The news & observer. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1894-current, 1898-09-01
Mr.. MEBANE AGAIN
Supt. of Public instruction
Wants New School
Legislation.
He SUGGESTS CHANGES
ESPECIALLY AS TO THE HAND.
LING OF THE SCHOOL FUND
IN THE COUNTIES.
WANTS A SCHOOL FUND TREASURER
Separate and Distinct from The County Treasur
er.-Says the School Fund is FREE
quentIy Used for Other
Purposes.
Purposes,

Superintendent of Public Instruction
Chas. III. Mebane is after the county
Boards of Commissioners and county
Treasurers for misusing the public school
fund and yesterday gave out statement
embodying recommendations that h'
thinks is necessary to keep invioiate the
misappleid to other purposes by county
commissioners and cunty treaSurers. ne
following are the recommendations ne
makes:
II advise that the County Board OF I'D
ucation be required 30 publish an item
lied statement annually OF the receipts
and disbursements of the School Fund.
The public have a perfect right to know
how and for what every cent of the pub
lie school fund is spent. The reports Tor
wears in the office of Superintendent Of
Public instruction show that thousands
and thousands of dollars have been spent
in the columns marked Paid for other
purposes"
If every one of these purposes" We're
published in the counties, / think it
would cause the fund to be spent more
wisely and more carefully than it has
been in some instances in the past.
The County Board of Education should
be required to keep posted in every pub
lie school house list of the text books
adopted to be used in the schools. TIL"
name of each book should be given and
the price to be paid for it by the child
rem.
This should be done as matter Of con
venience to teachers and the children.
1t should be done especially as a matter
of protection to parents in the purchase
of books for their children. We have
heard of book dealers charging parents
more for the books than the contract
price. This could not be done if the
teachers had the list published on stiff
past board and hung up III each school
house, because the parents as well as
teachers and children would know just
what the price of each book is, and
could not be imposed upon by the dealer
or any one else as to prices of books.
According to Section TO of the Code,
the County Treasurer is eX-officio the
treasurer of the County Board of Edu-
cation and the commission of this treas
urer Of the school fund is fixed by coun-
ty commissioners.
Or in other words the treasurer who
serves the Board of Education has his
commission of the school fund fixed by a
Board who has nothing to do with the
school fund This commission on the
school fund shuld be fixed by the County
Board of Education.
I recommend that the Treasurer of the
school fund be elected by the County
Board of Education and that he be q
man seperate and apart from the Coun-
ty Treasurer who handles the general
fund of the county.
The County Board of Education is re-
sponsible for the school fund and should
have authority over the man who handles
this fund more than they now have.
This treasurer of the school fund must
be bonded officer of course.
The main reason why we should have
a treasurer of the school fund is that
i'm some counties the sheriff is County
Treasurer as well as sheriff and often
the school fund is mixed up with the
county fund, this mixtur occurs even
where there are County Treasurers.
Then again if any fund in the county
is to be borrowed or needed for some
thing else in the county, we find that
the school fund is used first, last and all
the time for these emergencies. Let us
shave seperate officer for this school
fund. let the County Commissioners build
their bridges, and their roads, but Ter
us shut them out from our public school
fund.
Every county treasurer in North Caro-
lima will oppose this plan because Il
means some decrease in their salaries.
Some members of the legislature will not
vote for it because the county politicians
will oppose, but | am for it because |
believe it is the right thing to do. | he
lieve it will save money for the schools,
/ know we will have less trouble in get
ting reports from the counties.
/ now have letters from county treas
urers of counties from which no report
of the school fund was made last year,
and none this year. and why, because
they say their predecessors mixed the
school fund with other funds, that some
of the school fund was used or borrowed
for this purpose or for that purpose.
We have only to look over the records
in the office here TO see how this loose
management of the school fund has gone
on for 90 years.
In the name of the school children OF
North Carolina | ask that we have this
fund kept separate and distinct. Let lis
see to it that when the school year closes
that the Superintendent of Public In
struction will have a report of the school
fund from 96 counties
Give us this seperate treasurer of the
school fund for the County Board of Ed
ucation and we will have no more of this
borrowing and mixing of the most 81
cred public money that any county has.