The Austin weekly statesman. (Austin, Tex.) 1883-1898, 1895-01-24
THE FREE SCHOOLS
FACTS AND FIGURES FOR THE
LAW MAKERS.
Grants and Donations BY the State to
the Public Free Schools-The Schools
Must Have More Money to
Prosper.
Superintendent Carlisle in his renort

Superintendent Carlisle in his report
says:
"As result of the constitutional and
statutory provisions of the state of Texas
the perpetual school fund has received
land grants to the extent of about 40
OOO,OOO acres and donations from the
state of from $3,000,000 to S5,OOO,000
IN bonds. From these grants and dona
tons the state now has permanent
school fund of about $22,000,000. The
perpetual fund consists of the permanent
fund and about 100000 acres of I'M
sold school lands. From these funds the
state has received from the available
school fund the following sums for the
years indicated: For the year ending
August 81, 1891, from interest, $685.
o49.45; from lease of school lands, S303,
1944S; total for the year, 81, 2S2,343.
For the year ending August 81, 1892,
from interest, $1,019, 754.04; from leases
of school lands $245, go 90; total for the
year, $1,2G5, 376.96. For the year end
ing August 81, 1898, from interest, ST.
066, 662.S7; from leases of school lands,
SIT, 1882; total for the year, 81, 244-
1OO.9S. The scholastic population for
the year ending August 81, 1891, was 300
672; for the year ending August 81, 1892,
it was $50, S35; for the year ending August
81, 1898, it was 606,303.
By dividing the receipts of the perpetual
school fund for each of these years by
the scholastic population for the cores
ponding year the per capita of available
school fund coming from the perpetual
school fund is easily obtained, and is
as follows: For the year ending August
81, 1891, 1927 for the year ending August
81, 1892, $2.12; for the year ending
August 81, 1893, $206.
Tod az ont
to convince the most skeptical that the
schools of Texas cannot prosper, that
they cannot exist, upon this meager sup
port. The school lands heretofore dis
posed of have yielded to the permanent
school funds less than 80 cents per acre.
If the state does as well, which is not
probable, with the IL, 10000 still held by
the school fund, the total permanent
school fund of the state would not eX'
coed $33 100000. When the lands now
held by the school fund shall have been
disposed of, the permanent school fund
will cease to increase, unless the state
should return to the policy which was
followed from 1850 to 1886, of giving
large portion of the states revenue to
this fund; but the scholastic population
will continue to increase from year to
year, as it has done in the past, hence
there is no possible chance for an increase
in the per capita for the schools from the
perpetual school fund or from the perma-
nent school fund, after all the lands have
been sold.
The additional available funds which
enable the state to apportion for each
of the years above referred to $3.50 pei
capita, calue from school tax of ~:
cents on each 500 valuation of property
one-fourth of all occupation taxes col
lected, a poll tax of 81, and the transfer
each year of 1 per cent of the perma
nent school fund to the available fund.
He says there is but one plan. under
the present constitution of increasing the
annual receipts for schools, "and that is
to increase the rate of state school tag
to the constitutional limit, % cents oil
the 500 valuation.