Pine Bluff daily graphic. (Pine Bluff, Ark.) 1893-1942, 1916-03-12
PUBLIC EDUCATION mi Apk
= ~ VI tSN in ANN.
- ANSAS.
NO. q. A Better System Of Taxation.
ny Dr. j. Il. Jewell, Dean of School O
Education, University of Arkansas.

ny Dr. j. Il. Jewell, Dean of School of
Education,. University of Arkansas.
No schOOl revenue system is good
enough for Arkansas that does not
give to every child within the state
at least seven months a year of ele-
mentary instruction. No revenue sys-
tenn from now on will be quite good
enough for our splendid state unless
~ offers to every qualified boy and
slrl a tree high school education. Sev-
eral OF our neighboring states do this.
ana we cannot afford to have people
IN our border counties feel they must
move across the state line to have
their children we'll educated. :
Any acceptable school revenue sys-
tenn must provide that this education
De furnished and paid for by the local
school unit, if possible without excess
slve taxation; if not, then the state
must stand good for what is wanting.
we snail never have school system
IN any way worthy of our boys and
girls until Arkansas adopts as her
educational motto: Local geography
must and shall have no place in the
education of our children" It must
no longer be possible for an Arkansas
child to be denied an education be-
cause he lives on the wrong side Of
the road and so is in a poor school
district with little taxable property.
Arkansas must go back to the adj
vice OF Thomas Jefferson, that great
Commoner, who said, Our country
will decay unless we have a system Of
instruction which will reach every de-
scr1ptlon of, our citizens, from the
richest to the poorest. This principle
was my earliest public concern, and
1t shall be the latest in which I shall
permit myself to take an interest No
other sure foundation can be devised
for the preservation of freedom and
happiness" He also regarded it as an
economic question, and forever set
tied the equity of taxing all the wealth
OF the state to distribute not in any
percapita way, but rather placing it in
the places OF greatest need, when he
said: IF children are untaught,
their ignorances and vices will in the
future cost us much dearer in their
consequences than it would have done
i'll their correction by a good educa-
ton"
Speaking by and large, the average
school district of this state, city or
rural. is not able to raise enough
money by taxation to support as good
school as are common in our neigh
boring states. Many Arkansas COM
munities, indeed probably most OF
them, are perfectly willing to vote a
larger school tax than is now posi-
BILE under our present constitution
The last Sage Foundation report
showed that Oklahoma spends an
nually rs cents on her public schools
per every one hundred dollars Of
wealth, while Arkansas spends only
20 cents. The amendment now be-
fore the people of our state allowing
communities If they wish to tax them
selves at higher rate than is now
legal must carry, else our sovereignty
as a people is in danger. Indeed it
is hard to understand why a state
should place any constitutional limit
OF taxation for education upon Its
people. 1t is like saying by law that
no family shall spend more than so
much per week for food.
To have good schools for our chill
;iren we shall have to allow any COM
munity TO tax itself twice the present
legal limit, and then have the state
step in and aid wherever the commun-
ity has SO little taxable property that
it cannot even then maintain good
school for a minimum of say seven
months lin many states it is put at
eight months). The state must then
pay the difference. Last year there
were some 100000 children not in
school at all, and some day they will
all vote.
AS a matter OF self-protection to il
good citizenship Arkansas should pro-
vide a. good public school education
for every boy and girl.
The solution Is a township or coun-
ty tax for school purposes instead OF
the present district tax. which will do
away at one stroke with the more OBJ
vious inequalities OF taxation between
adjoining districts, one rich because a
railroad runs through it, and the other
too poor to afford school worthy Of
the name And then the state must
compel attendance for minimum of
seven months Of every child, and pay
any balance that is yet necessary to
maintain the school.