The Farmville herald. [volume] (Farmville, Va.) 1890-1934, 1906-10-19
Our EDUCATIONAL COLUMN.
Local Taxation.

Nlue lot focal laANllon III tue loiloM
ing words:
"The Board OF Supervisors Of eacl
county, on or before the fourth Mon
day in July Of each year, or as soor
thereafter as praciicable,-shall levy
tax Of not less than seven and hal
nor more than twenty cents on tn,
hundred dollars of the assessed value
Of the real and personal property in
the county for the support Of the pub
lie free schools Of the county, and q
tax Of not less than seven and a hall
nor more than twenty cents on the
hundred dollars Of the assessed value
Of the real and personal property in
any school district for district school
purposes, &c'
Under this law the Boari Of Super
yisors at its annual meeting on Aug
ust 18th last, fixed the county school
levy FOR the ensuing year at ten cents
ON the hundred dollars, and the levies
for the several districts as follows: Buff
falo, l5c: Farmville, Hampden and
Leigh Toe, Lockett 2Oc.
The county school fund thus provid-
ed for will amount, we hope this next
year to about $1,000, an increase Of
nearly $500 over last year due to the
increased assessment Of real and per
sonal property
This sum. like the funds provided
10y the state, must be used exclusively
in the pay of teachers-the only diff
ference being that the county funds
may be used exclusively for the pay
of teachers in the primary and gram
mar schools.
The district school fund is the only
money available for the building and
equipping of new schoolhouses, the
repairing Of old buildings, and the
current expenses of fuel, insurance,
rent dc.
I'm some of the districts this fund is
utterly Inadequate for the building
and maintaining OF the necessary
school houses.
Buffalo distric; with its twenty-four
schools has heretofore had about 5000 !
TO maintain her Observation-Disclosures |
>25 10 each school.
by the use Of strict economy the |
trustees have managed with this small |
sum 90 rent log cabins, furnish fuel |
and pay other necessary expenses, and |
lay by little each year until i'm the |
course of five or six years they could |
build @ decent school house. The re-
suit is that many schools are still held /
in unsighuy ana unsanltary log ca
bins, with the children sitting on long
benches with mo- backs TO them, and
the 10 m crowded almost 20 suiloca-
ton.
Even the better frame buildings
owned by the district are poorlyequip
ped with desks and bIackboards and
map,-with the one exception Of the
school at Prospect.
Ills hoped that the additional DC
levied for This district will enable the
trustee, in q few years 90 have conn
'ortable frame buildings suitably |
equipped throughout the district.
Famville district has, because Of
he value OF property in tine town Of
samyillc. a larger district fund than
any other, amounting last year 10
.l,7m But. owing 90 10, SMALL school
population. her share of thc state and
county funds is smaller than that Of
iuy other district, amounting last
year Co. q little les than $1,000.
Vow, there are sixteen teacher, TO
be- paid, and these cost last session the
.um of $500 or ten dollars more than
Doe whole income of the district Re
pairs. rent, me'. trea,urer's commits
.i1n 6c.. amounted 90 the addition
30 sum of $780, 80 that in round
numbers the trustees had 20 spend
70 ,m more than they received, almost
2iping ont the balance ON hand from
he years before. This increased ex-
lenditure was largely due 20 the laud-
able effort, of the trustees 90 improve
he Famyille High School.
Unless we are 90 give up these ef-
'ous TO improve the condition Of this
school, more money must
n some way be provided.
The trustees recently asked the peo-
pie Of this district to vote an increase
IF 10 cents ON tie hundred dollars, but
were emphatically refused.
The issue is plain. II the people
lon't want better schools enough to
pay for them. they certainly won't
get them. As contracts had already
been made before the result Of the
school vote was known, the trustees
propose to run the High School this
session for nine months as heretofore,
even if it ends i'm a deficit i'm school
funds; but evidently they will not be
able TO run the school more than six
pr seven months hereafter unless more
money is provided in some way. They |
do not propose TO reduce the
salaries Of the teachers who are pooly |
enough paid at present.
Poor Hampden, with its large col
pred population, has the pitiful sum
)fS3il73 with which TO run nineteen |
schools, paying for rent, fuel, repairs,
5c., and trying TO lay by enough IN
len years 10 build decent school for
her white children. The trustees have |
done wonderfully well with the sum |
at their disposal; but in spite Of their
Efforts their log school houses built |
years ago are threatening to fall down |