The Newtown bee., 1900-05-18
TEN PAGES.
.itChfeld County.
WEST CORNWALL.
"CoRNwALL SCHOOLS" AGAIN.

'COhHW ALL SCdOOLS' AGA1Ns
 Like the writer of an article in THE BEE of the 27Gh inst, am also tone who believes in the maj )rity ruling every time." But 1t seems to me that he has confused dead and living issues, and con- founded two very different questions. l would not write to point this except that find 1t very common mistake relative to our school matters. The dead issue is that or & graded school, which I under ssand came up come 20 years ago or SO. have not yet found person in Corn wall in the l2 or more years of my resi- dence here, who desires any such school. do not believe anybody advocates it. I have been on the school board four terms and never heard hint of 1t. That question is with John Browns body.
 The two living questions, diff aren't, but often c0nfounded, are consolidation of districts and consolidation of schools. The town voted, my impression Is that it was by maj ority of 68 but I may be have no reason to think it was done un- fairly. I had advocated 1t ever since l came here and confess that I was sur prised at the smallness of the vote against it. But as to consolidation of schools l have almost uniformly voted against that and for the largest sums to appropriated to the smaller and outlying schools. The two questions are wholly distinct, more than that, as friend of the smaller schools, I would urge the maintenance of the present consolidation, t, to prevent the consolidation of schools. SiLce I have been here five districts lost their schools, being given no appropria- tion. If we go back to separate districts others are sure to follow because their buildings can not be made fit for Rse through the winter without cost these poorer districts can ill afford and schools will have to be maintained throughout the year or not at all: whereas now they are given two terms and the pupils go to old choice, half loaf or no bread, that will soon be set before them, moreover, in the long run these little schoolhouses will cost more proportionately than those in more central points just as the schools do. According to the last report the three larger schools, West Cornwall, the Bridge and the Plain, cost us $13 per pupil, the other eight cost $19 per pupil |; the three cost $900.35, the eight $1281 90. The great bulk of receipts from taxes comes from the three districts, whence for years the money has been drawn to pay for the outlying schools, and will come for repair of buildings. It is not such very unfair thing, therefore, that West Cornwall and the Bridge ask the town to build them the schoolhouses they need. Even with the tax-dodging which makes the farmer pay an unjust share of the taxes, and even if there was selfish planning to get the town to build, q do not know whether there was or not), I am satisfied that in the long run the advantages from the present consoli- dstion are altogether on the side of the small schools. They are the ones I deem most to be cherished and protected and l think 1t very ehort-sighted policy for any of their supporters to vote for divi- sion of the town into little separate dis. ticts again. E. c. Starr.