The Springdale news., 1916-03-03
PUBLIC EDUCATION IN ARK.
ANSAS.
Mo. 4. a Better System of Taxation.

haacaion,Z 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 svs-
tenn from now on will be quite good
enough for our splendid state unless
offers to every qualified boy and
girl free high school education Sew.
efal OF our neighboring states do this.
and we cannot afford to have neople
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
be furnished and paid for by the local
school unit, II possible without exces
siYe taxation. if not. then the state
must stand good for what is wanting
we shall never have school system
IN any way worthy OF our BOYS and
girls until Arkansas adopts asher
educational motto: Local geography
must and shall have no place in the
education Of our Children II 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 poor school
district with little taxable property
Arkansas must go back to the ad
vice of homas Jefferson, that great
or -
will decay unless we have a system OF
instruction which will reach every de-
seription Of our citizens, from the
richest to the poorest This principle
was my earliest public concern. and
II shall be the latest in which | shall
permit myself to take an interest No
other sure foundation can be devised
for the preservation of freedom and
happiness. He also regarded il as an
economic question, and forever set
tied the equity of taxing all the wealth
OF the state TO distribute not in any
percaplta way but rather placing il 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 il would have done
IN their correction by a good educa-
ton"
Speaking by and large, the average
school district of this state, city OF
rural, is not able to raise enough
money by taxation to support as good
a school as are common IN our neigh
boring states. Many Arkansas com
munities, indeed probably most OF
them. are perfectly willing to vote
larger school tax than is now posi-
bic under our present constitution
The last Sage Foundation report
showed that Oklahoma spends an
nnally - cents on her public schools
per every one hundred dollars of
wealth, while Arkansas spends onIv
% cents. The amendment now b..
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 people is in danger Indeed it
is hard TO understand why 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
dren 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
il cannot even then maintain good
school for minimum of say seven
months lin many states IL is put AZ
eight mcnths4 The state must then
pay the difference Last year there
were some 100000 children nor IN
school AT all and some day they will
all vote.
As matter of self.protection TO a
good citizenship Arkansas should pro
vide a good public school education
for every boy and girl
The solution is a township or eoun-
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 4
railroad runs through il, and the other
too poor to afford school worthy II
the name And then the state must
compel attendance for minimum of
seven months of every child, and paw
any balance that is yet necessary 20
maintai the school