The Portland daily press., 1897-09-24

| The state superintendent of public
schools has issued circular to the sew
eral municipalities in the state in re-
gard to the local school funds. 1t was an
old Massachusetts, regulation that thou
sand acres of land in every township
should be reserved as school lands AT
| that time Maine had three counties, York,
| Cumberland and Lincoln, and the un-
settled portions of the state were called
the Eastern Lands" In 1888, a law
was passed to encourage the settlement
Of the Eastern Lands 1t provided that
in the disposition of all towns there
after four lots of 800 acres each should
be reserved. OF the reservations thus
made and their uses the superintendent
says:
| The first was "for the first settled min
ister'' in the township and was known
as the minister lot. The second was
for the "'use of the ministry. !" and known
as the ministerial lot" The third was
for the support of the common schools in
that township and became known as the
s'school lots while the fourth was re-
served "for the future disposition Of the
state" and was known as the Estate
lot. ~ By the articles of separation of
| 1920, when we became an Independent
carry out all the regulations regarding
the sale and settlement of the wild
lands, embraced in the plan originally
adopted by Massachusetts,, unless the con-
sent of that state WAS obtained for any
change in policy. Consequently for sew
eral years after Maine became a state,
in the sale or grants of all Maine towns
1 F<x.. ,Ixn%A 1ntc
were reserved in accordance with the
plan adopted in 1888. In 1882 Maine
changed the law providing for the dis,
position of these lots for various pur-
poses, to take effect when Massachusetts
consented to the arrangement. By the
I new law the ministers claim was ignored
except in cases where the title had become
vested; for by, the new provision all the
land reserved in each new township
| (the acreage having been previously
changed to 1000 for each full township
was to be for the support of schools In
| that township
The fund created by the sale of grass
and timber from these lots, together
| with the money received for the land it
self, was to be permanent fund for the
| benefit of the schools The Selectmen
treasurer and clerk of the several towns
were constituted board of trustees tt
care for this fund, using the interest only
for the purpose Indicated In severa
towns of the state this fund is still KEEP
intact and the interest is added each veal
to the funds derived from other sources
for the support of schools. In othel
towns, in order to simplify matters, the
money was loaned TO the town and these
| towns raise. in addition to the amounts
required by law a sum equivalent to thu
| interest on this fund. In still other cases
the fund has been used for general towI
purposes and all record of it has beer
either lost or overlooked. At least they
fail to raise any money for school pur
poses in addition to the amount required
right to appropriate its permanent schoo
fund to any use except to that fol
which it was originally intended. The
law provides that this fund shall be per
manent forever and every town has &C
cepted this obligation, and towns thai
have failed to meet these obligations
should restore the funds that have beer
misapplied. 1t may be we'll to state il
connection with this subject that in al
unincorporated townships the state il
the trustee and has kept good faith il
every instance.
These funds belong to the public schools
of the several towns, and If any town!
have Intentionally or carelessly allowed
| them to be lost or misapplied, the los
must be made good and the fund restored
to it's original amount.
| School superintendents Will be called
| upon to report the amounts of the schoo
funds in their several towns, how these
funds are invested, the amount of income
derived from them and such other details
as will give complete inventory of the
original funds and disclose their present
amount and condition.
1t is good thing to call the attention
of the towns to such matters as this. Tho
local responsibility for schools and the
use of school money is not what it should
be in many parts of Maine. The state
does well by our school system, SO far al
least as the furnishing of money is con
cerned. But the towns do not always
use to the best advantage what they have