The Vermont watchman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1883-1911, 1884-11-12

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tricts, by a general tax, and fear that
the back districts will fall victims to
village ring rule. His letter is a candid
statement of some of the objections
made against this system and plain
exposition of the strong necessity for
its adoption by the state. His first rea-
son involves the consideration of the
subject of the division and treatment of
school property under the town system.
Chapter thirty-six of the Revised Laws
equitably provides for such division.
The sections of that chapter have been
embodied in the bill now before the leg
islature for the establishing of the town
system of schools. Section five hun
dred ninety provides as follows:
"The school-houses and the property be-
| longing to such districts shall be appraised
| by three persons, to be appointed by the as
sistant judges of the county court for the
| county. And the amount of such appraisal
! shall stand to the credit of the several school
districts respectively to be adjusted, allowed
and equaized between such districts by APP
plying such valuations upon the taxes there
after assessed, under the provisions OF this
chapter, upon the grand lists OF the several
school districts; and such school-houses and
other property shall become the property of
| the town."
Our correspondent thinks that obiec-
ton to the entire system will grow out
of this provision in cases where there is
great disparity in the quality or condi-
ton of the school-houses of different
districts. We think his apprehension
or misunderstanding the law. A great
many others labor under similar mis-
apprehension. We will take two cases
which, we think, will fairly represent the
average, if not the bulk, of extreme
cases in the towns of the state. The
principle of equalization of school prop
erty under the town system is the same,
be the number of districts more or less.
To simplify the illustration we will take
town of two districts. No. / has
school property appraised at 81 900. 1t
is in good condition, modern in its APP
pointments and adapted to the wants of
the district The grand list of the dis
trict is $4,000 No. 2 has dilapidated
school house appraised at 800. The
list of this district is $500. 1t is con-
coded that No. 2 should have new
school-house, or the old one should be
repaired and that $500 should be ex-.
pended for that purpose. The grand
list of the town is $500 The school
property is valued at 81, 100, of which
amount 81 900 stands to the credit of
district No. and 500 to the credit of
No. 2, to be " adjusted, allowed and
equalized between such districts by APP
plying such valuations upon the taxes
thereafter assessed" To equalize this
property between the districts and
at the same time raise S400 to re-
pair the school-house in No. 2, a
tax of sixty cents on the town grand
list would be assessed Two hundred
dollars would be realized from district
No. after applying its credit of 81 900
and 5000 from district No. after ap-
plying its credit of 800. That is to
say, to raise S400 to repair the school
house in district No. 2, what is equiva-
lent to tax of only sixteen cents on
the dollar of the aggregate grand list of
the town has been assessed: or appor-
tioning the tax rate among the districts,
each of which has actually contributed
5000, No. has been assessed ten cents
on the dollar of its grand list and No.
forty cents on it's list. Now what
hardship has been imposed upon either
of these communities, which are no
longer separate districts with clashing
interests-the ono rich and comfortable,
the other impoverished and suffering ?
They have become under the town sys-
tenn joint partners, sharing according to
their capital taxable property the bur-
dens of the partnership in sustaining
the schools and enjoying the full meas
ure of its joint benefits. No. 2 at an
inappreciable expense has been pro-
vided with new school-house and fur
nishings as good and which as fully an
swer its needs and all the requirements
of good instruction as the school-house
and appointments in No. /. L" In union
there is strength" Precisely the same
results would be obtained in town of
six, eight, ten or a dozen districts.
!
The workings of the principle of equal
ization are only more clearly seen in
the simple illustration we have chosen.
Now take the case of town in which
the school property is deemed to be in
suitable condition for present use and
the requirements of the school. District
No. has school property appraised at
81 900 with a grand list of $1,000; dis
trict No. has school property appraised
at $500 with a grand list of $500. The
aggregate value of school property is
81 800 and IL e aggregate list is 50 800.
Under the town system in order to
equalize at one stroke the town would
raise tax of one hundred cents on the
grand list. After applying the credits