Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1915-03-12

They were going to give to York
county. AndroScoggin county. and
Aroostook county-Yor-l $40. 900, An
aIosccgEin. $19U,o00. Aroostoo<, 1873,
o5"-de spite the FAC; that each OF the
.iloc counties, approximately valued
At 81 100000, had the 1ive-mill tax
that would he 500, 600. Just think Of
the inequality Of IT. Aroostook was
going to get $4,000, leaving a bal
"rce o. $1,000 for State taxes. York
Has going to cough up 100000 and
Androscoggin about the same.
After considering this thing for
years. and making a study of the
question with such upto-date men as
Carl Millilien and Alton Wheeler, ono
Of the best men that has ever been
here, we G:d make a report here, ami
we did make certain recommended
tons, but they deliberately passed
them over viii read the last
accommodation We made:
The plan Of aggregate attendance,
including eli schools and eliminating
aid TO secondary schools for any pur-
pose whatever, is one that should in
vlte careful consideration OF the peo-
pie"
If aggregate attendance is proper in
conmcn schools. l cant see why il
isn't proper in high schools. Why
cut out the high schools. and ciamor
for 4 great appropriation for the Uni
yersity OF Maine TO the extent OF per
maps s25o.0G0 for the next two years !?
Speaking about reaching the small
70 Tbar, &c that roach
them like The way this committee has
endorsed and worked for for years
hy a large equalization fund. The
equalization fund reaches only the
poor towns. 1t doesn't reach the I'M
deserving town and say to them:
Here is a thousand dollars more than
You want for school purposes"
1t gives to the towns that tax them
selves out of the appropriation for
school purposes five mills. or four and
4 half. or six mills-it hands them
over 50 much. You never hear word
about the equalization fund. but as a
matter Of fact s4O.0e0 was expended
for equalization purposes last year.
During my experience in the legis-
lature that has grown from nothing
up to $40, COO and we have bill in here
making it $4,000 for the next two
years.
You say why should the cities ask
for aggregate attendance in high
schools as we'll as in common schools ?
Fer this reason: the appropriation
asked for the next two years, for high
schools, VIII be s140, coo. the largest
ever asked for. This money is appro
priated on this basis: any town or
city that maintains a high school will
be reimbursed by the State to the
extent OF s500-no moreno matter
how many scholars you have: it does
Mt make any difference. The small
town Of % scholars gets just as much
as Portland. that has 1909 in the high
school, despite the fact that the cost
OF our high school is over $4,000. The
small town gets off for s751-s5O0 paid
ty the State. The State pays $3.50.
and sometimes pays extra for indus
trial training, so called. in the same
proportion that il re-imburses the city
If we really want to look after the
interests of the scholars Of Maine.
why don't we change some of the
taxes taken from the school funds?
Never hear a word about that. For
misunderstanding schoois-that is the
normal scholastic 600: schooling OF
children in unorcanized townships.
500. COO. superintendents OF schools in
towns having unions for superinten-
dency. $4,000 last year. Mostly the
SCI, 900 goes to the small country
schools. because by combining they
can get reimbursed to the extent OF
tvo-thirds of the salary Of the super
ir tendent. We may pay our superin-
.a,5an,s in the cities $500 or 5000, but