Fort Worth daily gazette. (Fort Worth, Tex.) 1882-1891, 1889-07-22
TEXAS SCHOOLS.
Why the Levy of Local Taxes Should be
Urged Wherever Practicable.
Unquestionable Evidence that an Important
Advance is Being Made IN Public Edu-
cation in the State
DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION,


AUSTIN, Tex, July 10, 1889.
To County Judges, County Superintendent and
Public School Trustees and Teachers:
The average school term during the
scholastic year of I888-89 has been the
longest yet attained in Texas, although
the state apportionment for the year was
the lowest since l882-83.
This signal improvement is due to the
growth of self-help in large areas of the
state, leading the people to vote local
taxes in school districts and to supple
ment, by close collection of the funds
due from covers and F'unders' and
by private subscription, the state and
county funds. where the levy of local
taxes has not been possible, as in school
communities. But, by an act of the
Twenty-first legislature, provision was
made for forming taking districts in
community counties, so that now local
taxation for the support of the schools is
practicable in any county in the state.
You should advise and urge the levy Of
local school taxes wherever it is practi-
cable, for the following reasons:
!. Local taxation is cheaper than
private subscription. AS a rule, it costs
nne-tenths of the patrons Of the schools
only one half as much to run the schools
by local taxation as by subscription, with
this additional advantage, that provision
is made in this way for the children of
those who are unable to pay tuition in
subscription schools.
2. Local taxation is surer than private
subscription. While teachers frequently
suffer embarrassing delays III the pay
ment of school vouchers, yet these
II, 41,o,
ment of private tuition is subject TO much
longer delays and not unfrequently to
final loss.
8. The state school fund is not now :,
nor will it ever be, sufficient without To-
cal and to maintain the schools as long as
they should be maintained. The COM
mon statement that the income from the
permanent school fund viii at some flu
ture time be sufficient to maintain the
schools without taxation, is an illusion
1t will never do more than keep pace
with the increase in scholastic popula-
ton The state fund should never be re-
garded as the sole, or even the principal,
support of the schools. For, while this
state distributes larger amount per cap
ira than any other state except Cali
fornia, the per cepita derived from local
school taxes is less than One-eighth of
the average local tax in the United
States. Whatever weakness may exist
i'll our school system is due not to the fact
that the state school fund is not large
enough, but to the fact that local effort
is not strong enough.
4. Local taxation strengthens local in
terest in the schools. The people of
locality who pay taxes directly for the
support of the schools of the locality feel
q keener interest in the schools to whose
support they thus contribute directly
than in schools which they feel are sup
ported altogether by some great, remote
Institution called the state. Local tax
alton gets the children into the schools
better than any compulsory education
law.
D. The trustees of districts levying
local taxes have the legal right to extend
the scholastic age both below eight and
above sixteen years of age.
6. A local school tax is not burden
some, even when the maximum-20 cents
on the SIO0-is levied. The state and
district school tax, when the maximum
is voted, is only 3215 cents, while many
of our cities ana towns vote so cents in
addition to the state school tax. In
the state of Arkansas the state
school tax is 20 cents, and
four-fifths of the school districts of
the state have voted on themselves,
in addition To the state school tax, the
maximum allowed them by law-50 cents
on the 500 valuation. The average
school tax in the United States is 40 cents
on the 500. Texas is fortunate in hav-
ing a large permanent school fund, the
income of which yields about two dollars
per capita; but it viii be unfortunate for
the children who need schooling now, if
the possession of this advantage, pre-
pared for them by the fathers of Texas,
shall deter those who have succeeded
these iIlustriOus men from putting forth
the additional effort which is imperitivelY
needed to make this advantage a real
blessing. This income more than cOun-
teTbalances the disadvantages under
which we labor in some parts of the
state of large mountaineering popula-
ton, and renders it easier to establish
and maintain a tirst-class system of pub
lie schools III Texas than IN any other
Western or Southern state.
Z. The cities, towns, villages and
school districts of this state which levy
local taxes include nearly all the really
good public schools in the state. These
schools are not only the best schools in
the state now, but they are the best
Texas has ever had, and they compare
favorabIy with the best schools else
where.
In conclusion, it gives me pleasure to
say that local taxation is gaining ground
in many parts of the state, thus giving
unquestionable evidence that an i'm
portant advance is being made in public
education. Very respectfully,
OSCAR H. COOPER,
State superintendent.
When to Give Medicines.