Honolulu star-bulletin. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu, Hawaii]) 1912-2010, 1912-12-16
money MUST Go
! BACK TO COUNTY
FINDS governor

The S7o,I59i6 which the Territory
deducted from the counties to reim-
| burse itself for the payment OF that
| amount to the territorial schools dur
I ing the latter half OF 1911, must be
| paid back TO the counties, and of this
| sum Oahu VIII get approximately
1000 as its share. This was the de-
cision reached at a conference Sat
urday afternoon between the Govern
or. the territorial treasurer and the
auditor
They finally concluded that while
the schools were entitled to the $7O,-
| 600, the Territory had no right to
take that amount from the counties
on the theory that the counties had
|. been overpaid in 1911. The question
is one Of deep technicalities, develop
ing apparently from bookkeeping
error, but has injured no one depart
ment or the Territory. 1t arose
through the workings or possible mis-
understanding of the tax and school
laws t.-
harrington Explains. -
The manner in which the term
school fund deficit has been handled
has given the impression that the
public schools of the Territory have
oyerdrawn their account" said W. r.
Harrington, commissioner of public
instruction, who was chairman of the.
commission that framed the present.
law providing money for the public
schools III. .- -. H. z
There can be no deficit for which
the public schools should be charged
unless the school teachers are paid
more money than is provided for un-
der the law passed by the last legis-.
lature. And that has not happened.
THAT law made the payment of
school teachers salaries, under the
schedule provided in the law, first:
charge on the territorial revenues
from real and personal property
first charge after interest and sink
ing fund had been taken care of.
I'm other words, the money for the
schools comes first, among the. sever
al departments of government, under,
definite schedule laid down in the
law
Bookkeeping Tan9le. -. -"
'.Now It may be and apparently is
true, that the officers of the territori-
al government is laying out their
scheme of finance have designated
the money apportioned for the
schools as school fund, but it is
not true that the public schools have
at any time taken or used more mon
ey than was rightfully due them UNI
der the law, or that more has been
drawn from any school fund than
was provided by law.
1T may BE that the treasurer or
the auditor has taken from the Coun-
.ty fund pockststo pay the school bill
and now find they must take from the
territorial pocket But let no one run
away with the idea that the schools
have called for or taken more than
has been properly coming to them,
Schools "the Goat" s..
1.-The complaint ! have against the
method in which the conversation on
this topic has proceeded is, that some
Of the chief spokesmen, thoughtlessly
perhaps, have been making the pub
lie schools The goat of all the diff
Guilty. They have giVelNthe impress
sion that the large expense of the
schools is what has caused a deficit. |
Such statements are entirely inislead.
ing. ~.
"If there is any deficit it must be
the fault of some other department
than the public schools Of this Terri
tory
"The law passed by the last legis- |
lature made the expenses of the pub
lie school teaching force a first
charge on the real and property taxes
of he Territory, provided that nothing
in the law shall be interpreted to in
terfere with the sinking fund and in
terest on the public debt. The schools
come first. ..... -.
The whole deficit proposition ap- |
pears to be one of bookkeeping, as !
the legislature did not provide for a /
definite school fund There is only |
one school fund under the law, and
that is the fund made up OF the taxes |
from real and personal property, less ,
the money needed for interest and
sinking fund.
IF any other department OF the
government has drawn more freely |
than it should on these funds, let /
that department bear the bruntFof 1t. |
But let the public understand that
there can be no deficit for which the |
public schools of this Territory can |
be responsible,
~ II --S~ /