Polk County observer. (Monmouth, Polk County, Or.) 1888-1927, 1910-04-15
HIGH SCHOOL FUND Law
PROVISIONS CLEARLY EXPLAIN
ED BY PROF. L.. II. ALDERMAN.
Tells How Fund Is Apportioned and
How 1t Affects the Common
Schools.


Having made a close study of the
High School Fund law, Professor L.
r. Alderman, of Eugene, is probably
as well qualified to interpret its pro-
visions as any man in the state. In a
recent contribution to the Independ-
ence Enterprise, Professor Alderman
explains the practical working of the
law in a manner that will prove in
structive and entertaining to every
citizen of Polk County, and especially
to those of Dallas, where a movement
for High School is now under way.
He says:
'The county high school fund law
is law passed by the last legisla-
ture The idea of the law is to make
high schools within the reach of every
boy and girl in the county. The law
was first made operative in Lane coun-
| ty. 1t was voted at the June election
in 1908 under an old law. Briefly the
plan is this: A general tax is levied
upon all property in the county, which
money is then paid out as tuition, no
/
matter where the pupil goes within the
county, provided the school comes up
to the requirements of the county high
school board, which is made up of the
county court, county treasurer and
county school superintendent. In or
der to keep the larger places from get
ting more than their share of funds it
| is paid out as follows: The first TWEEN
ty pupils draw forty dollars each;
the second twenty draw thirty dollars
each, and each one in addition draws
twelve and one-half dollars. This en-
ables country districts to establish
high schools within the reach of the
children and it greatly increases the
attendance of the town high schools.
Effect ON Country Schools.
To illustrate how it affects country
schools, I give the history of the
Pleasant Hill school. During the
school year of 1907 and 1908, three
pupils came to Eugene from Pleasant
Hill. which is country district twelve
miles east of Eugene. They paid for
tuition and for board $500 each. The
next year, under this new law, teach
er was hired to teach the high school
subjects at Pleasant Hill for 5000 and
sixteen young men and women at
tended the entire year. In the fall of
1909 thirty-three students enrolled,
and the number is now greater than
that. People, instead of moving out
from the Pleasant Hill district, have
moved in, and better community is
the result. other country districts in
different parts of the county have now
organized high schools under this law
until there are in all fourteen high |
schools in the county.
Linn county voted to make this law
operative at the November election in
1908 and now they have thirteen high |
schools organized and the number of
pupils attending high schools has in
creased at a wonderful rate. The at
tendance of students in town in both
of these counties. has grown very fast
The attendance at the Eugene high |
school is now about five hundred, be-
ing the largest high school outside OF
the city of Portland in the state. The
schools of Junction City, Cottage Grove
and Springfield have also increased at
a rapid rate. The high schools in Linn
county are growing very rapidly.
Conditions In Polk.
I'm Polk county today only children
who live in the towns have high
school advantages. The boy or girl
living just outside finds the barrier of
tuition in his way. He also has the
feeling that the high school is for the
boys and girls of the city and is not
for him. This law makes any high
school in the county available for every
child in the county. 1t makes a heal
thy rivalry among the several high
schools OF the county. This increases
their efficiency.
Under this plan the following
places would probably have high
schools: Independence, Dallas, Falls
City, Monmouth, Ballston, Airlie, Bue-
ma Vista, Rickreall, Bethel and prob
ably other districts. These schools
would bring high school advantages
within the reach of all homes in the
County, IL NOuiu uldhN II hhAC1Nss9eig !
for any child to leave home in order to
get the advantages Of at least some
high school work. and, what is more
to the point, IT would take away the
last excuse of any Polk county boy or
girl for not getting as good an educa-
tion as any other boy or girl.
Makes Farm Life Attractive.
zone of the great problems we have
in America is to make people more
contented to live on the farm. The
Roosevelt Rural Life Commission re-
ports that one of the causes of so
many people leaving the country and
going to the city is because of poor
common schools and lack Of high
schools. This law puts the high school
within the reach OF every home. 1t
will have more to do with building up
prosperous and alert rural communi- u