The watchman and southron. [volume] (Sumter, S.C.) 1881-1930, 1912-08-03

Nhat economy is there is running q
little school Of eight or ten prlpils
within three miles Of another scbooio
Last year AbbeNiile county had one
school Of seven pupils costing $50
In Chester county one school of five
pupils cost $2S5. In Greenwood conn
tE school of six pupils cost 1924. In
Williamsburg county school Of two
pupils cost $3.50. In BarnwelI coun-
~ school of four pupils cost S155
lwenty-siX pupils in six schools cost
90, or an average of S61.31 per
pupil, while the average for the state
was but $12.62 for whites. This
question will be somewhat fully dis
cussed under the head of school or
ganization.
| Next in importance to a just and
equitable distribution Of the burden
of school tax comes that of an euuit-
able apportiOnement of the fund.
This is one of the most perplexing
of all school problems. The ten-day
enrollment of our present school law
is unjust in principle. There is neith-
)er justice nor reason in apportioning
as much school tax to the child who
attends school but ten days as to the
one who attends 100 days The
school funds belong to the child in
the school, not to the one at home.
The child must go to school in order
to get the benefit of what is set apart
for his schooling. In practice the
ten-day enrollemnt is vicious On
its very fHce is an implied invitation
Ito the child to drop out of school af-
ter the legal enrolment has been Sc
Icured, and as matter Of fact in a few
|places where the schools are crowd
led the children are not encouraged
Ito attend through the session. Be-
tsldes, it is we'll known fact to at
least some Of us that many Of the
white schools paid their rolls, and that
Isome trustees practically instruct
their negro teachers to pad their
trolls. Both these assertions are rath-
Ter hard, but they are not made at
IrandOm. With even the strictest Wig
ilance and honesty it is impossible to
keep from enrolling a considerable
number of pupils in two or three diff
Iferent schools during the same year
lsince SO many pupils move from dis
trict to district month after month.
i Enrolment should be so defined as
ITO encourage as-full attendance as
possible, and so long as possible
If our enrolment period were chang
ed from ten days to forty days, or
iwere the aggregate days of attendance
lof all the pupils for the school term
lmade the basis of apportionment, all
three of these desired ends would be
IserVed, and either plan would be an
improvement on what we have. One
lean hardly hope for either plan to be-
Icome popular. Our daddies did not
run their schools on that plan. and the
crossroads politician is ready to
point out the niquitous injustice of
lit to his constituents.
The rural graded school bill (The
Nicholson bid was drawn SO as to
lgive encouragement in the shape of
Estate aid to rural schools on four con-
ldltiOns, each forward step-a con-
lsoudation of little weak schools, an
increased tax levy. an increased teach
ing force, and heightened school
term. Before that bill became a law
1t was emasculatod Of one of its best
features, that Of attendance. The bill
provided that a twO-teacher school
should have an enrolment Of GO
pupils and an average attendance of
40 pupils The act as passed cut
down the enrolment to 80 and the at
tenance to 30. The bill provided that
the School OF three or more teachers
should enroll 80 pupils and should
nave an average attendance of 60.
THE act as passed cut the enrolment
to IS and the attendance to 40.
! | neSe changes defeat one of the most
important purposes Of the act-to
get the children into the schools and
to keep them there The idea of
Iemploying three teachers to teach 40
pupils does not appeal to the think
ing man as pregnant with wisdom; it
looks more like raid on the treas
ury. Here is an instance of a mea-
sure of Statewide importance being
prostituted To fit the immediate needs
of school district in perhaps = half
dozen counties.
The problem of school finances
lalOne offers immense nnnnrtnnitior q