The Austin weekly statesman. (Austin, Tex.) 1883-1898, 1886-11-04

determining whether our scholastic popu
lation is $4,000 Or 100000, or whether
our actual resources are $2,350,000 or
$3,250,000.
By the exercise of great industry, our
state superintendent has succeeded in
placing sufficient data before us to throw
some light upon our present condition.
From these data we are able to form
some idea of the disadvantages of an
utter lack of system in our school organi
cation.
One of the greatest disadvantages, If
not positive evils, is the unreasonable, un
just and unequal distribution of the public
school fund of the state.
Nineteen twentieths of this fund is
taken up in teachers salaries; the fact,
however, Is not taken into consideration
in apportioning the fund; neither is the
number of actual school children, as will
appear from last years official report of
amounts apportioned to cities and coun-
ties. From this it is seen that Laredo re-
ceived from the state to each teacher,
$713.53; San Antonio, $670.14; Denisou,
$65000; Galveston, $501.41; Houston,
$4S6.02; Waco, S36640; Austin, $350.54;
Fort Worth, $267.47.
The disproportion in the counties ranges
from $127.50 to each teacher in Sabine
to $3.50 to each teacher in Webb.
The result of this disproportion are (l)
large rates of local taxation in the less
favored localities; (e. g. i'll Fort Worth p
of per cent? (2) differences in salaries
ofteachers and the dissatisfaction resulting
therefrom; (3) waste and temptation to
corruption, and az the evil influence of a
high rate of taxation upon the public
school sentiment of the state.
second evil consists in the total lack
of any means of detecting frauds in the
census. A comparison of the scholastic
population of the cities named, will dis
close to the satisfaction of any one in
formed as to their comparative sizes, that
scholastic population represents onehalf
the entire population of some, while it
represents only One-tenth the entire pop
ulation of others. This being true of the
counties as well as cities; we have nothing
approaching a reliable estimate of the ac-
tual number of children of scholastic age
in Texas. Il is, therefore, impossible to
approximate the cost of a school term in
the state.
The SUPERINTENDENT of the public
schools, of Galveston, in his last annual
report, estimates the population of that
city at 10000.
The scholastic census for the year
named was 7,714 ;the localtax for school pur
poses, 20 cents on the 800 valuation; state
pportionment,$40 112.80,and the number
of teachers employed in the public schools,
eighty.
The population of Fort Worth for 1885
was 10000; scholastic census, 2,006; local
tax, for school purposes, 80 cents on the
| 500 valuation; state apportionment
| $1O,431.20, and the number of teachers
employed in her public schools was thirty
nine.
If we compare the population of the
two cities with the number of teachers
EN- ployed in their public schools, the pop.
ulatiop of Fort Worth would appear to be
about half that of Galveston. On the
other hand, if we were to estimate to the
entire population of Galveston by the
proportion, which the scholastic census OF
Fort Worth bears to the entire popula
ton of that city, Galveston's population
would exceed $4,000.
Here, then, is an inconsistency, growing
each year, which we cannot account fol
except on the hypothesis that the census
of one is much too large, or that of thu
other much too small, wrong withou
any practical remedy under the presen
law. The same comparison will
hold good between Austin anC
San Antonio, Denison and Waco, and 81
on. The result was that Galveston re
! ceived twice as much as Fort Worth il
proportion to the number of teachers thu
res pective cities had, and Fort Worth was
compelled to adopt local tax rate two
4, and half times as great as that of Gal
weston, and Austin local tax rate, three
and third times greater than that of San
Antonio. These disproportions exis
throughout the state, in counties as wei
as the cities heard from, and lest thes
may be regarded as extreme cases, tn
fact is simply referred to Sustained b.
the highest official authority that if tn
same amount of money had been appor
toned to Fayette county, in 1884, accord
ing to the number of teachers as Their
was to Webb county, there would hav
been placed in her treasury to the credi
of the schools, $708,220.
Another great evil consists in the fraud
that may be, and in some instances ar
practiced upon county judges and count
treasurers. They have no means of know
ing whether or not services nave been pre-
formed for which money is claimed;
their only protection is in the honesty O
teachers and trustees.
Another evil consists in the unreliabilit
and in many instances absurdity of tn
statutes furnished by county judges, whe
furnished at all. A few specimens Guile
at random will give better idea. TIL
|, official reports show that for the scholas
! tic year ending August 81, 1885, Web
county had au average school term of 40
days, and that the tuition of the childre
of that county, cost between $50 and 81
; per month, while tuition in Hopkin
county only cost 1425 cents per month
that Red River, with a scholastic popula
ton of 1885, had an average daily atten
dance of only 43 and total daily atten
dance of 1883 while Runnels count
had an average daily attendance of IL:
and total daily attendance of only 10.
Grayson county. with a scholastic popu
lation of 1892, had an average daily atten
dance of only 56, although she had 10
schools, and Shelby with population o
POSI-, had an average daily attendance o
thirty