The progressive farmer. [volume] (Winston, N.C.) 1886-1904, 1901-07-30
THE STATUS OF THE FREE SCHOOLS OF
NORTH CAROLINA.

The Constitution of North Caro-
lima requires shat "each county of
the State shall be divided into a
convenient number of districts, in
which n or more public schools
shall be maintained at least four
months in every year; and if the
commissioners of any county shall
fail to comply with the aforesaid re-
quirements of this section they shall
be liable to indictment" Article TX /;
section 3.
But the average length of free
school terms in North Carolina is
only, for whites fourteen and two
thirds weeks, for colored thirteen
and seven one-hundredths weeks.
This is the average. The range is
from four weeks in Swain to twenty
nine weeks in New Hanover for
white schools. F~ifty-eight of the
ninety-seven counties maintain
schools for whites less than sixteen
weeks-the required Constitutional
term.
The free schools of North Crrolina
have not been maintained even an
average term of sixteen weeks in
any year since the war. 1t is desir
able that the reason why the Consti-
tuition is disregarded in this matter
be once again stated. The Supreme
Court has decided that county com
mi-sioners may expend for schools
only those funds which are collected
for the schools, and that they AN
not levy a special tax for school pur-
poses, and, therefore, that they are
not indictable for failing to main
tain the schools four months when
the school funds are inadequate.
The county commissioners may ex-
pend general funds TO build work
houses, but not to build school
schouses. They may levy special
taxes to build bridges or improve
jails, but not to lengthen school
terms or equip school rooms.
The North Carolina tax for school
purposes, the highest general school
tax in this country, we think, is Is
cents on the hundred dollars of prop
erty and "a cents on the poll. This
yields 1888, 329. SO. To this we may
add 500, 900 special appropriation by
the General Assembly. This is in
sufficient to maintain the free
schools, 7,4OO in number, sixteen
weeks.
1t is true that 800, 900 was appro-
priated extra two years ago.. But
this has proved inadequate.
1t is true that another 800, 900
was appropriated by the last General
Assembly. But Governor Aycock
has declared that he has noidea that
this sum will be available-that it
will not be left in the treasury that
the other appropriations shall have
precedence over this one. That is
80 say that the appropriation will
amount to nothing.
SO the general tax fails. Three
efforts to increase it have failed.
And it appears that the limit of
special appropriations have already
been transcribed.
We turn to the local tax. In 1892
the townships throughout the State
were offered the opportunity to in
crease their school funds by a local
tax. Only nine of fifteen hundred
embraced that opportunity. And so
the local tax fails.
Meanwhile the schools are not only
maintained less than sixteen weeks
brief enough, Heaven knows-but
their equipments are shamefully
meagre; most of the houses have
only one room, and their furniture
is primitive in the extreme.
The General Assembly of 1899 pro
posed an amendment to the Consti-
tuition of North Carolina qualifying
the suffrage so as to exclude litter
ates, including write illiterates who
shall become Of age in the year 1908
or afterward. That amendment
would have been defeated by so, OGO
majority, had it not been pledged
that every boy and girl in North
Carolina, twelve years of age, should
be taught to read and write by 1908.
1t is two years now and more since
that amendment was proposed. 1t
is nearly a year since it was ratified.
A General Assembly has met and adj
journed. But nothing-nOt one
thing-has been done. There are