Evening journal., 1919-10-17
SEPARATE RULES
UNDER SCHOOL Law
Continued from First PAGE.

educational activities OF their local
schools, but they fixed the tax rate and
collected the taxes needed-in addition
10 state aid-tO run the schools. This
was an improper and illogical COM
binatlon There Is no more reason
why public school officials charged
with the educational affairs OF their
district should be compelled to flx tax
rates and act as tax collectors in order
TO get the necessary funds TO finance
their educational activities, than there
is why the judges should not only
hold court, but also so out and collect
the taxes 10 pay the salaries and ex-
penses OF the judiciary: or the sheriff
should not only perform his duties as
an executive officer, but also go out
through his neighborhOOd or county
and raise the money he needs to con-
duct his office.
Providing public revenue, by the ma
chinery Of assessment, levying and col
lecting Of taxes. is a distinct and sep
arate department OF government And
the department which has this work in
hand should provide all the revenue
Necessary for all the departments and
functions OF government. Il should
have charge OF all the machinery OF
raising revenue for the support Of all
branches Of government. for public i'm
provements, public buildings, public
institutions like insane hospitals and
almshouses and iails and whatever
else is maintained by taxes for public
welfare and use.
Kent county has largely recognized
/ this fact in her county government.
/ Her county engineer and road super
| Yisors do not fix the tax raie or issue
bonds for road improvement. The
| Kent county levy court does that. The
| overseer Of the almshOuse does not fix
| the tax rate for the poor fund or col
! lect The rate IS fixed by the Kent
county levy court. The register OF
wills and other county officials do not
fix the tax rate necessary to pay their
! salaries and maintain their offices. The
Kent county levy court fixes the tax
rate necessary to raise the county
taxes.
The local school officials were the
notable exceptions to this rule and
practice in Kent county. The county
| levy court had nothing TO with either
the school tax rate or the collection Of
school taxes. The responsibility and
duty OF providing school revenues
,Outslde OF State aid were placed on
the Shoulders OF the local school com
mitteemen.
The school official must popularize
! his school by improving it. He must
create public sentiment for better
schools, he must work among the peo-
| pie TO keep ever uppermost the Ideals
OF a free and a good education. To do
this successfully he must himself be
! popular, must be able 70 make friends
/ and hold them. How can a tax cOllec-
| tor do that The tax collector is never
/ popular. From time immemorial he has
! been classified, along with Death, as
one Of the two evils no human being
/ can hope 10 escape. How could three
| men in a shall community sit in iudg-
ment upon the school taxes Of their
| neighbOrs and enforce the collection OF
/ these taxes, and yet retain popularity
| enough 10 build up a good school
II couldn't be done in very many
/ districts. When the welfare OF the
school and the friendship Of neighbors
| clashed. the average school committee
man (being like any other human be-
| ing not caring to lose the friendship
Of his neighbOrs just in order to get
more taxes to pay better salary TO a
| teacher. or buy a new heater or spend
S25 on sanitary improvements about
the building or grounds, let the welfare
Of the school slide. kept down the local
school taxes, and kept his friends, and
/ his job. Doing so, he was forthwith
| pronounced "a good committeeman"
and elected term after term. In very
truth, however, he was a poor school
committeeman, but a fine fellow 10
keep taxes down.
The fault was not with the school
I committeeman. He did onfy what 90
men out Of every 100 would have done
under similar circumstances, The fault
was with the old school law and sys-
TEN which expected a man to serve
those who wanted good schools even
though they did cost more money. and
also serve those who wanted taxes
kept down no matter II that did Grip
pie the schools. it is not to be won
dered that in many districts the selfish,
personal interests which wanted low
taxes, overcame the interests which
stood for better and, therefore, more
expensive schools. In fact, the wonder
is there were as many good schools as
did exist.
There is no doubt Of adverse press
ure being brought, to bear on school
committeeman who wanted TO keep
their schools abreast OF the times.
There Is no doubt OF school committee
men who refused TO submit to this
pressure being defeated for reelection
and replaced by men who were inter
ested in only one thlng-namely, low
school taxes. There are records Of
school districts in which not a cent
Of local taxes were raised over and
above the 500 which the law required
every local school district should raise.
There are instances where rich men in
a school district refused TO pay a cent
of school taxes upon the ground they
had no children in school. and 10 was
undemocratic TO expect them TO pay
for the education Of somebody else's
children.
This deplorable condition existed be-
cause the old law which made a school
committeeman also a tax collector de-
pendent for his reelection upon the
men whose taxes he helped fix and col
| lect The law property separates the
two iobs Il keeps the school trustee
or committeeman, but 1t confines his
work purely TO educational matters He
Is 10 have charge Of his local school az
fairs. But he Is 10 have nothing TO DO
with local taxes. He is to flle a report
OF what his school needs In the way OF
revenues. but there his duty ends. The
county levy court fixes the school tax