St. Tammany farmer. [volume] (Covington, La.) 1874-current, 1908-08-22
TO THE PUBLIC.

y
to Judge Burns touching the affairs
of this School Board, some statements
are made and conclusions drawn that
appear to us to be unwarranted by the
facts in the case.
The report was, if we remember
correctly, filed on July 18th, and con-
tanned a statement of an overdraft of
the account of this Board, when said
condition did not at that time exist,
but to the contrary, the Board had
balance of about $500 and was meet
ing every obligation promptly.
The matter of the deficiency in the
funds of the Third Ward is an old
matter dating back beyond the ap-
pointment of this Board. sThe Third
Ward deficit began as far back as
1902, and has grown as the years have
passed in ratio as the population OF
that ward has increased. The reason
for this shortage of funds is easily ex-
planned.
inst here let US say, by way of pa
renthesis, it is our firm conviction that
not one dollar of funds due to any
child, school or ward has been wrong
fully applied, but that this Board has
felt bound by a precedent which, with
its four years of experience, it has
proved to be a very bad one. We
mean that it is bad policy to divide
the funds among the wards on fixed
standard for four years at time,
while at the same time the children
to be educated in that ward are con-
stantly on the change.
For the past three years we have
been trying to educate the children OF
the Third Ward on the funds falling
to that ward, apportioned to 739 chill
dren enrolled by the census of 1903,
an enumeration which it seems was
far below what it should have been at
that time, and which has resulted in
large loss to the funds of this Board,
as well as to the funds of the Third
Ward, for the past four years.
For the school term of 19O4-5 there
were 500 children enrolled out OF a
census population of 739, while to-day
there are 961 in school, on a census
enrolment of 1924. From this 1t
seems that the census of 1903 should
have shown not less than 1000 children
in the Third Ward, and it is largely on
account of the neglect of the person
whose business it was to see that we
got fair enumeration that the re-
sponsibility for this deficit is due.
Whenitis considered that it was just
at this period that the large influx Of
people to Covington and Ablta Springs,
! which began in about 1900, was at it,
height, it is easy to see just how bad
ly the Third Ward was hurt by this
piece of negligence.
We would also call attention to the
fact that 1868 children as the tota
number of educable children in the
parish for the year 1903 was probabl!
as wrong as was the assessors orlgl
nal enumeration last year of 4l35, t.
which this Board, by its dlllgence
added 1923 names, which We're Worti
this year to the parish just $1.8l each
or S3118.68 and which will be wort
to us in four years 1924 each, or pos
siblv more. At any rate, we fee
that in adding 1923 names to the cen
sus of educable children in this parish
and thereby $12, 474.52 in the treasur
of the School Board, we have prove
our fidelity to the interests committe'
to us, which is just what should haV
been done by those who were IN charg
of the schools in 1908; which increase
in the face of necessarily larger eH
penditures, should help our successor
to meet the growing demands upo
them and leave their funds IN bette
shape than they otherwise would nav
been. 1t cost US just $l38.5O to pu
this S12474. So in the treasury OF tn
School Board.
We have been severely reprlmande
ror violating the sacredness OF tn
ward funds by using them for tn
! good OF the children attending schoo
no matter where they were enrolled
the schools of the parish, and yet NJ
Lancaster, when superintendent c
the schools of this parish, as far bac
|, as July /, 1901, and from that tln
on. allowed a similar state OF allan
to exist. 1t was bad policy, Whlc
] we found and accepted as matter
course, as we were informed that Ii
funds were to be divided among. tt
3 wards just as they were receive
: from the State, on per caplta-censl
: basis; this, experience teaches US,
3 all wrong; a very bad policy, -,
We have also been raked over u
/ Goals for a seeming discrimination
favor of the third ward in the matte
of school term just the same as II Tn
had never been done before. In u
report of the then superintendent, fllt
, October 1st, 1901, we ind a record
the school term of each school IN tl
narish, and little calculating shoV
ms that the term in the white schoc
of each ward figured this way: FIR
Ward. 9 months; Second Ward, 3 9
months; Third Ward, Z IL month
Fourth Ward, Z IL months; Filth w
8 IL months; Sixth Ward, 5 montf
Seventh Ward, 5 months; Elgh
Ward. Z IA months, Ninth Ward
months.
From these figures it seems that t
Third Ward got at that time more tn
twice the term that the second wa
did. whereas the second ward far
much better the past year, gettl
ITO months, and would have gott
its full term if teachers could ha
been kept to the end of their tern
The statement that the Third Wa
p schools got a nine-months term IS
tirely unwarranted by the facts IN
case. To be exact, the term was
= months for white schools and 5 g.
for both white and colored scho
4 and the school term for the VIII
parish was 6-10 months, instead o
months, as stated in the report.
It must also be considered that
s- mast four wears has marked the M
=. remarkable growth ever recorded
~ the public school work of this Sta
During these years parishes all oN
the State have been vying with ea
other for teachers of which there
been a large shortage, and to get
best qualified they have advanced sa
ries to in some instances about dou
what we were paying. Under the
schedule of prices We found it We
difFcult TO pet teachers except