The Opelousas courier., 1900-09-08
The Matter of School Salaries.
OPELoUsAs, Sept. 8. 1900
Mr.. EDITOR

The question of the salaries to be paid
the teachers in the public schools of tho
parish is one chat, owing to the condi-
ton of our school finances, demands
the best thought and attention OF our
School Board. The revenues in sight
are not sufficient to run the same schools
that we had last term for eight months
and they should be u at least that
long-unless some reduction is made in
the expenses. As those expenses con-
sist almost solely of salaries, it would
seem that some salaries must be Ie-
fduced or some teachers be dismissed or
some schools be closed !; and possibly d
resort to all these expedients must be
had in order to make both ends meet.
Now, it is out OF the question to think
of reducing the salaries of the bulk OF
the teachers, those poorly paid workers.
in the educational field who for the
most part must leave their homes and
for eight months in the year be
subjected to all the d%iscomforts which
such leaving implies. Their salaries
onght rather to be raised from $50 to
1856, and | hope the day is not far dis
| tant when this can be done. The re-
| auctions. in that direction, therefore,
/ if reductions must be made, must ne
| cessarily be in the higher salaries.
1t was probably because he took this
| view of the matter that Mr.. Sandoz.
the member from this ward, proposed
at the recent meeting Of the Board that
the salary of the principal of the High
School be reduced from $3.50 to 1895
per month, or from $1,000 per year to
$1,000. This was unanimously agreed
| to without debate. But MIR. Neyland,
| the member from Washington, then
- e,-o,l rpikt, f1,a rnnncknrnv7
| proposition that, since the Washington
| School, the salary of its principal be in
creased from $75 per month to 1886, in
order to place it on an equal footing
with the High School here. Mr.. Sandoz
opposed this ~manifestty unreasonable
proposition, laying due stress upon the
necessity of retrenchment and the un-
wisdom OF increasing already decent
salaries, and moved that the salary re-
main the same as last year, remarking
that inasmucl, as the number of pupils
Mt tho school here was considerably
more than twice us great as the number
at the Washington school, a salary con-
siderably more than half as large for
the Washington principal could not be
considered by him ineqnitabie. The
Board, however, without giving the
matter the careful consideration which
it's Importance deserved, fixed the sal
airy at 800 per month, or $500 per year
more than last year, and the saving eff
fected on the 0pelousas school was lost.
An erroneous idea, the fallacy of
which | shall now try TO expose, is at
least partially responsible for this ac-
ton Of the Board. That idea is ID that
the Opelousas school has been unduiy
favored by the Board in the past (2)
that its corps of teachers is too large:
(3) that it's salary list is too high; "a
and that too much Ut the funds rightly
belonging to other wards is used for its
maintenance, thereby depriving other
schools, and particularly the Washing
ton and Vile Plate schools, of Il portion
of their just dues. As TO the first three
claims, the facts and figures which /
shall presently submit utterly des-
troy them as to the 4th, the figures are
not at hand, but dare say that a fair
and equitable distribution of the school
funds, based upon the amount contrib. |
uted 10 the parish treasury in the shape
of taxes and licenses by the town of
OpeIousas, would give this town a suffi- |
cient sum % run our High School nine
or ten months in the year. This fact,
and the increasing jealousy of the coun-
try against the town, has set a number
of citizens to seriously thinking of di-
vorcing our High School from the par
ish school system, as has been done in
New Iberia, Lake Charles, Monroe and
other towns in this State, which have
nine or ten months' terms, while the |
country schools have only from four to
eight.
1 have been permitted to examine the
monthly reports Of the Opel0usas,
Washington and Vile Plate schools |
for the month of March last, made to
the School Board. They show that
In the Opelousas school there were |
ten teachers with a monthly salary of
1856 and 1913 pupils.
La the Washington school there were
six teachers Witha monthly salary of
$245 and 145 pupils.
In the Vile Plate school there were
four teachers with O monthly salary of
$185 and IS pupils.
Afew simple mathematical calcnla-
tons will therefore show that while it
costs to teach pupil in the Upelousas
nearly $1.49 per month, the same
pupil costs nearly $1.69 lin Washington
and nearly $1.S9 in Vile Plate; and
while every teacher in the Opelousas
school attends to m average of SO and
3.10ths pupils, the Vile Plate teacher
looks after only 24a pupils and the
Washington teacher only "a and 10th
pupils. Now, adding the total enroll
ment Of the Washington and Vile Plate
together we have 243 pupils
half this number to this sum we
have a total of 365 pupils, or 28 less than
O~pelousas. Adding the salary list of
Washington and Vile Plate together.
have $430 add half this sum, or
19fE FL fhiu o0YnnuE anG uo haua @R/E l