The Ocala evening star. [volume] (Ocala, Fla.) 1895-1943, 1919-08-12
PINE SCHOOL DISTRICT
HAS A COMPLAINT

Editor Star: / have been request
ed by a number of citizens a number
of times to "pay my respects" to a
few conditions now existing in this
school district.
1 said a year ago that the small
count y schools were being destroyed.
say 1t again, and cite this one in
stance which is illustrative of the
practice now in effect.
FoUr and three years ago we Sc
cured 70. the Pine school a first grade
teachc.. Made personal sacrifices and
employed the teacher for the two
terms trying to build up our school.
We did build it up, and voted a sub
school district and everybody was
bristling with enthusiasm and joy.
Two years ago we lost all we had
gained by submitting to board dicta-
tion and kept school with a teacher
incompetent to teach the higher
grades, therefore the children of the
higher grades had to be sent-had to
be sent, mind you, to the "high"
schools. Salary being based on aver
age attendance-not enrolment, not
on the amount of children to be edu-
Gated, average attendance regardless
of flu epidemic, ETC., or anything else
in the country, with the children-ah
the children that possibly could do so
transferred to the "high" schools;
average attendance here lowered
hutchered-stolen! Last year salary
of teacher lowered, because average
attendance here had lessened-and
yet we all doing all we could to build
up the school! Average attendance OF
so-called "high" schools increased-at
cur expense-salary of teachers in
creased! See where the thing is go
ing?
But that isn't the worst of it.
Just hold your nose, please, and
read on.
This year our trustees have been
fighting to the last ditch to secure a
competent teacher. You folks who
have never been a trustee of a coun-
try school don't know anything about
what fight one has to make to get
anything at all. We found the teach
er, all right, and had hurried meet
ing and elected the teacher. But she
had in her possession a contract from
another county, offering her five dol
lars per month more than the county
had allowed us out here to pay.
Hold your nose little tighter. The
county, or school board, or superin-
tendent, or the powers that be, how
ever, have dwindled our average and
salary down for the past two years to
legally CD speaking little less than
fifty dollars. This sub-school dis
ltrict, however, has to its credit with
the school board. nearly two hundred
dollars. This is money from taxes In
this sub-school district supposed to be
used by this school in building up the
educational interests; or for educa-
tional purposes. But the powers that
be-who are necessarily catspaws of
the great big power, the infallible CD
Sheats, says to us-us who have made
every sacrifice to save our little coun-
try school,, voted the sub-district,
pulled and cussed and been cussed,
just anything that our children could
have advantage of a school that was
really an educational session-these
catspaws come in and say: "Oh, no,
you can't use your sub-school district
funds too freely. Might let you have
ten dollars per month, making the
salary sixty dollars out there. Can't
afford to allow you-allow you, please
to pay too much teachers salary.
Might get a first grade teacher and
we don't want these little country
schools to teach above the eighth
grade; that would run up the average
and make the salary still better and
our high schools would suffer"
Yes, but we will have this to do to
get the teacher. She is holding a con-
tract from another county ready for
her signature at sixty-five dollars.
"Can't help that" the powers say.
Yes, but we have the money here
to our credit and it is drawing no in
terest. 1t is ours. We have paid it
in for this purpose. Why can't we
use it in the employ of a teacher
while we can get the teacher?
"Ah, that's against our rules here,
gentlemen. You'll just have to do
some other way"
There is no reason why the Pine
school should not be one of the good
little schools in the county. We have
heroic bunch out here who would
make all manner of sacrifices to en-
ploy a first grade teacher and build
up fine school. The powers that be
say we can't-shan't-do this. When
our child gets into the eighth grade