The Colfax chronicle. [volume] (Colfax, Grant Parish, La.) 1877-1981, 1913-08-09
VOL. XXXvII
Opposed to the Five Mills Tax.
Editor Collar Chronicle:

Anent the parish wide school tax
proposition, | note that few OF our
citizens are coming out in favor OF the
tax through the columns of your paper,
and. while | desire to give utterance to
few thoughts in this connection, de-
sire to say at the outset that | am not
opposed to taxation to run our schools;
but, on the present condition of our
school affairs, would appreciate first
some information.
From the report of the school treasu-
rer in your issue of July 70, CLEAN the
following facts: Certain districts are
reported to have. overdrawn their funds
in various amounts, the aggregate OF
which is $24, 973.8l; the contingent
fund is also overdrawn S640.30; certain
other districts have credited to them an
amount of $l1 .05l So; the cash balance
on hand is Sc, 264 al. The sum of the
overdrafts and the amount due the dis
tricts which have working balance to
their credit is $50, Cos. 81, from which
take the cash on hand and you have
remainder of $50, 40l. 26. Now, what
does this represent? A debt of the
school fund? If SO, to whom or what
is it owing? Evidently the overdrafts
are due some fund and the amount to
credit of districts is due by the funds
that used it, for il is patent that cash
balance of $6,264.4l cannot satisfy
$l1, 051. 56 by 81, 1856 Is. What do these
amounts represent? Are they just fig
ures. or are they facts? Where did
this $50, 600. 90 overdraft come from?
VINO supplied it? Is it real? What is
it, bad bookkeeping? Have funds been
juggled. or am | dreaming? | want
this cleared up so | can understand it
before | can vote for parish wide tax
under any terms.
Furthermore, Mr.. Editor, why did
the school board consolidate the entire
parish into one district, leaving out only
a few districts in which special taxes
are now being collected? How is the
money to accrue from this special tax
to be distributed? The published pro-
ceedings of the school board states that
il shall be pro rata, or per head for
each child of schoolable age. Now,
Mr. Editor, don't you know that no pro
rata arrangement can support these
large and expensive high schools? And
don't you know that as the entire par
ish is in one district there is nothing to
prevent the diverting of the funds from
one school to another? for the towns
must have schools whether there is any
at the cross roads or not. 1t would be
too bad for the high school to close
down, and the money would be sup
piled, just as it has been done, and it
could then be done without any over
draft either. See? 1t won't take much
stretch of the imagination to see an un
patronized string of wagonets taking
the nearby children to the high school
one season and the next season aban-
doned for lack of patronage, this has
already happened in this PARISH, while
the cross roads school fund has been
diverted to the high school. The cross
roads wants it's school and should have
it. Why can't we keep our school dis
tricts as at present Tor recently. |
should have said) arranged, and if nee
essary (and that seems obviously true)
have our own taxes to support them?
You may probably be met with the ar
gument that this is unprogressive, rec
ommending retrograde movement, as
concentration of effort and endeavor is
the spirit of the times. Now, Mr.. Ed
itor. | remember that quite recently
YOU were scathingly arraigning the pres
ent school system, and barking back to
the .'3 RS; and ! quite agreed with
H.. l..
taught. more useful instruction was
given in the public schools, than at the
present time with our high school
courses of Latin, French, Spanish,
Chemistry, Algebra, and higher mathe-
matics, etc. Let us have our cross
road school teaching the fundamentals,
and in the towns which can and will
support them (pay the expenses) let US
hof
will. MY name for the present central
lied high school is a COLLEGE, capt.
tails written all the way through. But
for these schools to be supported and
run with the same funds as are used to
support our country schools is an injus-
tice. 1t is resulting in and will unques-
tionably utterly demoralize and destroy
our country schools, the r schools, if
YOU choose to so term them. To the
which YOU seemed to be opposed. but
now you come out as a full fledged par
ish wide taxer and centraliZer. O, fie!
Let's get this whole muddle straight
ened out, get together and forge ahead.
Let the high schools (patrons of the
high schools) support the high schools.
Render unto Caesar that which is his
and unto the 3 X man that which is his
Don't force the cross roads to disperse,
close up shop and return to that state
of blissful ignorance which has been
for so long a stigma on the fair name
of our beloved State.
Finally. Mr.. Editor, | desire to call
your attention to the inadequacy of the
flu IDS at the disposal of our police jury,
with which il is required 10 maintain
our roads and bridges and all necessary
criminal expensac of our parish The
police jury has not had and will not
have the control of penny of the
mills model road tax, and on account of
this special tax has been forced to as
sumo all expenses in the maintenance
xa.alla.. ....ic Of