The Dillon herald. [volume] (Dillon, S.C.) 1894-????, 1920-05-20
MIR. Rogers Splendid Work.

1SH years dSO WHcu DlliOu COuAly
made its appearance as one of the
States political units naturally every
branch of County government and ev-
cry line of county endeavor was unor-
ganized and practically non-existent.
The young family was setting
UP house keeping for itself and about
all it had to begin with in the way of
furnishings was the enthusiasm and
undaunted spirit of youth. This was
particularly true of the public school
system of the county, In establishing
the boundary between Marion and the
new county, even the old school dis
trict lines were in some cases dis
rupted so that it was very near the
truth to say that in the building up
of the county's educational system to
It's present comparatively high stand
ard of efficiency, it is only matter
of ten years ago that we started at
the bottom. Not more than half Of
the districts in the county then had
special tax levies for school purposes
and in most cases even where they
had special levies they were very
low. Now there is not district in
the county without special levy and
in those districts having special tax
es before it has been very largely in
creased. 1t is not an over estimate to
say that special tax leyies for school
purposes have been increased in Dill
lon county several hundred fold in the
last ten years and If we include the
bond issues for new buildings and 9th
ec improvements the increase would
be even great deal larger. But we
may ask how this largely increased
revenue has been expended? Outside
of three or four of the larger towns
of the county we were then entirely
without adequate school houses and
equipment, and there was not. a
school house in the county, except in
these few localities, that was not both
antiquated and inadequated. practi-
cally all of them being Of the one
room, box shaped variety.
Now, every one of the twenty eight
school districts, perhaps with one ex-
ception, has completed or has in the
course of erection modern school
building with furnishings to match. In
the length of the school term there
has been similar marked improve
ment. A decade ago practically all of
the country schools had only one
teacher and ran perhaps an average
of not more than four months during
the year. Today the one teacher school
is practically an unknown quantity in
Dillon county and the minimum school
term is not LESS than seven months
and only one or two schools in the
county run less than eight months.
The average would be above eight. So
much for the material progress and
development of our public school sys
TEN.
The people of Dillon county have
certainly poured their treasure into
the public school system. That there
is a deep abiding interest on the part
of the people of the county in educa-
ton is as true as Holy Writ: Where
your treasure is there will your heart
be also"
OF course it would have been i'm
possible to have brought about these
things without the sympathy and CO.
operation of the citizenship of the
county generally and this the school
authorities of the county have had
without stint, but it is true in no
small measure to the untiring energy
and wholehearted devotion to the pub
lie welfare Of the able superintendent
of education, Mr.. R. s. Rogers. His
work for the educatinoal welfare of
his county for the past nine years is
an achievement of which he can well
be proud and which the people of the
county will not soon forget. He de-
serves and has the gratitude of the