Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1915-02-25
CHANGERS APPEAR
Continued From Page onel

as u 81 la!.Le aS near! a. pOcS4rit lie
school burden and TIE school benefit
throughout the entire state Any dis
tribution that IS made OF the basis OF
valuation does not tend 10 eQualize the
burden or bring relief where it is mos.
needed.
We are told :ha. one OF the rsa-
sons for increasing the school tax il
1873 vas to get more income to the State
from tae wild lands This is interpreted
TO apply 10 one mill OF the mill and
half tax which creates the common
school fund.
Why Common School Fund"
If the prime motive to- assessing =
tax OF one mill CT al properly O. the
State was simply TO get at the wild
lads, wnJ WIS the Eund created ca4-ed
the common s.hool fund, why noc
common road fund?
The aggregate attendance Estho6 Of
distribution MAKES an actual Application
Of an equal portion o. TIE scaoo. .'Ind
to The Use of ever child to- every day
l.e is actually II the common school. II
would encourage owns having = short
schoo, 20 increase TIE length o. their
school year ard 10 keep a.. the chill
6rcr no ought 70 attend in the schools.
The towns that Will receive less mon
e. b. aggregate attendance method Of
distribution than they Go BY the present
method ara those that are as 2 rule TOW
paying 2 light local school tax, and IL a
general way the towns that will gain
by the proposed charge are those that
are al present paving high local schoo.
tax The average rate OF local school
TAX for all the cities and towns in the
State is 10 mills But The average
rate Of local school lax il the cities Of
our state is less than ore mill
Proportion Of Gain
M Purinton said mat - counties in
the state would gain and six~ would lose
by the change. and that Gl7 would re-
ceive more and AZ receive less.
AS was the rule OF the afternoon. there
was another l.ttle struggle when Senator
Murphy again assumed the role Of in
Quisi,o-. This brought a caustic COM
n1ent from Mr.. Purinton. who said that
census method is outrageous. He charg-
ed that because OF this. Lewiston Is get
ting money il can't spend for schools
and is, presumably, applying it TO other
purposes. Citing examples, Senator Muir
ply here explained that by the agGre-
gate attendance method Fort Kent would
receive over s3no more than il could care
for. and that there were other towns in
would fare the same.
Senator Walker was anxious 10 find out
more about the Lewiston situation. Nj
Purinton said al he knew was that the
yearly reports showed an unexpended
balance Of the school funds Of sl4.ul. bu.
that this balance was not carried over
TO another year.
DepIores Local Feeling
E. T. Clifford OF Winthrop thought i,
deplorable that local feeling should enter
into the discussion. Why isn't il just
that the common school fund should be
distributed on the basis of the aggre-
gate attendance in the common schools?"
ne asked. He gave figures to show that,
If the change were made, Androscoggin
county would gain if Lewiston were
taken out; Cumberland county would
lose 1890 OF which 81. Isl would be felt
by Portland: kennebec would lose s3e5s.
but if two cities were taken out il would
gain. He also showed that the city OF
Augusta has 1888 scholars who do not
attend schools but for which the State
is paying money. Lewiston has 1osS and
Portland has e1S9 who do not attend
schools. Biddeford has 3, per cent OF its
school population not in the public
schools.
George Plummer Of Newport. Edward
North Berwick. spoke for the Grange
bill. The last named spoke eloquently
for the bare-footed boy. Representative
futile Of Caribou, Mckinley Of Jackson
and McIntire Of Waterford and B. l.