The Seattle post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, Wash. Terr. [Wash.]) 1888-1914, 1891-02-17
UNJUST SCHOOL BILL.
Injurious to Seattle, Spokane
Falls and Tacoma.
DEPICTING CITY SCHOOL FUNDS.
4 scheme to Mako The Three Places
Mentioned Bear Expenses Of Coun-
try Education.

- Ucnomo 90 MAKO the Three Races
Mentioned Bear Expenses Of Coun-
try Education.
Among those interested in the public
schools Of this city there is much feeling
over House bill 80, introduced into the
legislature by Representative Taylor of
Pierce Yesterday Mr.. Frank J. Barnard,
the superintendent of public schools, and
Mr.. H. #. Whitney, went to Olympia at
the request Of the board Of education to
oppose the measure.
The bill narrowly escaped passage yes
terday and the House will attempt to re-
consider it. It is short and terse, but it
aims a direct blow at the symmetry and
effectiveness of the public school systems
of Seattle, Tacoma and Spokane Falls. Its
full text is as follows:
IAN act 10 establish system OF common schools
in cities of 10000 or more inhabitants, and to
provide for properly maintaining, governing
and which s reads S H as follows: No county tax
for school purposes shall he levied upon the
property situated within the limits OF any school
such district be entitled to or receive any por-
ton of the common school fund raised by county
tax be and the same is hereby repealed.
The effect of this measure, it will be seen,
is to remove from cities of over 10000 in
habitants the exemption which allows
them to devote revenues raised for school
purposes to their own schools In other
words such cities will be compelled to pool
their general school fund with the re-
mainder of the county and to draw their
per capita allotment in precisely the same
manner as all other districts. At first
glance this might seem entirely fair, but
investigation shows that it imposes an ex-
ira and undue burden of taxation upon
the cities, ii they attempt to maintain
thorough system of graded schools, by
compelling them to pay the expense legiti-
mately added for such purposes, and, in
addition, a proportion of the expense of
schools in the country.
Under the present law, cities of over TO-.
600 inhabitants are separated from the re-
mainder of the counties for educational
purposes. Directors of districts are consti-
tuted boards of education with control of
all school affairs, power to build school
houses, buy sites, maintain schools, etc,
and to levy taxes not to exceed three mills,
upon proper authority of the voters of the
power which enables city to engage in
higher and more general education. When
its schools are allied with those Of the
country, its primary source Of revenue be-
ing the same, the way to build better and
higher schools is much more costly. The
city generally desires to hold from nine to
ten months Of school per year; the average
in the country is from three to six months.
In the city Of Seattle, last year, a tax of
6x mills was levied, and the tax in the
country was four, If all taxes were paid,
a revenue of Sill 900 would be secured to
the city for 1S90-9i The revenue in the
Re rest Of dn the cs sn If S paid MOULD
Of children of school age in King county,
outside of Seattle, was 5,557, according to
the last school census; in the city, 1904 ;
total, l3.46l. Upon the respective tax
lcvies, children in the city get the benefit
of So per capita; in the country. only 50.
Upon the country basis the revenue of the
entire county would be $155, 200, or &c. 600
less than in the city of Seattle alone under
the present arrangement, and only $11.53
per capita for children Of school age. OF
this revenue the city would pay over two
thirds-$105, 000-of which 900 would
go out of the city for the education of
country children. 1t it were desired to
maintain the schools of Seattle upon their
present basis, which costs as little as the
board of education has been able to make
il cost, the tax levy would have to be in
creased from $22l 600 in the whole county,
as at present, to $206, 900, raising the tax
levy to more than ~ mills on the dollar,
and taking from the taxpayers of the
town for the benefit of the country the
sum of $2s,5OO. About $50 per
capita is not enough to educate all the
children of the city. the average cost at
present being $50 for all those who attend.
If all were in school who were entitled to
be there. the cost would again be much in
creased.
II is plain to be seen from this Statement
of facts that the cities, if the present law
is repealed, would be compelled continu-
ousIy to maintain their own schools, and
besides TO pay part of the cost of country
schools. The effect would be inevitably to
injure city schools. In Seattle the High
school might have to be discontinued, and
the tendency would be directly to lower all
schools to the country standing.
Mr.. Thomas W. Prosch said yesterday in
regard to the proposed law: 1T is simply
an attempt of the country members in
Pierce, King and Spokane counties to have
the children in the country districts edu-
Gated at the expense OF the three cities of
members have rallied good many men,
bers in support of this scheme, which has
in it neither reason nor justice. The in
tcntion is to have uniform tax for schools
levied all over the county by the commits
sioners. The assessment roll of King
shows that the property in Seattle is as
seSsed at SIC, 5000 while that in the rest
of the county is only $l2,OOOOo0. With
uniform tax Seattle would pay twice as
much as the country for school purposes !;
but, as there are Z, 400 children in the city
to 5.ho7 in the country, Seattle would not
get twice as much as the country-only In
the proportion % to ).
Were the bill to become law, Seattle
would be forced to abolish the High school
and TO cut down the forces everywhere in
order to send its money into the country
districts. Were We to raise enough money
to maintain the schools at present grade,
We should he sending between $4,000 and
$4,000 a year into the country schools of
King, more than the people in those dis
tricts now raise of their own accord
In 1870, the sum of $l31. i6l was collected
more was levied-in school taxes in Sc
attic, and $3i 2Si in the rest of the county
At such rate we should have to send $780,
600 10 the country.
You must also bear in mind that the
people in Seattle, while they might cheer
fully bear a heavy tax for their own
schools, would not submit to one FOR the
country; and so the public school system
would be attacked here, and the standard
lowered very materially. The result would
he that schools here in the city would be-
come poorer, while those in the country
would not, after the first year or two. be
materially improved.
A teacher in the public schools last night
prepared the following statement of the
situation.
To THE EDITOR: Since an effort is being m Jade
10 make the school fund of the county a COM
mon fund, divided proportionately to number
OF school children IN the whole county, q few
statistics may not be amiss The following
figures are given in round numbers but are
sufficiently accurate to show the effect of the
prop0Sed change. The nj nj 20,