Daily Kennebec journal., 1903-01-14
THE SCHOOL FUND.
New Method of Distribution
Proposed by Gov. Hill.
Reason for Favoring Distribution
According to Attendance.
The Relations of This Fund to the
Savings Bank Tax.

One of the most important subjects
under discussion by the members of
the Legislature who have remained in
the city is the recommendation of Gov.
Hill in his inaugural address regarding
the method OF apportioning the school
fund ana mill tax. The Governor ad-
vocates the distribution of the school
money according to the average atten-
dance of scholars rather than by the
whole number of scholars of school age
in any community, as now prevails.
Governor Hill believes that such a
change in the method of dividing the
States money among the towns would
do more to enforce the truancy laws
and the child labor laws than any other
action that could be taken. If the
change is made and towns lose thereby,
the school officers will very quickly un
derstand that the reason for the cut
ting down of the towns stipend is due
to the fact that their children do not
attend school and they will therefore
insist that school attendance is made
imperative. The proposed alteration
in the method of apportioning the
school money will bring about this
wholesome state of affairs, and this is
what the Governor is anxious to Sc
cure. The fact that at the present
time the change will affect some towns
and some counties is to be regretted
but it is believed that it will not be
many years before the new system will
right itself and every community will
receive a fair and equitable distribution
of the school fund and mill tax in pro-
portion to the number of scholars at
tending school,,
During the past 20 years marked
and gradual increase of the school fund
and mill tax has been going on. The
State has been growing in wealth and
it's valuation for taxation purposes has
been rapidly increasing. In 1881 the
valuation of the real and PERSONAL
property in the whole State was but
$224565 $50. One mill of the State tax
is given to the support of the common
schools; so that for the year 1881 the
.nill tax brought to Names public
schools the sum of 1924. 5000. The
Rschool fund of that year amounted to
$89,33G51. The whole amount avail
able for school purposes was 1913, ,S95.-
81. In the past score of years the
NdiUdLion UtS JilnDtu 10 SooZ, Z,ZZo,OJi III
1902. This means that the mill tax
alone for the next school year will be
$3S 333.02 more than the school fund
and mill tax combined amounted to in
1881.
In that year the whole number Of
children between the ages of four and
II was 2fi.274 and the average atten-
dance was 105, ,S44. In the school year
ending April /, 1902. the whole number
of children of school age was 213,526
and the average attendance was 9S,917
The money available for school pur-
poses for the school year 1902 amounts
to $562, ,461, and for the school year 1903
it will aggregate $59O,2S0.77.
1t will therefore be seen that the in
crease IN the school fund and mill tax
since 1881, with no gain in the number
of children OF school age nor in an in
creased average attendance, has grown
from $313,S95.S7 in that year to $780,
2S0.77 for 1908 ~ gain Of nearly three
hundred thousand dollars, or, to be ex-
act, S276,3S4.90.
This great increase in the amount of
money which the State of Maine ex-
pends upon it's common schools has
been caused by the gain in the States
valuation in the first place, and in the
unexpected growth of the savings
banks tax, one half of which goes to