Milford chronicle., 1920-01-09
DETAILED STATEMENT
OF SCHOOL BUDGETS
SHOWS OPPONENTS OF CODE MISREPRE-
SENTED THE TRUE FACT ABOUT EX-
PENSES OF OPERATING SCHOOLS.
The TEACHERS SALARIES
ARE GREATER THIS YEAR THAN ALL OF
LAST YEARS OPERATING EXPEN-
SES PUT TOGETHER.
Public School Budgets Tell Exact
Cost of Schools

uduEG5 "a AtlE PuOAAG oIAODlS VI OEAd-
ware shows some very interesting
things. This analysis is made. possi-
BILE because of the budget system
which is compulsory under the new
School Code. Under the Code each
Special School District and each coun-
ty outside the special districts must
prepare a statement they will need
for the coming school year. and for
what purpose this money will be spent.
This statement must also show from
what sources the revenue is to be OBJ
tanned. This is called a budget and
must be filed with the Levy Court
each fall at least ten days before the
usual time for the Levy Court to fix
the county tax rates.
Public Documents Open for Inspection
These budgets are public documents.
They may be seen by any taxpayer or
citizen at the offices of the Levy
Court, at the offices of the county su-
perintendent of Superintendent of the
Schools of special districts, and copies
of them may be seen at the Office of the
State Commissioner of Education at
Dover. From these budgets the COM
pilation and analysis of the finances
of all the public schools of Delaware
has been made in tabulated form and
is printed in connection with this ar
ticle.
Notwithstanding a great uprOar has
been raised by enemies of the School
Code regarding where all the money
goes, not single paper joining in this
uproar has yet published the school
budget of its own special district or
of its county, although they have had
free access to these budgets since
September of last year. Charging the
advocates of the School Code with
Misrepresentation claiming taxes are
too high under the New Code and al
leging that money is being uselessly
spent under the Code and because of
it, the papers making these charges
have not published their local school
budgets for this year. They have not
printed these budgets probably be-
cause to do so would contradict their
charges and answer their own ques-
ton "Where does all this money go?"
in such a satisfactory manner that it
would be impossible to keep up any
agitation of the matter.
The Laurel Leader has not publish
ed the 1890 school budget of the
Special School District of Laurel, al
though it has devoted over thirty col
umns of space within the past ninety
days to denunciatiOn of the School
Code and its advocates. The SeafOrd
News has devoted columns Of space to
equally denunciatOry attacks upon the
School Code but it hasn't been fair
enough to its own people and neigh
bOrs to publish the 1920 school
budget of SeafOrd. Neither of these
papers has printed the Sussex county
school budget. The Sussex Journal Is
another publication which has charg-
ed many things against the Code and
made ridiculous statements regard /
ing the salaries of teachers under the |
new Code, but which hasn't given its 1
readers the school budget of either |
Georgetown or Sussex county, and let |
them Judge for themselves where the |
money is going and how much the |
teachers are getting this year under |
the new Code.
The table published in connection
with this article shows all this. 1t
shows in detail where all the money
goes. 1t shows how much each special
district and each county outside the
special districts spends on its schools
and how much it spends for each item.
Cost Of Schools In Sussex County
For instance, it shows that in the
Sussex county schools (outside the
special school districts) $243, 10000 is
being spent for all purposes this year,
and of this sum $166,12O.OO is being
spent for teachers salaries, or little
over 6S per cent of all the money spent
is for teachers salaries. In George
town and Laurel a little over 20 per
cent of all the money being spent this
year goes for teachers salaries, and
in Seaford a little over II percent of
all the money spent goes for teachers
salaries.
Last year in Sussex county (under
The old laws) all of the salaries of all
The teachers in all the rural and town
,.h1>is arnnnntad to S153. .945.27. This
year the salaries of the teachers IN
rural schools only ii. E., outside spec
al districts) amount to $166, 10000, or
S13, 100000 more than for the entire
rear last year. Last year these rural .
school spent only S166,606.00 all told :
including salaries, textbooks, fuel, !
-epairs, and all other expenses. In
,ther words the teachers of the rural :
chools of Sussex county are getting l
IS much money this year as was spent I
asst year for everything in connection 9
With the schools.
Kent County Contrast Greater :
In Kent county the contrast is still r
-reater. Last year, under the old e
avs, all the rural and town schools of q
Ient county paid $124, 4,826.00 in sal 1
ries to teachers. This year the a
mount being paid to teachers IN Kent b
ounty is $193,600.00. Last year the
ural schools OF Kent county spent
81, ,734.00 for all purposes. This, year
hey will spend $4,000 for the single
em of teachers salaries. p
The enemies of the Code are prom 4
ling a reduction of school expenses g
/ event they are given control Of thel =
ext General Assembly. 1t might not ;
e a bad idea for them to. tell the peo- v
lie now just what items they awould
Ut II
How They Would DOIt " "
Would they cut the item ofsteachers' +, h
aIaries? Almost all other States are !,
aging even more than Delaware, and 4
has been only by the hardest kind :,
: work this year that Delaware hasl
,cured enough teachers to keep ter E
,hool open. New Jersey, just across
le river, is now talking Of a minis
um yearly salary of $1,000 for tea chs g
g. Would the enemies of the Ct de 70
'duce teachers salaries if.they we're tpl
1t In power? -
Would they reduce the item of tex
,oks? Would they deprive chm ldrkn u
(cohcAuded on eighth paseJ a D