towns anC
cities to divide this fund as the law directs
The first section of this bill meets tn
nearly APPROX Il of nearly all who take
eep interest in the advancement of edu
cation; but the proposed division of tn
money does not meet the requirements o
equity and justice. 1t costs nearly as niue
TO support "A good school given time wit
ten scholars rs with three times that nun
Der; and if the smaller school had us goo
average attendance in proportion to tnei
numbers as the larger school, then the dis
| trict with ten scholars would receive onl
, one third the support as the larger. Tn
other half of the fund, which would b
r divided by the population of the towns, /
, about the same for the back towns an
t rural districts as the division by the aggre
gate attendance; population and lega
3 scholars retain about the same relativ
proportion throughout the state.
Let Us have state school system tina
will lift a share of the burden from tn
: small rural school districts, so that the
can bask in the clear sunshine of intelli
gence, supporting good schools, with a
least thirty weeks annually. These small