The comet. (Johnson City, Tenn.) 1884-1916, 1914-10-29
A RECKLEsS WASTE OF
OUR SCHOOL MONEY.


Continued from Page One)
lature warns every official that he ex,
ponds more than is allowed at his own
risk.
When Thompson gets to running
short on the amounts allowed him by
law we find him attempting to charge
up a city directory of Nashville, Sc
to the common school fund. If the
state auditor stood for this there is
something wrong. 1t was properly
chargeable to the superintendent Of
flee and nowhere else.
They tried hard to break into this
common school fund. We observe
that on April 80 Thompson shot in a
voucher, No. 1904, as travelling ex-
pense, charged to the common school
fund. This was wrong and showed
bad taste This account was properly
chargeable to the superintendent
travelling expense account If the
state auditor didn't do that lie should
have.
Presidents Are Travellers.
All the normal school presidents
travel around great deal, too. Now
there should be no desire to critic
the legitimate expense incurred by
these presidents in visiting various
points in the interest of their schools.
The real point is the system, loose
and lax. The expenses of these presi-
dents come out of the normal school
funds.
Under the resolution that 1homp-
son got through the board about trav-
cling anywhere, everywhere, these
normal school presidents can so out
side the state anywhere they want to
and at the expense of the children of
Tennessee.
When they go out on these educa-
tional rallies during the summer and
fall just gefore the gubernatorial cam
paigns to drum up sentiment for a
bigger raid on the state treasury for
school funds, their expenses are char
ged up to the taxpayers. Just at this
time 80 1-3 per cent of the gross rev
enue of the state goes to schools, be-
sides polls and the interest on the
imaginary fund. There is limit to
all things.
No Check on the NOrmals.
There is absolutely no check on the
normal schools so far as the state
board is concerned, except that may
be once a year a financial report is
gotten up. An effort to get hold of
some sort of balance sheet showing
the receipts and disbursements month
ly or periodically has proved failure.
But the expense goes on. For in
stance, we find voucher No. ia, dated
April 5, in favor of S. G. Gilbreath,
president of the East Tennessee nor
NAL, for $115.46. That's about all
there is to it. 1t doesn't appear wheth-
er this comes out of the normal fund
proper or out of the local funds; that
is, money collected as tuition, and so
on.
The money collected as tuition
ought to be turned into the state
at regular intervals and prop
erly accounted for to be held by the
treasurer until it is drawn out by full
warrant of law.
Voucher No. 1895, July 20, for the
president of the East Tennessee nor
nal, shows absolutely nothing.
Voucher No. Oils, in favor of Prof. |
iilbreath, for $1,390.14, seems to be
tens for furnishing the presidents
residence, since study, library, guest |
looms and so forth are mentioned, but |
here is nothing to show whether this
was from Prof. Gilbreath by
he state board or not
Thompson and Prof Brister have
,een throwing stumbling blocks in the
way of installing a uniform system of /
for the normals, and
hey are kicking against an audit
Why not let's have an audit?
Thompson is dead against all sorts
# reporting. At the September meet
ng of the board Harry Luck wanted
o put in a system of monthly or per-
balance sheets for the de-
'artment of public instruction.
'homDSon bitterly opnospd this and