St. Landry clarion. (Opelousas, La.) 1890-1921, 1913-05-31
where these taxes for maintain

ance have been voted, there IS q
public school session of full nine
months, the work in the State
Course Of Study is fully per-
formed, and the articulation in
the grades for promotion is COM
plete and the schools move on
smoothly and efficiently. Now,
the public schools belong to the
people. They are maintained
solely by the money contributed
in taxes by the people, and the
question Of the continuance or
prolongation of their sessions is
up to the people for solution.
Do you want a six months ses-
sion or a nine months session?
Do you want your child to at
tend school for six months and
forget most of what he has
learned during that six months
while he is waiting the next six
months for the schools to re-
open? Do yon want all the good
teachers to go off and secure
work in other parishes where
the session is longer, and the
chances Of making a living are
better, and leave to your Board
to elect teachers only from the
inferior teachers who could not
get a Job under better condi-
tons than you have to offer? In
other words, short sessions mean
the decadence and destruction
Of the public school system, and
the obliteration Of the splendid
opportunities which are being
developed for the education of
your children. Many districts
in this parish have voted special
taxes for the construction and
equipment of modern school
houses and adequate to meet the
common school requirements of
the communities in which they
are located, calculated to- estab-
lish higher ideals and standards
of life among the people where
they have been placed, and act
as a stimulus to the activities of
the people IL their effort for the
achievement of better things.
Some will say that we would like
TO have a continuance of this;eon-
dition of improvement, that we
know it is the duty of the par
ents TO provide for the education
of the child, but that the sys-
tenn is too expensive and we cans
not afford it. Did YOU ever sid
down and calculate the cost of
education In the public schools,
as compared TO that of other sys-
TENS of schools, ignoring entire
ly the greater efficiency of the
public. schoo3 system2 IL you
have not, we will submdt a few
figures and facts to you, I'M that
connection, hoping thereby to
disabuse your minds of the i'm
preston that the public school
does not offer the cheapest kind
of efficient instruction.
IL you take. the trouble to- con-
suit the. tax rolls of this parish
you wild find the names, OF 1868
persons listed for taxation, you
will find also that the total as
sessment of all those persons is
81, GAS, !a70. If you will divide
this 7,645, 060 by 1868, persons,
you will find that the per capita
assessment of each person, is
1858. 81. Now this $863.2 pays
as school taxes, where. special
school taxes have not been voted,
one and one-quarter mills to the
state and three mills to, the par
ish, making a total of four and,
one. quarter mills. amounting to
about s.. 81, but in. some dis
tricts the people have voted a
special school, tax, ranging from
three to FIVE for building
and equipping school houses,
which is a permanent invest
ment, after the tax term has
expired, and this five mills
would raise the per capita ass
sessment on the above named
averages about four dollars and
thirty-two cents, making a total
of seven dollars and ninety mine
cents. Now for this expendi-
ture of seven dollars and ninety
mine cents the individual whose
assessment reaches this average,
whether he has one child OF half
a dozen children in school, re-
ceives for the session all the tut
ton and school comforts that the
system has to offer. If the ses-
sion is for six months only it
costs him only about one dollar
and thirty-three cents per month
for all his children to attend
school. But suppose the people,
who own the schools, should de-
clare that they want a nine
months instead of a six months
session, and should also ask that
they be presented with an oppor-
tunity to vote a special tax of,
say, three mills for a term of
years for that purpose, what