The farmer and mechanic. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 18??-19??, 1911-12-05

| nan9lIlCS aS OIL
~con,munity. This is the ideal ioCai
and home rule system. Fl IS oe''ei
than any system that can ever De oe-
ytsed where conditions make IL WISE
IT is because this is the ideai system
that every energy has been empioyeo
RI get the people OF every scnooi ois-
,r;ct 10 vote for a special tax. But
there are two reasons why ms cah
not be put into effect in all Nor'i
::rolina. The first Is thai the consul
tution REQUIRES a uniform system
and requires the Legislature to levy
q fax on the whole State for publ1c
schools and that tax must be pald az
the same rate in every county in the
State. The second is that there are
so n,sny weak districts in the State
with little property that, II a purely
local system were put into operation
MANY OF them could not maintain
more than two months schooI; II
moreover. the State owes the duty or
educating the children in a cOmmuni-
~ with little property until that COM
munity becomes weather. as much as
it owes education to the children IN a
richer district.
What then is the first step TO take?
1t Is to require that dollar rails
cd by the State levy for public schools
to be sent to Raleigh and put in con-
troll Of the State Board of Education
and by them distributed to he
ties on the basis Of population. The
minute that this is done, you have
TO more pauper counties, so-cal1ed;
you have no more friction about ap-
propriations for the public schools
OUT Of the general fund; it would less
en- the friction OF educational appro-
priations all along the line and would
leave the Legislature nothing to do
as to public school money except to
fix the rate Of taxation for public
schools in the State. The fun would
increase with the In
creased valuation OF property in the
State. It would give the help to he
weak counties. not as a charity. but
q right. Every child is a State child
and a child OF Meckienburg n Wake
would get the same amount from
State taxes as a child from Ashe and
Tyrrell and no more. II the State
levies the tax. this should be an equal
per capita division throughout the
State. Then 1t would be up to each
school district in every county to take
care OF its OWL schools. to have q term
Of only a. many months as the State
will pay for or a term OF ten
months II they will tax themselves
Tor 1t. This would encourage every
to vote local taxes to increase
its term. It would stop the tempta-
ton in some counties to have a low
assessment in order to get funds from
the State Treasury by showing that
the local d. not meet the
need.
We do not believe it was contem-
plated in the beginning that the taxes
by the State should be retain
in the counties upon the basis Of
what the county pays. If it is a State
for uniform schools it should
be collected and disbursed by State
officials. If it is a county affair, the
taxes should be levied by the county.
distributed by the county and made
q local affair.
This matter is one that deserves
the serious consideration Of the edu-
Gators and friends OF education and
h legislators in the State. This ad-
vocacy Of dividing all the money
by the State for public schools
to all the counties on the hssis IF
their population is not a new one.
This paper advocated it twenty years
ago. The late Major S. NJ. Finger,
State Superintendent Of Public In
struction. made that Recommendation
n tt was debated with much inter-
est in the House, but was defeated by
q small majority. The large and
wealthy counties, feeling that they
would lose something by it, refused
to permit it's passage. It o,~bt NJ