Mexico Missouri message. (Mexico, Audrain County, Mo.) 1899-1918, 1918-05-02
RURAL sinful NOTES
Dy \. Clyde JOHNSON

IAISISSlSu III luS euuCdllOu OI your
cnildren-and what one Of you is
motto rise up in righteous indigna-
ticn and denounce the highhanded,
,.Utocratic action Of State Secretary
Sullivan, Treasurer Middelkamp and |
attorney General McAllister No
greater blow has been struck at the |
education Of your children. No great
er injustice could be done them. How |
can a state advance when she fails |
to make proper provision for the ed
ucation of her children?
Good teachers are scarce Wages |
have always been ridiculously low.
A $50 salary Is months ago was as
good as 500 is now. Farm hands,
clerks and nearly all wage earners
get better salaries with less ex-
pense for preparation Hence our best
teachers get into other lines of
work. II we want our teachers to be
,ntented, 70 stay permanently on
the job. II we want our schools to
make steldy progress. il we wish
our county and our State to be lead
ers in our nation, it is very import
ant that teachers salaries be in
creased.
Salaries should at least be such as
to make Il possible for our teachers
to live decently, to advance their
professional qualifications and to lay
by for the future at present they are
not.
In order that district may pro-
vide its children with clean and san
itary buildings, a heating plant,
comfortable desks, first-class equip
ment, such as the law requires, see
section 1884 of the School Law, it
will need each year at least 500 for
incidental expenses. OF course much
: Of this could be provided with a
building fund, but that requires a
two-thirds majority which is often
. hard to get. Then it ought for the
, best interests of the commun-
jfty and of the children
have eight months of school
and pay the teacher not less than
, $50 per month or $3.50. 500 plus
$3.50 is $3.50. On the average the dis
tricts receive $3.50 from the public
funds. To raise the remaining $$42O
with a 65-cent levy requires a valua-
tion of $4,000
Hence only those districts with a
valuation of $4,000 or more can
- have a good school No school can
> maintain its present high standard,
. or continue to raise it without 4
levy of 65 cents. At least 80 of 70
. 70 rural Sc hools have a valuation &C
cording 20 the Sullivan-McAll lister
Middelkamp combine of less than
$4,000, some of them have a valua-
tion as low as $4,000. These cannot
cannot hare a school worth while
: These must struggle for bare ex.
istence. Do the 800 children in yhese
districts deserve no better?
According to our assessors valua-
ton which was approved by ouI
~ Board Of Equalization ant
IS taxpayers generally only one district
II in the county had valuation less
d than 100000, Payne with $98,680
/ With many of them between 50 ant
100000 it is very clear how easy II
would be for the boards to lev!
enough money to run the schools
Il even if they saw fit to pay theil
/, teachers 500. And why shouldn'
d they?
# Had Mr. Gardner been able to car
ry through his plan of taxation OF
assessments made according TO the
" true value of property, it would
l. have meant so much for the schools
of the State and of the county. 1t af
II fects the town schools more serious
q ly perhaps than the rural Mexico
Vandalia, Farber and Laddonia are
= levying tie maximum. They canno
" increase tFeir teachers salaries ant
maintain their high standard unless
T. their valuation is increased.
it But Sullivan, McAllister and Mid
. delkamp Say that they shall not have
their valuations increased. Is tina
noble? Il that just2 Is that demo
: cratic?
Twas a great gathering of bust