Fort Worth weekly gazette. [volume] (Fort Worth, Tex.) 1882-1891, 1888-04-20

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ministrstion OF the public free school
funds consists in the loose manner in
which the funds are distributed and paid
to the counties according TO scholastic
population. Under the law, IS it exists,
the board Of education each year makes
sn spportiorment of the annual svailsble
school fund among the several counties
| ard cities constituting sepsrste echool
organizations, srd issues to each Ger
tlfcate for the respective amounts so
J sppordoned. Upon this spportion-
J ment the Comptroller draws his WAY
rant IN favor OF county tr.ssurers and
| these warrants are payable BY county col
lectors or at the State Treasury. The
proper application Of the funds sitter they
reach the counties is left exclusively with
county officials, and no practical check is
placed by law upon their discretion, nor
Is any department thereafter advised
whether the funds have been properIy eu-
piled to the purposes contemplated BY
law or otherwise. This loose condition
OF legislation has precipitated in some OF
the counties the very improvidena sdrin-
! istratiOn Of the funds and worked irius-
tice not only to the state but to the peo-
| Pile OF the counties. Large amounts are
reported unexpended ench year, but the
/ lsw makes no provision Tor this contin-
geGcy.
And these balances are nominslIy car
! ried forward each year into the accounts
| Of another yesr and accumulate from year
to year, to the sctusI detrlment Of
the people of the same county. for
they derive no benefit from
these unexpeuded balances. 1t is est
mated from Cfiicial data on file with the
Superintendent Of Education that about
$500, OCO is row outstanding in this way
This money is public money and belongs
to the people OF The state, or OF the par
ticular county, and yet it is valueless to
either, because it is not applied 10 the
purposes OF education, even in the par
ticulsr county and the people Of that
county are required to pay their annual
taxes for all purposes, including school
purposes, SIS usual. In some instances it
Is reported that these IN expended bal
ances have been improperly used in pri-
Vste business ventures, while the officers
OF the state are powerless to prevent It,
or apply corrective for so palpsble 9
misspplication Of public money. These
funds should be received and dis
bursed as other public monies,
snd should be subject to the same
checks and bslSnces which our expert
ence in governments demands IS
NECESSARY SAFEGUARDS
for public protection. The school tax is
levied and collected by the state through
her officers, and it should be discussed by
the Treasurer Just as other public monies
are disbursed. Otherwise the
tendency is to lOoseness, ex-
traysgsnce, peculation and coniu-
sion in the administration Of the funds.
All warrants should be drawn by the
Comptroller In favor of the particular
teacher or employe as in other cases for
services actually rendered, and be pay
able only at the treasury. It may be that
the provision of Article Z, section 8, of
the constitution which requires the avail
able school fund to De distributed to the
several counties according to their schol-
sstic population may stand IN the way
OF this very necessary corrective of what
has proved 8 serious evil, but il it does
not, s remedy should be devised and ap.
piled which will save the state from the
imputation Of bSd fsith to her teachers
and enable her officers to prevent SO GROSS
; INSTRUMENTATION OF public money. 1
believe that this whole question of edu-
!
searching inquisition so that the
friction of opinion msy sharpen the in
strumeHts with which now highways can
be opened In the domain CT progress, and
old ones be improved. And II epecial
session Of your honorable bodies was au-
thOrized to desl Wi the matter of con-
stiutlonal amendments, should feel i'm
| PEELED in Difference to my matured coz
| in&i ~ tha tot
3 necessity in the end, to urge upon you
the Importance OF considering q material
alteration IN support OF our system Of
public education. The rapid increase Of
our scholastic population over our annual
available fund makes it almost certain
that we must in any event soon be called
upon to revise the system in order to
adspt it to these charging conditions.
We have now by our last scholastic GEN.
sus school population Of 4S9,795 and
our available school fund for the current
Vesr from all sources Is estimstad st
81 2S5, 55l.
Our scholastic population is increasing
at more rapid ratio than our resources,
the difference being at least per cent,
| although the resources from sales snd
leases under the present law are steadily
lHCIShsluS luG anu uCuCC IuC HuCo-
ton must soon be determined by the
people
WHAT REMEDY IS PROPER
to be applied. The system Of public edu-
cation is too firmly imbedded in the hearts
OF the people to contemplate even it's
temporary impairment, and yet the state
under the present system has assumed q
burden which it is manifest it cannot
carry much longer without oppression.
Apart from this, very serious and just
complaints come up from various counties
that they are tax ridden for the benefit OF
distant counties, and that many of the
counties secure more from the school
fund than they annually pay out in taxes
for ell other state purposes.
The true friend of public education may
feel no special cause for alarm st these
difficulties and complications, for il no
other remedy is found, the admirable
system of government devised for US by
our fathers points TO an easy remedy.
The state is blessed with q large fund
for public educstion and the revenues
derived from this source can be easily
supplemented by system of local taxa.
ton to be adopted by the taxpayers OF
any particular district, and expended
under their immediate direction and
supervision. My own view is that the
state cannot successfully maintain &
svsfan If Ouhlic educati0n th-ouph-