The Valley Virginian. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1865-1895, 1885-09-03
TAUNTON, VIRGINIA. SEPTEMBER g. 1885.
The Public ! Schools.

The Public schools.
tits trifling to mince words over great
wrongs done great public interest like
our free school system. Luckily the
schools themselves have not get fallen
wholly into Bourbon hands; but their
money has, unfortunately. And what is
the result? A diversion of over $500 900
IN one gear of the school taxes from the
schools into the Treasury, and denial OF
| 100000 due noW on arrears from the
$500, 900 appropriated to the schools from
the sum received for the States interest
in the A., M. & o. R. R.-the Bourbon
Auditor finding it convenient, for parti-
zan reasons, to hold that this 100000 is
not due until January, 1856.
In recent letter to the Staunton Vi,sdi-
Gator, Auditor Marye says:
BY the act of April %, 1882, to be found
| ON page 473, of Acts 1881 '92, it was di-
rected that whenever the Norfolk and
Western Railroad Company should pay to
the Board of Public Works the sum of
$500, 600, the sum of 100000 should be
placed to the credit Of the public free
|
| Board of Education for purposes Of public
education at the rate of 100000 per an
mum. The payment of $500, 900 was made
| by the Norfolk and Western Railroad
| Company to the Board of Public Works on
| January %, 1888, and since that date
! $500 900 Of the $500, 900 set aside for that
purpose have been expended for pubic
education. You aodl observe that the e5c-
naailei1ag 100000 of tbis fttasd cannot be ress
pended until after january 25, 1886.
But the Act of 1882 says expressly !:
"WheDever the said Norfolk and Western
Railroad Company shall pay unto said
Board of Public Works the sum Of $780,
coo aforesaid, or dny part thereof, it shall
be the duty of the Board Of Public Works
to pay the sum of 100000, part thereof,
into the Treasury to the credit of the pub
Tic free school fund, and subject to the draft
Of the State Board of Education at the rate
of 800, OO0 per aamMna, F." dc.
| The sum of $4,000 therefore, was paid
into the treasury to the credit OF the
School Board when the payment of $780,
600 was made by the Norfolk and Western
Railroad Company, and 100000 remains
| there subject to the order of the Board. The
Board under the law, drew 800 900 for the
school-year 1882 3, the same for the school
year 1884, the same for the school-year
1S84-5 and the Board has the full right
now to draw at dny time, for the remainder
| to apply to the expenses of the school-year
| (now begun of 1855. There can be no
ob1 If R11t tA nIso N
shoav in the Treasury during this campaign
Bourbonism inspires Auditor Marye with
| this forced construction
1t is of piece with his construction
that under the Grandstaff Act the war
rants issued under his estimate Of last
December were and are receivable for and
payable in onlg sCHooL-TAXEs, and in
| these assessed during 1884 Here is what he
| says:
| Now as to school-warrants for 1884 'S5
| to which you refer These acere payable out
| of tdres assessed IN the spring of 1884, but
collected IN fiscal gear 1SS4-'S5. When
county and city treasurers settled with
| the Auditor on December 18th for such of
these as they had collected up to December
LIST, they should have retained full pro-
portion of such collections fer school pur-
peses. This they did ; and as stated in my
letter Of yesterday, no county treasurer
paid into the State Treasury any school
money, and no money is now in the Treas
ury belonging to the schools
| What monstrous perversion is this of
plain law, so as to enable the Auditor. to
salve his conscience when he says he has
not diverted the school-money from the
schools into the State Treasury! Wehave
heretofore plainly shown that under the
| Grandstaff Act, and under the just con-
| struction of that act observed by former
Auditors, the warrants are payable in
cash out of amy State funds in the hands
| of Treasures and receivable as cash by
the Auditor in oil settlements for State
revenue. But. to subserve shoW OF d
| flush Treasury, and to excuse the Auditor
for his adverse course toward the schools,
this new and utterly untenable construc
| ton is invented.
| What does the Superintendent of Public
Instruction say on this subject In the
official department of the Educational
Journal for February, Mr.. Farr says:
s'The law requires county and city
| treasurers to settle with the Auditor the
| 18th day of December in each year, and
to turn oyer all money collected on account
OF taxes for said year, and in this settle
| ment the Auditor to allow the treasurer
credit for every teachers warrant that he
| has paid under the act provided March 6,
1882. AS the approximate amount due
the schools was not reported to this office
until the 18th day of December, taoo days
after the treGsarer's settlement NTH the Aat-
dator, it is clear that said treasurer could
not have presented any teachers warrants
in part payment of his Indebtedness for
taxes. The act referred to is very en-
phatic in it's language, and provides that
| all warrants shall be accepted from such
county Or corporation treasurer as cash in
all settlements for public revenue made by
him with the Auditor of Public accounts,
| so far as paid by the warrants hereinafter
provided for;' so that it is seen that the
treasurer could not anticipate and hold
back what he might think would be needed
| to pay the warrants due teachers for sala-
ries for the current school year up to
December 18th, but was compelled to pay
| over to the Auditor all cash collected by
him on account of the State up to that
date for it is provided that any superin-
| U60Q6llU WHO Shall 1SSut Ills WdTIdQL 10 dill
aggregate amount greater than is provid-
ed for by this section, and any treasurer
who shall pay any warrant upon the States
fund aforesaid, in violation of this act,
shall be guilty Of a misdemeanor, and fined
not less than $500 nor more than 81 900.
So that it is clear that until the satper5,a-
te1edents receive the warrants from the
Auditor they could not draw any warrants
in favor of teachers salaries against the
Grandstaff Fund, nor could treasurer
pay any such warrant until the superin-
tendent had deposited with him the
Auditors warrant for the amount of
money apportioned 10 the county by the
Superintendent of Public Instruction up
on the basis of the approximate amount
due the schools of the State for the current
year. AS stated, this report from the
Auditor was not received until the 18th
of December, two days after the law re-
| quires the treasurers to settle with him.
The apportionment of the fund was made
at this Office the day it was received, but
it is fair to presume that, with the great
est promptness on the part of the Auditor,
the warrants were not generally received
/ by superintendent until the latter part of
December, and there was no way in which
they could have caused the money to be
retained by their treasurer. The state
ment from the Auditor has been hereto
| fOrn raonivnd in tipoo 70 onoblo tho xxyar