The Newark journal., 1903-06-12
SOUTH
EDUCATION
RAISING THE SCHOOL FUND.
Inemciency of County and Local
Taxation and Need of State Aid
for Public Schools.

In some southern states most of
the school fund is raised by state
tax and is distributed to the coun-
ties in proportion TO their scholastic
population; in others the fund is
raised almost entirely by county tax
alton, a minimum limit being re-
quired by law. This last method is
used in North Carolina, Tennessee
and some other states. As it APP
proaches local taxation it involves
right principle; but its inetiicieney
and the need of good large fund
raised by state taxation and appor-
toned to the several counties of the
state on a basis of school population
and regardless of wealth is shown by
the following statement in regard to
certain counties in Tennessee.
OF the 90 counties of Tennessee, "a
possess less than $500 of taxable prop
erty of all kind per capita of school
population. In these counties one
mill tax would produce less than 30
cents per capita of school population.
The range is from $119 in Hancock.
$14s in Union, S160 in Unieoi, $l7o IN
| Overton. and $1s6 in Sewer and Pick
EFT, in which counties a one-miH tax
would raise $0.119, sofas, S0.16o, SOTO
and $O.1s6 respectively, to $3.50 IN
Maury, 1851 in Knox, 1895 in Shelby,
81, 107 in Hamilton, and $1,207 in Da-
wilson, in which counties a one-mill
tax would raise $0.S50, S0.s51, S0.995,
Sl1o7 and $1.207 respectively. From
this it is readily seen that ten-mill
tax in Hancock county would raise a
smaller amount per capita OF school
population than would be raised by
one-min tax in Davidson. In many
counties in Tennessee a tax levy TO
the full limit now permitted by law
would not raise sufficient funds to run
the schools properly for four months.
In others a seven months school term
can be had with Il little more than
the required levy of e mills and 81
on polls. But the rich counties are
more able to pay a high tax levy than
the poor counties are to pay lower
levy. Railroads, telegraph companies,
and similar corporations pay taxes on
about 100000, 000 of the $400,000000 Of
taxable property in the state, and
nearly all these pay taxes in the richer
counties. A smaller per cent. of the
property in the poor counties IS non
taxable personal property than in the
rich counties.
Another reason why the poorer
counties need help is found in the
fact that in these counties there are
larger families of children than in the
richer counties. In Claiborne county
400 per cent. of the population are Of
school age; in Carter, 3s.3; in Sewer,
400; in Hancock, 40.6; in Union, 400;
in Hawkins, 81; in Hardwood, A; IN
Fayette, 43.5; while in Davidson only
36.2 per cent of the population are OF
school age; in Shelby, only 314; in
knox, 33.7; in Hamilton, So; in Maui
~, 32.1.
A levy of a one-mill tax on all the
property of the state would raise a
sum sufficient, if distributed to the
counties on the basis of school popu-
lation, to give about 81 cents to each
child of school age. OF course the reia-
tive aid this would give to the schools
in the several counties would depend
on the proportion the fund thus re-
ceived would bear to the present fund.
In some counties it would be about
one-third the present fund, in others
not more than one-tenth.
But should the richer counties be
asked to help educate the children OF
poorer counties? Does the education
of the children of these poorer coun-
ties concern the welfare of the state
as a whole? The answer to both ques-
tions must be the same.