St. Landry clarion. (Opelousas, La.) 1890-1921, 1913-07-26
" E CAN'T H A '
SCHOOLS unless We
PAY FOR THEM.
Editor Clarion:


At its meeting of July 7th, the
School Board passed a resolution
of momentous Importance to the
people Of this parish. For sew,
eral years past, with increased
school expenses, the result OF
better teachers, increased at
tendance and the standardizlng
of the teaching force, it has been
a very perplexing question to
the School Board to raise enough
revenue to operate the schools
a sufficient length Of time to sus.
tain the identity Of some OF
them and maintain the efficiency
of all. In these times OF per-
plexity and distress at, or near
the end of the session, the
Board has had to make an ap-
peal to the Police Jury for
assistance. The Police Jury has
generally realized the necessity
of the maintenance of a good
public school system and has
almost always been responsive
to the demands made on it by
the school authorities, but there
is a limit to the ability of the
Police Jury to assist the schools
on account of the constitutions!
limit laid on its taxing powers,
and last spring after making
munificent provision for the pro-
longation of the school term and
the continuance of the schools,
it notified the people and the
school authorities, that it would
no longer be able to exercise this
generosity towards the schools,
as in order to assist them Their
it had been compelled to raise
the taxes one mill and antici-
pate the revenue from that
source for two years ahead. The
question now arises how are w
to provide the means for the con
tinuance Of the school session {,
such length of time as to de
rive from the system the great
est amount of efficiency. This
question has been solved salts
factorily by other parishes in
the state, by the voting Of a par
ish wide tax for the maintenance
of the schools. While School
Boards are not directly inVesteu
by law with the taxing power
within constitutional limits nhe
the Police Juries are, q way mas
been lett open, and legal pro-
vision has been made Tor the
people to tax themselves by
special election for giving adolf
rional aid to the puDllc schools.
1t would be too troublesome
right now for me to hunt up in
formation and give thna4ss OF
all the parishes thai AWE avalled
themselves of this provision OF
the law, but I viii cite three
parishes that are nov the Dane-
ticiaries of this privilege, viz.
Red River, which voted a tax of
5 mills for 10 years. Vermalon,
a tax of 3 mills for 5 years and
Jackson a tax OF 10 mills for 10
years. Other parishes in tbs
state have not voted a parish
wide tax but they have, as far
as practical results are con-
cerneo, voted by school districts,
taxes for maintenance and navs
about taken in the whole parish
in that way. Schools are hike
everything else that is good and
desirable; the operation and
mainten; ne of them costs
money, and their efficiency de
ponds, to a great extent, on the
amount of money that is ju-
diciously spent on them. They
are instituted for the benefit OF
the people, and they are main.
tanned by the people by their
money raised through some form
of taxation. The condition Of
the schools in this parish, anG
throughout the state, for thai
matter, is much superior to what
it was several years ago. How
was the this condition of superb.
ority brought about? Th {
answer is simple. BY the es.
tablishing of better schools, as
the result of employing better
teachers, having better super.
vision and the creation of bet.
ter school environments. But,
as teaching becomes standard.
lied, as the school houses grow
better and more attractive, as
the accessories to the schools be-
come more numerous and the
teaching more effective, as the
attendance increases, so the ex-
penses of maintenance increase,
and unless other funds are pro
vided to pay for these things
progress must cease and retro
gression set in. Is it the will of
the people of this parish that all
the school progress that has
been made in recent years,
should be destroyed and that
the schools should lapse into
their former condition? Do they
wish again to be compelled to