Evening capital and Maryland gazette. (Annapolis, Md.) 1910-1922, 1917-11-06
SCHOOL ATTENDANCE
COMPULSORY LAW
To Be Enforced Here By Supt. Fox
COLORED DELINQUENTS
Eyade Law Compelling Children To
ATTEND Public School-The Penalty.

to be rigidly enforced here and the
first active steps in this direction
were taken yesterday when Mr.. Ben
jamin Watkins. Jr.,picked up % col
ored children about the streets of the
city
Mr.. George Fox, County Superin-
tendent of Education, upon being ap-
preached about the enforcement of
the law, had the following to say,
among other things:
MANY of these children gave no
excuse at all for being out of school,
and it is felt that it is about time
careless, indifferent or greedy parents
are made to feel their responsibility
in seeing that their children are sent
to school.
"The further we delve into the ques-
of schol attendance in its relation to
the length of the school term the more
evident it becomes that we need an
aroused public opinion for the better
school attendance and more rigid
and effective enforcement of COM
pulsory attendance law, not alone for
the betterment of the children them
selves, but as matter of simple jus
tice to the taxpayers. 1t is unjust to
tax A to pay for teaching BIS children
when the authorities that levy and
collect the tax from A allow B to keep
his children out of school whether it
be. from indifference, ignorance or
selfishness. Furthermore, it is
crime against BIS children to let him
keep them out of school, Whether
poor attendance of pupils comes from
Indifference of parents, sleeping
public opinion, lax enforcement of
the compulsory attendance laws-or
from all of these things combined the
penalty falls hardest and most direct
ly upon the children in their lost op-
portunity for an education, though
society must pay heavy toll in the
end for its own SHINING against such
children. If it is Constitutional and
just to tax man who has no children
to educate the children of commun-
ity, it certainly ought to be Constitu-
tional and just to compel the parents
of that community to give the child
rem the opportunity provided by law.
And it certainly does seem unjust to
compel the tax payers of this county
to make up State money that has been
lost through selfshness, carelessness
or indifference ON the part of parents
who neglect to send their children to
school Now since the State funds are
apportioned on the basis of aggregate
attendance there is considerable
loss to the county school system of
State money when children are kept
out OF school This loss must be
made up by the taxpayers of the
county.
"As an illustration: This county
supports fairly well-equipped school
(Stanton SCHOOL, in this town for
colored children. The Board of Edu-
cation has selected a we'll qualified
man with splendid record of sue
cessful experience as principal and a
full corps of teachers, including a
domestic science teacher of success
full experience. In the face of these
facts the County Superintendent and
the attendance officer gathered up
over twenty-five children between the
ages of z and 13 years who were
roaming the streets of this town be-
tween the hours of nine and twelve
o'clock on a clear day such as yes
terday. In the roundup but one white
child of school age was gathered in.
Many of these children have been TAX
en- to school by the attendance officer
time and time again only to find that
within few days they were on the
streets again.
''As stated, funds are apportioned
on the basis of aggregate attendance.
when child stays away from school
there is a direct loss of State funds.
And since there are about 500 pupils
enrolled at the Stanton School with
an average of 200 pupils away from
school the loss of State funds to this
county amounts to approximately ST.
600 per year. Yet we must maintain
the school and provide books for
these children on the occasional days
that they do attend. The expense thus
incurred and the loss of the State
funds due to non-attendance must be
made up by the taxpayers of this
| county"