The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1907-01-31
AID FOR
HIGH SCHOOLS
Half Mill Tax Proposed by Cal.
Iege Section of Teach
erS' Association.
FUND NOW INSUFFICIENT
LEGISLATURE WILL BE ASKED
TO TAKE UP QUESTION


A determined effort is being made g,
secure the passage of a law by The d.
islature levying a half-min tax n u,
IN the establishments and maintepanca
/ or nigh schools throughout the Stats
The movement has the indorsernent w.
the State Teachers association and ~
high school and college section of Ha.
! body is actively at work i'm creatin.
sentiment i'm favor of the plan
In discussing the present situation 7
+. Eggertsen. chairman Of the section
and superintendent OF the Utah count,
schools. said:
At present the state has no fund IN
ana high schools and those that have
/ Deen established. and there are only
| thirty-siX OF them, are supported by the
people Of the towns in which they are
/ situated. Many of them are having
lard struggle to get along and need
| heIp badly. II is our plan to have
state high school fund created TO aid
/ IN the maintenance of the institutions
| already established and to help i'm ex-
| tending the system. As conditions now
are the majority of eighth grade grad
yates must either quit school entirely
OF attend the preparatory departments
OF the university of Agricultural coli
leSe. In many instances these students
are TOO young TO send away from home
and then. again. the expense is too
great for most parents to bear and as a
result the large proportion Of eighth
grade graduates never secure any more
schooling. while if there was a high
school In their own town or nearby they
could continue their education with lit
/ tie or no expense attached"
Some Pertinent Figures.
1T is about time" continued Mr.. Egg
gertsen. that the university was abol-
! lshing its preparatory course and de-
voting its energies entirely 10 college
work. This viii never come. however.
until there are more high schools I'm
the state, and the quicker they are es-
tablished the better it will be for the
people. In Utah county we have five
high schools. Before they We're estab-
lished only 20 per cent OF the eighth
grade graduates went to Salt Lake for
high school courses. Since then. how
ever. so per cent Of the graduates have
completed the work i'm the Utah county
high schools This shows concIusivelv
the good which has been accomplished. e
In order 70 bring the matter square
~ before the Legislature. a petition has
been prepared TO the governor and the
members of both houses. Besides ask
ing that a haif-mill tax be levied for
high school purposes, the petition asks
that the present S-mill levy for the
maintenance of primary and grammar
schools be continued. and that a spe-
cifc tax levy be made for the main
tenance Of the higher educational in
stitutions
The petition is as follows:
The Petition.
Whereas. In view of the fact that
the people Of Utah. in amending the
constitution Of the state have eX-
pressed themselves in favor of public
high schools; and in view of the fact
that the present school fund is INSULT
cient TO maintain such schools in addi-
ton TO our present school system:
therefore
We petition lis excellency, the gov
ernor of Utah. and the honorable, the
members of the Seventh legislature. To
encourage the establishment and aid
the maintenance of such public high
schools and further the educational in
terests of this state by
First-Continuing the present 3-mill
tax for the maintenance of the pri-
mary and grammar schools:
Second AppropriatiuS one-half mill.
more or less. from the general fund for
the maintenance of public high schools.
Third-ApDrOpriating a specific tax
of q certain per cent on the taxable
property OF the state. for the mainten-
ance of state institutions Of higher ed
ucation.
Respectfully submitted by the under
signed. a committee appointed by the
high school and college section Of the
State Teachers association OF Utah.
Signed: l. +. Eggertsen. chairman,
superintendent Utah county schools: l..
A. Ostein. secretary, Logan Agricultur-
al college; a. c. Nelson. superintendent
of public instruction; G. n. Child, Lehi
high school; ]. 3. Forbes. American
Fork high school: ID. II. Robinson,
Manti high school; d. II. Adams, Og-
den.
-NIre $1,000