Imperial Valley press., 1916-03-09

being by no means small or managed
in an economical and careful man
ner.
Another mighty big item of expense
is the cost of transportation of stu
dents to and from the schools. This
has also been touched upon in the re-
port of the special auditor, and spe-
cific figures given, to which we should
like to direct your particular atten-
ton, as well as all taxpayers. The
remarks made by the special auditor
in this connection we deem timely, and
we desire to add thereto that this
! particular item of expense of the five
high schools seems to us to be away
beyond all requirements, reason or
common sense. The total expense for
transportation alone, for the last
school years for the five schools men
! toned, amounts to the unreasonable
figure of fifteen thousand nine hun
dred seventy-nipe dollars and ninety
eight Gets s($15, 5,9T9.9S), or an aver
age of about thirty dollars ($3O.O0)
for every single boy and girl who are
in attendance in all the high schools,
whether they ride or not. The Ell
Centro High spent for this purpose
more than sixty-one hundred dollars
/ $4,000, and imperial nearly four
thousand (S4 ,000). We desire to go
on record at this time with the most
emphatic recommendation that unless
this enormous cost for transportation
can be cut to at least one-half the
present amount being spent annually
for this purpose, it should be abolished
altogether. In fact, we are not SO
sure but what this expense could well
be cut out entirely under any consid-
Grafton, as it seems to be not greatly
needed, and under any circumstances
is bound to cost more than the real
benefit derived therefrom.
Other lines of gross extravaganza
are in the number of teachers en-
ployed in the schools, and in the eX-
cessive salaries paid, particularly in
the high schools, while in the gram
mar schools, in nearly all the dis
tricts, the teachers pay is much high
er than in almost any other section
of the country for the same grade Of
work, and should be cut down mate
rally. We think the high schools
most require this reform. The sal
aries paid the teachers in all the
high schools in the valley, in nearly
every case, are abnormally high and
! beyond reason, and greater than the
! taxpayers can stand. We should like
! to call your special attention to a list
of these salaries as given in the coun-
/ ty superintendent booklet mentioned
above in this report. By a careful
examination of this list we are sure
that you will agree with US that we
are paying our teachers in these
schools vastly more than we should.
/ Therefore we recommend cut in
these salaries, in some instances, of
not less than 25 per cent. You will
note that these salaries average at
the present time to over one hundred
and fifty dollars ($150) per month,
/ for the nine months of actual work.
/ We also find by this same authority
that there is an average of one teach
er to, approXimately, every eleven
children in the high schools, and one
to every twenty-one in the grammar
grades. 1t would seem that this num-
Der of teachers could we'll be cut
down very materially, thereby saving
the taxpayers thousands of dollars an
nually in this one item alone.
For this last school year in the I'M
perial Valley there was paid out for
school purposes alone the enormous
sum of four hundred siXty-two thou
sand eight hundred twelve dollars and
sixty-four cents ($462, ,S12.64), making
a total average for all schools in the
! county, both grammar and high, Of
better than one hundred and twenty
five dollars ($125) each,. for every
pupil in attendance for the school
year. This total average cost per pu-
pill in the five high schools for the
same year amounted to the unheard-
of and unprecedented amount of more
than four hundred twenty-five dollars
! ($422) for every single one attending
these schools for year, and this year
the cost will no doubt be still greater
owing to the bonds voted in the Cen
tral Union High, as mentioned above
and with decreased attendance.
We do not deem it necessary to &c
further into this school question. The
figures and facts set forth in the spe-
cial auditors report are such that, il
brought to the special attention of the
taxpayers of this county, they mast
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