The Austin weekly statesman. (Austin, Tex.) 1883-1898, 1886-03-25
ROAD AND PUBLIC SCHOOL
SYSTEM.
rr-DGE FILLMORE POINTS OUT THE
INEQUALITY OF THE DIsTRl-
RIrTION OF THE SCHOOL
IHIrNn
AUSTIN, TEX, Feb. IA, 1850

FUND.
AUSTIN. Ten, Feb. IA, 1885,
To the Editor of the Gazette
In nv opinion our school system
needs:
More than anything else, county su
pervision by superintendent Directly re-
snonsible to the department OF euuca,
ton to the end among other things, thai
the people, through the department OF
education, and the department OF ed
ncation. through the county super
;ntendents, may obtain every year rella'
bic data as basis for intelligent leglSla-
ton. ,..
., County supervision and the district
system should be uniform throughout the
state. Inability to pay superlntendents III
the smaller counties as no excuse. lney
are. as a rule, more able to pay their su-
nertendents than the larger and more
populous counties.
,. The scholastic age should be changed
so AS TO include all children between the
ages of seven and fifteen, and the state
school fund only appropriated to this Glass;
10 those over fifteen years old ana those
pursuing studies not embraced within the
statute, the county school fund should be
apportioned. AS specimen of one of the
results of the present law, one county III
this state having $73,46 to the credit OF
each child enrolled in school, compelled
one fourth of all the children of the cOun-
tv who attended school, to pay private
tuition in 1884.
4. The present method appOrtioning
the state school fund should be changed SO
that the money would be apportioned ac-
tual number of schools and school chill
dren. Under our system of voluntary at
tendance on the part of children of schol-
astic age, those who do not, and habltual-
ly refuse or fail TO attend school, occupy a
no more logical relation to the school
fund of school system OF the state than dc
so many sheep; hence to continually ap
portion money TO the different counties fol-
their benefit is not only unjust and alb
surd, but results in annually wasting
large amount of the school fund. To ex
PLAIN, for the scholastic year lSS4-5 ont
county in Texas received from the stat
for each child actually enrolled i'll tn
schoo in that county $l73.60 or abou
forty times as much as each child in Tar
rant county received during the same year
This sum was exclusive of accumulation
of former years and of the amounts der
ived from the county school lands of tn
county. The law provides no security fo
this accumulated surplus, and there is nj
legal way for counties to expend so muc
money, hence waste.
5. No reliable school census can ever b
had until the county supervisor is Charge
directly with this duty. In some place
in the state two-thirds of the entire popu
lation are put down as being of scholasti
age, while in other places not more tina
one-eighth are enrolled as being With
| scholastic age. AS the law now stands tn
superintendent is pOwerless to correct thi
evil.
These changes in our law would be i
entire harmony with the splendid progress
now being made in our methods of in
structiOn by our teachers. L am Statistic
that $4,000 more children would receiv
the benefits of free education than are no
receiving; that each school in the stat
: would have its fund increased Is per cen
af allowing liberal salary to superb
tendent in every county in the state, an
!, that accurate information as to the acOu
working of the system throughout tt
state would be SO accessible to every il
telligent citizen as to preclude the poss
bility of the continued existence of abuse
of any particular consequence.
ROAD LAW.
Since the passage of the law making tn
county commissioner supervisor in hi
precinct, | have not paid great deal of al
tentiOn to road matters. Our commission
ers however, are unanimous as to tw
changes. Each commissioner should b
allowed forty days (instead of ten as a
PRESENT. to supervise the roads in his pre-
cinct, or the law should be changed so a
to authorize the court to employ super
visor. The law should authorize the EN-
ployment of state convicts with the roa
and bridge fund, upon the same terms an
under the same regulations as they no
let out to railroads and plantations.
Respectfully, z. Z. FULMoRE,
County Judge Travis County.