Milford chronicle., 1919-08-01
SCHOOL CONDITIONS
AIRED In INQUIRY
WOEFUL WASTE IN One SCHOOL WILL
!. Be ELIMINATED UNDER CODE.
INVESTIGATION BRINGS OUT FACTS.
TAXES WILL Be MORE EQUAL

Thursday and in discussing consOll
dation of school districts, was out
spoken in favor of the provisions o.
the new school code.
Il have been school clerk in my dis
trict for years." Mr.. Shallcross said
"and there has been a woeful waste
in Mill Lane School Last season we
had an average daily attendance OF
not more than five children, at an ex-
pense of s125 for each child How
does that show up in these times when
we hear SO much about the high cost
of living?
1T was a waste of time of the
- teacher. She could not show results
with only five children, and sometimes
only four. 1t was a waste of time for
the children, coal was burned and a
building used which could have been
used for other purposes.
There is an effort to consolidate
with Middletown, and so far as l can
see it is useless to attempt to keep
Mill Lane School open this year.
There are four other schools in that
section, which will likely consolidate.
up here in Wilmington they tell
men the kindergarten pupils are gath
cred I'D by a comfortable closed wag-
on and taken to school, There is no
reason why a careful driver cannot
take the children from the cOnsolidat-
ed schools of our section to Middle
town. do not know if it will cost any
more to do so, but so long as the chill
dren get the results by attending such
a school, then a few cents makes a
trifing matter.
After Results
Results are what we want in our
schools, and it is a long distance for
a girl to go, from Mt. Pleasant to the
DUPONT school.
There will be a decided difference
this year in the amount received from
the State for the schools in the coun-
ty. Last year the State dividend rep
resented $299 in solid cash for each
single school district. 1t will be i'm
possible to run such a school as Mill
Lane school this year on the pupil
basis. In addition to the waste as
stated above, the appropriation would
be $1O.31 for each pupil. So it can
be seen that in the special districts
it will require hard work to bring in
the equivalent to the $1031.
Much interest centered in the pro-
ceedings of the New Castle Levy
Court on Tuesday because it was an
nounced the tax rate under the school .
code would be levied. There were all
kind of rumors regarding districts
which were trying to consolidate in
order to have a high school. But the
season has gone so far no others now
can become special school districts
this year.
Many weeks ago the Wilmington
City Council prepared its budget for
the year and prepared a tax rate in
cluding a levy of fifty cents for school
purposes.
The city tax collectors have been
collecting taxes since July 1 and every
time taxes are paid the necessary
amount is paid for school purposes.
Claymont is desirous of building a (
S2OO,OOO high school in order to accom-
modate the children of Claymont and
suburbs to the state line, as the sew ;
eral industrial enterprises there are {
families daily to that sec
lion of Brandywine hundred. S
Middletown people are agitating
S125,000 high school and cOnsolida-
.ion of five small districts. The pres
ent school attendance in most of these i
small districts is very small and the
teachers and children are wasting c
.ime. l
Bouquet for Mrs. Henry b. Thompson
John F. O'Neal of Mt Cuba, who for u
years advocated consolidation of the :.
ichoCls in that neighborhood, Is happy Il
because Mrs. Henry B. Thompson has !, Il
made it possible to build a modern
chool instead Of the present school
t Walnut Grove.
Talk about your big men in Chris p
lana hundred" said Mr.. O'Neal, why ~
hey are mere grains Of sand to a con-
rete block when compared to Mrs. 81
thompson. Yes, sir, that lady is some
Torker and we appreciate her SER ID
ices. She has thousands of dollars a.
eady for the new school. Put it down
rom me, Mrs. Thompson will stand e
rdize education in that section and b
very day we will feel prouder of our
lodern educational institution. 1t Vi
ught to be called Mary Wilson
thompson School when it is built d
Prof. w. K. Yerger of the DUPONT
Ugh School, accompanied by John ~
only, appeared before the Levy Court ~
its meeting and presented its bud I'd
st. The Commissioners in that dis ~
ict placed the poll tax at SO on each
the 225 residents and asked for =,
,3, ,955 to maintain and operate the -
shool with a 60 cent tax rate. Part -
the district is in Bradywine hun
'ed and the taxes in that hundred :
i'll be collected by ]. H. Martin. There
i'll be a rebate of per cent allowed >
all taxes paid for school purposes
,fore the tenth of August After that
lte there will be no allowance of dis
,unt and every collector has been
lvised to lose no time but collect the
hool taxes and make the poll taxa =
es understand the taxes must be paid q
once. The salary of the Superin-
ndent of this school will be s2S00.
his is the only special school which
IS arranged to have the services of
attendance officer. The school has
kindergarten in the community 7 :
'use and the place is very conven-
Mt for the little ones. The school nm
es not expect any national aid from I'LL
e Smith-Hughes fund because such Hill
nd is not expected to be available Hill
til after July 1, 1920. The dupont Hill
hool has an endowment and expects Illl
out $4,000 State aid. There are Illl
any pupils each year from other Hill
'tricts attending the school and the Hill
tion fees amount to nearly S2SOO. =
New Castles Budget
President Harry E. Holiday and
ting Secretary Jacob Spiecher of
; New Castle Board of Education
'nished a highly interesting budget. e any
showed that the city assessor had II'I ,IJs
ly 1000 on the poll tax assessment p;r pir
lie the county has only 1900 on the M