Smyrna times., 1893-02-22
State School Fund.

Says the Morning News : The failure
to adjust the funds for apportioniug
the school fund of the state between
the counties in accord with the growth
OF the counties, in accord with the
glowth Of population and with some
regard to the sources from which the
school revenue is derived, is seriously
gripping the school interests of New
Castle county and particularly the
schools of Wilmington.
The injustice of an apportionment
Of the school fund upon basis adopted
sixty-two years ago, has been apparent
fora long time.
The result of this apportioumeut has
been to create a surplus Of school funds
in Kent and Sussex counties, and to
cause an outcry against local taxation
for school purposes On the ground that
1t Is unnecessary for the support of the
schools. Thus the fault of the system
OF apportionment is made The pretext
to escape taxation the benefit of which
Genes directly back to the home of me
taxpayer, ifh he will only accept it by
sending his children to school.
The bulk of the school fund of this
state is derived from tavern, marriage
and other licenses, and the sum so re-
ceiT"d is apporlioned per capita among
the counties upon the basis Of the white
population Of the state, as a.cer,ained
Icy the census Of 1880. The total of
that enumeration showed white pop
ulatiou ia New Castle county Of 2;.42".
in Kent 1905; in SUSSEX county.
2Q,727. The dispropor;ion al tia. time
was not great. II is probable also that
thetaX- X-produciua qualities Of the var
loH- counties we're not seriously ont Of
balance, but ia sixty years the city Of
Wilmington has grown to population
nearly three times as great as the
white population ofNew Castle county.
II the state trea-urer's report for 1889
and 1890, the school fund receipts for
license is stated at $55 ,3Gl 80 OF this
sum Kent county paid S5,643O6, Sus-
sex county, s. ,22L38, and New Castle
county paid $45, ,497 SO, or about five
sixths Of the whole sum.
Says the DeIawmeaa: One Of the
most important subjects for legislation
at the present session of the General
Assembly, is that of the financial con-
dition of the free schools Of the State.
TIE Legislature finds itself confronted
with q state OF affairs that ought not
to exist. The State annually appro-
pirates a large sum of money to the
schools, and the amount has been in
creasing each and every year, for the
past ten years. 1t now transpires that
Notwithstanding the large sum spent in
thepurchase Offree textbooks for the dis
tricts, that most of them have a large
surplus, in fact in the three counties.
the surplus in the hands of the school
commissioners amounts to over 5000
This state of affairs must be remeded.
and the members of the committee on
education are now considering a plan
to make the districts have better
SCHOOLS or else turn the money back
into the treasury at the end OF the
scaool year to be redistributed. This,
in our judgment would rebound to the
benefit of the schools Then again it
is proposed to have the state treasurer
made the custodian and paymaster of
every district. This proposition would
keep the money in the hands Of a re-
sponsible officer, and no doubt would
work we'll We call our readers at
tenton to the subject, so that they
may know before any action is taken,
what is being suggested to remedy an
evil in our school system.