Vermont phÅ“nix. [volume] (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1834-1955, 1899-08-04
PUBLIC SCHOOL MONEYS.
Repeal of the Twelve Per Cent
Tax

"During 1895 and 1896 prior to the change
of the law this incorporated district re-
ceived as its share of state school moneys
in 1896, S5072 80, and in 1895, S464S. 90.
Beginning with this year, with the new
law, our share will be in the nelghborhood
of $780," may, unintentionallY, of course,
be misleading. Those not familiar with
the subject might infer that the new law
makes this reduction. In the school
moneys of the town for those years was
town tax of II per cent on the grand list,
which amounted in 1895 to $5860.2 "a, aud
in 1896 to S5932.41.
This tax was repealed when the Yer
mon tStatutes went into effect Aug. l, 1895,
and was not raised for any year after 1896.
This was referred to in the report of the com
mittee of the village district in 1896, where
i. says: "The II per cent school tax has
been abolished. The proportion of the
amount raised by this tax, which was paid
annually to our treasurer, in the division
of the public money, has been little more
than the grand list of the district" The
object of that tax was to make the large
districts help the small; it almost wholly
failed of that in this town ever after 1888,
when the amount to be divided equally
among the districts was reduced from one
fourth of the whole, about $500, 10 5000.
The amount TO be divided in April
1895, was $695041, in April, 1896,
S7023 S. made up Of the IL per cent tax as
stated, the interest on the United States
deposit money, $S2S.67, aud the income of
the Huntington fund, S261.50. The
amount to be divided in April, 1897 and
April, 1898, each, was $1,000 II, made up
of the interest on the deposit money and
the income of the Huntington fund.
The new law Of 1898 appears to have
been passed principally 20 correct the dis
tribution of the five per cent state school
tax and incidentally TO change the division
of other public money accordingly. That is
tax of five per cent on the grand list of the
whole state paid into the state treasury,
divided equally among all the legal schools
OF the state, great or small, and sent TO
their respective towns for their support.
The whole amount Of that tax distributed
in 1897 was SS7, 1910, the whole number
of legal schools was 2369 IN this town
there were Is village schools and 10 town
schools the whole amount for this town
was S107929; and the amount for each
| school was S36,77. The town schools
! drew S367.TS, the village schools S711.51;
the town schools got S21S.93, the village
schools $S10.S6. So the village schools
got SASS of what the town district
drew; the town district got S21.S9 for
each school and the village district $50 so.
The whole amount raised for 1898 was $751;
1888; the whole number of schools was
1858, and the amount apportioned to each
was $36,97; in this town the town schools
drew $406. 10 and got S207.04, the village
district So65.72 and got 1866 "a, the town
schools got $1S.s2 each, and the village
schools S4S.07 each, and the village district
got $199.72 that the town district drew.
The whole amount of public money for
this town in 1898 was S2l62 25 of which the
town district got SAT- .46, which was S37 95
for each school, and the village district
$1745.09 which was $96.97 for each school
The interest on the United States de-
post money, which is the principal part of
the other public moneys, is raised by the
whole town. The grand list of the town
district is about one-fourth of that of the
whole town, and the attendance of the town
district is about one fifth of that of the
whole town, and whenever money is raised
on the grand list and divided on the attend
ance the village district pays three-fourths
OF 1t and gets four-fifths, and the town dis
trict pays the other fourth and gets the
other NTH; so the town district pays that the
village district gets about one-twentieth of
the whole. A division of it upon at
tendance would gives the village district
| about one-twentieJh of it, or $40. Sc that
the town district pays. This added to the
$3.50 ~ that the town district drew and
the village district got makes $242. So that
the town district raised or drew that the viii
lage district got. Divided according to the
new law the share of the town district in
the whole public money for that year
would have been $4,000, and that of
the village district $1342 25 and all
the schools would each have $7457. These
amounts do not vary much from year to
year, and these proportions are likely to
continue at about the same sums.
| The larger rate of school taxes in the
village district is sometimes referred to as
a reason for giving that district a larger
proportion of the public money; but the
rate for current expenses of the schools
below the High school with an average of
3S weeks per year appears to be 80 cents
on the dollar of the grand list, and that of
the town district with an average of 81
weeks, 33 cents.
This change in the law was not made
for this town alone; there are n towns in
the state having incorporated districts, and
in some of them the disproportions were
| greater than in this. In Newport one in
corporated district got per school of the
whole puplic money $110.31 and the town
district $2S 80; in Bethel the Incorporated
district 500 and the town district $28. II; :
in Enosburgh the Incorporated district
$126.5S and the town district 500 10; in
Hardwick the incorporated district $1O1.
"a and the town district $35 SO; in New
bury the Incorporated district $l1405 and
the town district S43. 49, in Mortified the
incorporated district 500. 80 and the town
district 5.13; in Randolph the incorpo-
rated district sos. 40 and the town district
| 5000; in Swanton the incorporated dis
trict $lO737 and the town district $45. Is.
In most of the other of these towns the
! dispTOportion was great. When the situa-
ton into which the subject had been drawn
was fully understood by the legislature it
was promptly corrected.
The five per cent tax for the schools of
this town this year has been received; it
amounts to $4,000, and the whole pub.
lie money to $2l07. 10; the town district
had IL schools and the village district Is
on which it is to be divided; each school
will draw S75.764; the town district is
likely to have $S39.04, and the village dis
trict $l363 70.
GRANGE NEWS.
Windham County Pomona grange will
meet with Maple Grove grange, Westmin-