The Marietta journal. (Marietta, Ga.) 1918-1944, 1920-11-26
STATE SCHOOLS
60 ON new BASIS
Local Tax Measure Goes Into Effect
Jan. l, le2l.--County B. of E.
Must Take New Bearings.


new system and will be maintained
by taxation on local property and by
state aid. Heretofore county schools
have depended entirely on the state
for support, supplementing the state
funds by local tuition fees. This dual
method has been very unsatisfactory,
because Of the difficulty of collecting
tuition fees, and teachers have been
hard to obtain because of this uncer-
tainty. Now each county will have
funds for the payment of its teachers.
Counties will naturally and necesar-
lily vary in salaries because some have
more railroad property than other,
and some are far more prosperous
than others.
Cobb's Position.
Cobb county should fare we'll un-
der the new system. She has con-
siderable amount of railroad and 9TH
er corporate properties which must
pay their part in the county's school
needs and the taxable property of
the county is large. The county tax
digest runs to 10 or IL millions, from
which must be deducted the amounts
of property in Marietta and Roswell.
But with a school tax of A mills the
schools should have as much from
county taxes as she gets from the
state funds. Her funds from the
state for 1921 have not yet been an
nounced, but they will be about $780,
10000 and with a foor-mill levy the
county should have some $75,000.00
for school purposes.
Advance in IL Years
Twelve years ago Cobb county re-
ceived only $16,000.00 for her
schools. This amount has been grad
ually increased until the present year,
when she received $32,424.0o. With
the limited funds at its command the
Board of Education could do little
in the way of permanent improve
ment in the county, but with the in
creased funds it should be able to do
great deal toward making better
houses and furnishing better equip
ment. asA
Complex Matters.
There will arise number of pro-
blems to be solved by the county
board and superintendent. There are
in the county semi-independent sys-
tens which will give rise to some of
these. Such towns as Acworth and
Austell have local taxing systems but
are under the Board of Education.
They have contiguous territory that
patronize their schools, paying here
fore tuition fees to balance the city
taxes. How these matters will be
adjusted under the new system re-
mains to be worked out.
Local Tax Districts.
Then, there are local tax districts,
McMichael school districts. AS The
Journal understands the law, these
remain intact. but come under the
countrywide system also. That 49,
they may raise further taxes for their
immediate use when the county does
not raise what they want for their
schools, but they share in the county
distribution and their property is sub
iect to the county rate.
Bad Policy of the Law.
The law is that taxes raised for
school purposes must be used IN the
period of taxation, that is, taxes rals-
ed in 1921, are to be used IN the 1921
schools. This continues the old sys-
tenn of borrowing in the spring ana
having back in the fall 1921 taxes
are not collectable till December 1921
after the years teaching is done. 80
while the board must use the FUNDS
for the schools of that year they
cannot get the funds for this purpose
until after the schools are completed.
With an experience of forty years in
borrowing this way, II does seem
strange that the law should have con-
tinued the policy which has workeo
such hardship on the schools ana
has cost them so much in interest.
New Adjustments Necessary.
The Cobb County Board has not
intimated what rate it would levy Tor
1921. nor has it discussed what sal
aries it will pay, nor what terms II
viii maintain, because the law mas
been adopted since the last meeting
It will, no doubt, have these matters
up at the December meeting, Deem
Der q. Meanwhile, many OF tne
schools are without teachers because
of the scarcity of them. A number OF
them began their winter work Noyem-
- EAT n hnUln