Rosebud County news. [volume] (Forsyth, Mont.) 1901-1906, 1901-05-02
7UST AGREE ON BASIS.
New Counties Clamor For School Money
7ust Comply With Directions.


State Superintendent of Public In
struction w. w. Welch is besieged
with lamentations of Custer. Rosebud,
Deer Lodge and Powell counties who
are clamoring for their pro rata of the
$50, 900 alleged bribery money turned
| into the school fund by the act of the
legislature. In all the other counties
OF the state the money has been dis
tributed, but these four counties have
county superintendents have neglected
to follow to the letter the explicit in
structions of the state superintendent
of public instruction.
In the first place the delay in the dis
tributation of the money in these counties
was due to the fact that Custer and
Deer Lodge counties were divided at
the last session of the Legislative
assembly, and it was provided that the
apportionment of the $50, 600 should be
made to the several counties of the
state on the basis of the last school
census. If the part due Custer County,
for instance, had been sent to that
county, Rosebud, which was created
OF Custer County, would have been left
out in the cold. The same state of
affairs exists in Deer Lodge and Pow
ell counties. Instructions were sent
out to the county school superintendent
of these counties by the state superin-
tendent of public instruction indicating
to them the course to be pursued in
order to avail their respective counties
! of the amount to which they were en-
| titled. They were informed that it
was question they must decide among
themselves. They were informed that
the state board of education could not
divide the money among them until the
county superintendent agreed upon the
school population in their respective
counties and this population shonld
correspond with the figures of the last
school census as shown by the comfy
superintendents, Custer county had
2,O87 school children and Deer Lodge
county 3,S55. The county superintend-
ents were told to put their heads to-
gethes and by reference to their reports
as embodied in the last school census.
! decide what number of these pupils
were in each of the counties. This did
not mean that a new census was to be
taken. 1t did not mean that the money
would be Forthcoming upon request if
the instr -.ctions were not followed,
and the department supposed that in a
few days the matter would be ad-
justed.
But the county superintendent
appear to be muddled beyon the res
cue point. They are flooding the state
superintendent of public instruction
! with questions. One wants to know
| when to take the census. Another
wants to know why the money has not
been to her county. One wants the
state superintendent to hurry up and
pay. There is no provision for the
taking of school census before Aug
ust, and if it were taken now it would
not be recognized as the basis for the
distribution of the money to which
those counties are entitled. More,
it is probable that if the correct re-
ports are not made to the state super
indent before the next census in Aug
ust the courts would decide as has
been done in other states that the time
for the payment of such money had
lapsed and the balance that wonld have
otherwise gone to those four counties
would revert the general fund and be
distributed pro rata to all the counties
of the state.
State Superintendent Welch is writ
ing to the superintends again, telling
them whatthey have already been told
the simple thing they must do in order
to get the money that belongs to their
districts.