Fort Worth daily gazette. (Fort Worth, Tex.) 1882-1891, 1883-12-06
All the Permanent Fund Invested in
County Bonds or Spoken For.
The Chicago Capital syndicate Dlssatis'
fled With Their Contract.
Alarmed Over Depreciation Of Values
on Account of Fence Cutting.
Indications of Fraud in Applications FOR
Land by Actual Settlers.
special TO the Gazette.

report to the governor, appenulng
communication from Secretary Baker
which reads rs follows:
To the Honorable Board OF Education:
Gentlemen-I have the honor {,
herewith submit the statistics of you
report for this department, for the yea
commencing September /, 1882, ant
ending August 81, 1883, to be presented
to the Eighteenth legislature to con
vene In extra session on the second
Tuesday in January next.
Every effort has been made to OBJ
tain reports from all the counties and
cities in the state maintaining public
schools, and the preparation of these
statistics has been delayed to the latest
possible moment that they might be
as near complete as | could make
them.
Public funds were apportioned to l75
counties, including the unorganized
counties of Crosby, Dickens, Edwards,
Fisher, Hardeman, King, Knox, Wich-
ita and Zavalla, and to fOrty-fve cities
and towns.
IL is difficult therefore to arrive at
any satisfactory conclusion from the
tables compiled. 70 each table | have
| appended summary showing the
| number of counties and cities report
/ ing upon any given subject, from
which it is believed the honorable leg
| islature can obtain all the information
of value possible to be gotten from the
records and files of the department.
Errors in the present school laws
and the system itself have Qc-
casioned much difficulty in admin
istration of the public schools. 1t is
believed that the Inauguration of
complete system is necessary to CON
form the laws to the amended consti-
tuition. In preparing such system il
is of the highest importance that the
difficulties we labor under now he
carefully guarded against. | beg leave
To state some of the most important OF
those difficulties and trust that you
will deem them of sufficient import
ance to mention them in your report:
l. County judges have not in every
instance distributed all the available
state and county funds ut their dis
posal.
>. Many communities organize an
nually and have the fund to which
they are entitled set aside for them
III the county treasures and
then fail to maintain schools
thereby locilingup in the county treas
uries many thousands of dollars from
which no practicable benefit is derived |
by any one.
B. Teachers as rule cannot be in |
duced To make term reports to the |
county judges, and of course complete
statistics cannot be sent by the county
judges to this department..
4. County judges, mayors, superin- |
tendents of city schools, county aud |
city treasurers in many instances fail |
or refuse To report to this department |
at ALL
.. The scholastic census is often
badly taken. IN many instances |
children of scholastic age are over
looked and children not of scholastic |
age are enrolled.
q. The community lists have often
been improperly revised. Some coun-
" judges have revised them by
the assessors rolls, Will, some
have not revised them AT
all. The result has been that
children of scholastic age overlooked
by the assessors, have not received the
benefit OF the school fund, aud chill
dren not Of scholastic age, 10y being
put upon the community lists, have
enjoyed funu never intended for
them.
:. The amount of pay to which an
teacher is entitled is Il matter
of Infinite doubt.
To conform the law to tae amended
respectfully suggest that
the county commissioners courts, or
some other competent authority, be re-
CURED to subdivide the counties into
''school Districts" and that
the qualified property taX-paying vo-
tiers of such districts he permitted TO
vote such local taxes rs they deem
best, not to exceed the limit liked by
the amendment TO the con-
stltution. such school dis.
tricts should each elect three school
who should serve without
Trustees should have
the power to determine the number of
schools and to locate them. They
should decide when the schools should
he opened. They should employ
teachers, approve teachers vouchers
and teachers term reports. They
should, subject to the rulings and I
under the direction of the officer lin
cha re of the schools of the county.
supervise, manage and control the
schools and should be allowed to an
peal to the state department from the
rulings of that officer. Teachers
should be required to procure from the
county Judge certificates of good
moral character before applying for GER
tllicates of competency, and should
procure from some designated author
NY certihcates OF competency,
before contracting with trustees. a
course of study should be prescribed
for the schools aud teachers should be
examined upon such course and be
granted certificates for the first
second" and 'thirdn grades, accord
ing TO proficiency. Maximum salaries
OF teachers should lie prescribed by
law. Teachers should be required 10
conform to the orders of the trustees
but IN all eases he permitted to appeal
TO the county officer and from him To
the state department. All appeals
10 the state department should
plainly state the Joint issue and be
certified 10 by the school officer of the
county. Teachers should be reauired
ut the close of school to make reports
In The Sihpnl az -