The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1899-02-04
Can't Be Taught How to Shoot
in Topeka
Unless the School Tax is More
Than 8 Mills.
THEQUESTION BEFORE
The School Board on Monday
Will Be
More Money Running Behind
$4,000 or $1,000 a Year.

The school board of Topeka will find
itself between six and seven thousand
dollars short at the close of the present
year unless some arrangements are
made to increase the revenue for gen.
era1 expenses.
The reason of this is that the assessed
valuation of property in the city has
been gradually diminishing since "the
boom" and last year was reduced $500
GOO by the county commissioners. The
tax rate of eight mills is the limit and
is the same as was levied when the as
sessed valuation was much higher.
The school population has increased
in the last ten years and more children
are now going to school and attending
longer than during the boom. With the
increased attendance more teachers
have been employed and six were added
to the list last year.
In extending the city limits many
school districts have been taken in at
loss to the city when it assumed the
schooling of the children of the dis
tricts under the eight mill school tax
levy The reason for the loss is that
the taxes from the outlying districts have
not paid the expenses of schooling the
children When the districts were in
the country and not in the city limits
the tax levy allowed by law is 20 mills
and when the children had to be school,
ed on a reduction of II mills the amount
of money received in school tax from
the districts would not meet the ex-
penSeS and those districts have always
been burden to the school board.
Our schools are crowded said Super
intendent w. NJ Davidson, land chill
dren from the neighborhood of Wash
burn college have to go to Harrison
school for the higher grades. We need
more room but more room will do US
no good unless we have money to en-
plOy teachers for these new rooms. If
bonds were voted for the erection of
new buildings the board would have
no money with which to pay the teach
ers. The salaries are paid from the
general revenue fund and as that fund
is not sufficient to meet our expenses
now, something must be done besides
obtaining money for building. The out
look now is that the board will be about
Sc, 500 short at the end of the present
year.
The bill that is proposed in the legis-
lature for the relief of the Topeka board
is like the law in operation in Kansas
City, Kansas, where the tax levy for
the general fund is placed at a II mill
limit and an additional levy of three
mills can be made for building. This is
the law that is needed in Topeka.
1T would not be necessary to levy
the II mills and I think that perhaps
levy of nine or nine and half mills.
which would bring in nine or nine and
a half thousand dollars would meet our
shortage. The building levy of three
be levied every year, only part of it
some years. This levy of three mills
would do away with the issuing of
bonds for building.
when the outlying districts were
taken into the city several thousand
dollars that should have been turned
over to the school board was tied up
and the board has not received it. The
county school boards claimed that as
| the city received the buildings they
| should keep the money in the treasury
and so the country school districts came
| in without any fund on hand
| 1.-The school board is confronted with
| the fact that we have not enough
room,' said President Edward Wilder
| of school age in Topeka can not be ac-
| commodated for want of room, and
| further, if we had enough room, we
| have not enough money to pay the sal
| aries of the extra teachers that would
| be required to teach in the additional
| rooms.
1.-THE best way out of the difficulty,
| as L see it, is to have the tax levy in
! creased. 1t is at present eight mills
] and unless the present session of the
+ legislature passes bill to increase that
levy we will be tied up for two years
more at least.
''The law requires that we accommo-
| date children between the ages of and
| Z, but we have been forced to make an
arbitrary ruling requiring the age to
! be years because we have not suff1-
cient room. The school rooms are
| crowded as it is
! This condition of affairs must be
| remedied, and the best way to accom-
! p1ish the desired end will be to raise
| the tax levy.
'To furnish more room new school
| buildings should be built instead of
| making additions to the present
| schools"
W. H. Wilson, member Of the school
| board and chairman of the committee
! on building, said: 1.-The amount we re-
| ceive each year from the state for
| school purposes has been reduced. We
| formerly received 81 per capita, and
1 Oh Vii,
| other place where our funds have been
reduced"