San Marcos free press. [volume] (San Marcos, Tex.) 1877-1892, 1884-07-24
The Free School Problem In San Mar
COS, Past, Present, aud Future.

nhIhh Oh tho CohuiN''h ""' fN
poets OF the Free School ofour town
While other towns OF the popula
ton and standing OF San Marcos ar'
boosting Of their efficient and wei
appointed public schools, our town
amid the general progress occupies
the anomalous and humiliating posi-
ton OF having literally no public
school at all. II il true We have the
elements OF such school, but in such
dismombered and scattered shape
that il is impossible to designate md
locate any such school AZ whole.
San Marcos has, in fact from the
beginning been very unfortunate as
respects the administration Of her
free school interests. The noble ed
ucational heritage provided for the
children of the State by her fathers
and founders, has thus far been OF
but little benefit in this locality. 1t
was a long time after the funds were
in readiness before q public school
house was built. At last, in 1877, the
friends of free schools were enabled
10 WELD sufficient influence to have q
school house built, ut n cost OF about
$1,000. and in the fall of that year,
the first free school was taught. The
attendance was large, the house was
spacious and reasonably well fur
nished, and supplied with good desks
and other furniture With the pros
pect of good live teachers in the time
TO come, the outlook for successful
school was suspicious. And yet in
not much over year, the free school
was turned over asan appendage first
to Coronal Institute, and soon after
to other private schools as well, and so
it has remained to the present time, or
some five or six years. For year or
two the Free School House was used
for the male department of the Insti-
tute, then it was vacated, and the
free school pupils were taught in the
private school buildings, rs above
stated.
There was at first some plausibility
about this transfer of the Free School
At that time the amount of public
'unds only sulliced for school term
IF some three or four months, and
renee it was argued that it would
lot pay to try to keep up a separate
chool Rev. e. S. Smith, then Presi-
lent of Coronal Institute, engaged
o teach the free school pupils at free
chool rates, or $1,50 per scholar,
md to be subject in that department,
o the supervision of the free school
rustees. The arrangement, in fact,
ppeared to work well for n while.
ut by degrees the interests
f the Free School pupils were
'ere plainly subordinated to those
f the parties to whom they were
iven in charge. This was only to
ave been expected, for in the very
allure of tRs Case it was impossible
could have been otherwise. The
zee school pupils were of a transient |
nd irregular class as compared with '
ne regular students in the schools
hitch undertook their tuition. Of
curse, therefore, they could not be
eceived into the same classes. A suf- {
cient additional force of teachers was
OF always engaged for this irregular !
lass, so that they were seriously neg {
,cted In short, they were, unin {
,ntiorally no doubt, but naturally if
OF necessarily, made to assume the {
ttitude of supernumeraries or out i
ders, and could not but feel the hui
iliation of such a position.
We do not question that this ar f
for teaching the free ]
,hool pupils was at first prompted !
Y good intentions on both sides, nor ]
lat they have been taught perhaps s
we'll as such combination of dis I
,rdant elements would permit. As a
expedient it might have S
zen excusable But there can be no t
.cuse for continuing the plan for SO t
any years, and after all reason or S
'etext for adopting it has ceased. t
he spectacle Of large Free School t
,pulation in fourishing town and 8
,unty seat, scattered and EARNED b
1t" like so mdny paupers, yet with a
school house built from taxes o
We'd ON the people standing idle /
the home of bats and owls and an a
,casional tramp; and the school funds
lotted them sufficient to run their o
hool independently for from T.
X TO eight months per year-we say h
similar spectacle is probably not to 5
, seen elsewhere in this State. or p
any other. {