The Kennewick courier-reporter. [volume] (Kennewick, Wash.) 1914-1938, 1915-02-25
WHAT It COSTS
TO run SCHOOLS
Comparison of the Kennewick
School Taxes is Made with
Other Towns of State

EDITORS Note-The following is ,
condensation of an address delivere,
at the Highland Club house, Februar.
10Th, by M. S. Lewis, and is printed
upon the suggestion of some of thos'
present that EVENING".
A very proper subject Of interest t,
the people Of any community should b
the matter of school taxation, not onl,
because they are most vitality inter
ested in the results which ought to b
secured from the expenditure of those
funds, but also because of the amount
of such taxation, forming, as it does
from thirty to sixty per cent of the
total amount Of local taxation through
out the entire state. This interest in
school taxation is of sufficient impor.
lance in our own community to justify
an examination of how our school tar
in Kennewick compares with the tar
in other communities similarly stu
ated. Such comparison is easily made
because the state superintendent Of
public instruction publishes each year
an educational directory and school
statistics bulletin which gives the data
upon which to base comparison of
the schools throughout the state. Such
figures as are given below have been
taken from that bulletin, the statistics
being for the school year 1913-1914 be-
cause those for the school year 1914-15
are not yet available.
Attention is desired to be called to
the fact that the report Of the Russell
Sage Foundation, while placing Wash
ington at the head Of all other states
in the union in regard to education,
plainly indicated that that eminence
had been reached only by unusual will
ingness throughout the entire state to
pay literally through taxation for the
school support. This willingness has
resulted in higher average Of taxa
ton for school purposes than is to be
found in eastern or middle western
states, condition which does not at
tach to Kennewick alone but to practi-
cally all similarly situated commun-
tiles in the state. The following sta
tistics will make this point palmer:
Comparison Of Taxes
Kennewick's school enrolment last
year was COG pupils, her school tax
11.8 mills. For basis of comparison
all towns in the state having q school
enrolment between 400 and 800 pupils
have been selected. There are 40 such
towns in. the state. The school taxes
in seven Of those 40 towns are less
than 8 mills; in one town the tax is
8 mills; in two, 9 mills; in seven, 10
mills; in seven, II mills; in four towns
the school taxes vary from ia mills
to 11.8 mills; in four towns they are
IL mills; in one, 1876 mills; in two, 10
mills; in four Ia mills; in two, 14.5
mills; in two, Is mills; in one, 1916
mills; in two, 16 mills; in one, II; in
one, 10; in one21 mills. In other words
Of the 40 towns in the state with en-
rollments between 400 and 800 pupils,
in seven the taxes are considerably
lower than in Kennewick; in seven
they are about one mill lower; in
eleven towns they are practically the
same as1n Kennewick; and in 21 of
the 40 towns school taxes are higher
than they are in Kennewick.
Bus System
Kennewick, however, has one heavy
item Of school expense which most
other towns in the state do not have
to bear, namely, the item Of free trans
portation of the school children. The
budget for this one item alone calls
for 5000 this year and $500 last
year. IF Kennewick is compared with
other districts in the state having like
wise to bear this item Of free trans
pertation charges it will be found that
the tax rates are considerably more
favorable to Kennewick than in the
comparison above. Out Of the 40
towns listed above only ten have free
transportation Of school children. The
tax rates Of those ten towns follow:
Elma, 9 mills; Cashmere, II mills;
Kennewick, lib mills; Garfield, IL
mills; Enumclaw IL mills; Port An
geles IA mills; Pasco Is mills; Pros |
ser 15.5 mills; Monroe 10 mills and
Auburn 81 mills. Elma, the town
having the lowest tax rate Of any on
this list, transports only IL pupils, ac-
cording to bulletin No. from the
state department Of education, upon
the free transportation Of school
children in the State of Washington.
Cashmere, the second on the list,
transports only GO children according
to the same authority. Kennewick,
the third town on the list, transports
more pupils than any one of the other
towns and does so at lower rate per
pupil for transportation charges than
onx, ono IF tho other f0vynS pYcenf