The weekly soliphone., 1915-02-12
FUTRELL'S POSITION ON
AID FOR HIGH SCHOOLS
In Letter to l.. B. Ray, Senator Gives
His Position ON Bill to With
draw Assistance.

the Paragould schools, is in receipt
of the following letter from Senator
J. M. Futrell in which the later gives
his position on the bill to repeal the
law extending aid to high schools:
Arkansas Senate, 4Oth General AS
sembly, Feb. 2, 1915.
Professor l.. B. Ray,
| Paragould, Ark.
Dear Sir-I have been so busy
that have not answered your letter
as soon as l would like.
The question submitted in your let
| ter is one that has given me no little
concern. l think l fairly we'll COM
prehend the improvements in our ed
ucational system resulting from state
aid. If l were to consult my own
selfish interest, living where my
own children can have the benefits of
the excellent public schools of Para
gould, | should not hesitate. l on
ly wish that every child in Arkansas
could have the same advantages. l
know the theory embodied in state
aid to high schools is logical, and
that the high school holds out oppor-
tunities to the average boy and girl
that is much encouragement to those
who are unable to take college
course. The law should be amended
so that boys and girls might enter at
the seventh grade AS the law now
exists, a boy must have completed
the common school course before he
is eligible to your high school. This
agould, for instance, available to
but a very small per cent of the
pupils in the rural schools. Very
few of our country schools can pre-
pare a boy or girl for entrance into
the high school, and this will always
be true as long as the rural districts,
are distressed financially. Our
whole theory of education, in one
sense, is wrong. So far as education
goes, every child is a ward of the
state, and should have equal rights
for acquiring an education. Under
our system, the favored localities, be-
ing centers of population and having
railroad property in their districts,
are enabled to give to the children
residing therein, much better oppor-
tunities than those living in the
poorer rural districts. Can we afford
to take from those districts who are
now in great distress for lack of
funds any part of their money? Is
the principle not wrong?
There will still be the high schools,
most all of which are not depend
ent upon state aid, and the boy or
girl may still attend these schools
by paying a small tuition. A public
school fund is common property, be-
longing alike to the people residing
in the rural districts and the people
within the cities and towns. We
take part of these funds belonging
to these people in the rural districts
which will accommodate some of our
rural pupils, but only very small
per cent, and in this system we are
overlooking the great mass of pupils
WHO Can never uope W euleI Tue HlSH
school. If we are to continue the
high school aid, then we should find
more funds for the use and benefit
of the rural districts to the end that
every district can prepare every pu-
pill within it's borders to enter the
high schools. Then we will have
perfected a system reaching not only
to a small portion, but to our en-
tire student population. would
like to find some way to continue
the state aid to high sohcslotaoinu
the state aid to high schools. At
+Lo ~