The Hawaiian gazette., 1909-11-26
WILL WE PAY
MURt IN TAXES?
School Fund Commission Wants
the Taxpayers to Express
Opinions on This.

Are the people of Hawaii willing to
pay an extra tax for the benefit of
the public schoolsi That is what the
members of the school fund commission
want to know.
The commission has been holding
weekly meetings for the past nine
weeks. At every meeting the commits
sioners see ways in which the schools
of the Territory can be improved; at
each meeting they gather more infor-
nation about the way schools else
where are supported and what the cost
Of supporting good schools in other
States and Territories is; at every
meeting they 60 over the territorial
fiscal scheme to see where the schools
can get more funds without disturbing
the whole financial arrangements. The
members of the commission have come
to no definite conclusions, but the lean.
ing of the board is to a specific tax
for the benefit of the schools. Whether
this tax is to be a definite portion of
the taxes raised now by the fixed taxa
ton rate, or whether it is to be in ad
dtion to the present rate, is what they
have not decided and upon which they
want some expression of opinion from
the people.
1t is suggested that The Advertiser
,n 20 tIa l.,
the subject, suggestion this paper
hereby agrees to.
After yesterdays meeting of the
commission, the following statement
was drawn up to be made public 1t
states the position of the commission.
ers so far as they have progressed in
their work. Upon the statement, criti-
cism is invited. The statement is:
Money for the Schools.
a few weeks ago this commission
authorized preliminary statement to
the public, in which without taking
any hnal position regarding the matter
in hand, the view was expressed that
probably some form of a specific tax
in support of education would on the
whole be the most successful and the
Since the issuing of that statement
much information has been gathered
from many sources, including various
states and sections of the American
Union. And the commission itself has
held several meetings and given careful
study to the whole situation. The re-
suit has been thus far to confirm the
view previously announced. And we
hereby again invite our fellow citizens,
and especially those who are interest.
ed in education, to consider whether
specific tax, imposed by general law
in force from year to year except as
amended or changed on special occa.
sion, may not be best adapted to Sc.
cure economy, stability, and the inter
ests of all parties concerned.
Such tax, so imposed, would not
fetter the legislature, for the whole
matter would still be under the control
of the law'making power. And in years
| when there was no necessity for any
change our Legislators would be the
freer to give their time and thought
to other issues, With regard to the
| amount of money to be raised for school
purposes, if it should be necessary to
keep that amount proportionately as
| small as 1t is now, specific tax run
ming stably from year to year would
enable the school authorities to know
what to depend upon, and thus to use
their funds to the best advantage.
And if, on the other hand, the enlarge.
ment which is greatly needed can be
realized, the specific tax would furnish
most convenient method of such en-
largement
Moreover, while our public school
laws and their administration must
ever be a department of general gov
ernment and subject to its general exi-
gencies, yet there is need of a good
| degree of independence in the school
| system. The best educational success
is impossible so long as our schools are
| subject to the fluctuations of politics
and biennial appropriation. Just here,
1t seems to us, is one excellence of the
specific tax for our schools. 1t affords
our school system and school author
tiles the reasonable independence which
is promotive of the highest success,
while at the same time keeping them
subject to the legislative, Judicial and
executive departments of the territorial
government.