Durant weekly news. (Durant, Choctaw Nation, Indian Territory [Okla.]) 190?-1944, 1921-08-19


girls. Our grade teachers are worth
as much in our schools as the grade
teachers are worth in the city. Here
Is the wsy to figure the teaching
problem. The Job of teaching ia
worth SO much: say $3.50 a month
Get teacher who Is big enough 70
I'LL the job. Don't pay an inexper.
fenced teacher that much. Don't
hire an inexperienced teacher at oil
Get a teacher who is qualified To do
the work with credit to himself and
the community he serves. Don't hire
weakling at lesser salary.
Maybe We Arc to Blame
Some Of us think $125 a month
for a school teacher Is a whale of a
salary. But II we would raise the
salary to $3.50 a month-and get
teachers who are worth that much
we would find out that it was a wise
and profitable move. When we send
our boys and girls to school we expect
them to learn something. II they
to blame the teacher
The teacher may be weaklinp
doing the best he can. If he is
weaklfng we, as parents and voters.
have nobody to blame but ourselves
for having hired a man who is to-,
small for the job; maybe we hired
him because we could get him cheap
Let's think deep before we unload all
OF the blame on the teacher when
our boys and girls don't keep up with
the boys and girls who 60 to town
schools. A farm boy is just as smart
as town boy and If you put him in
the right kind Of school and hire the
right teachers he will make good
everytime. We can have the right
kind of schools and the right teach
ers only BY paying for them.
What a Good School Costs
Now, we fill figure up just what it
costs to build and run an Al con-
solidated school. In the first place
two or more school districts must
consolidate. The districts consoli-
dating must have a combined area
not less than rs square miles and q
combined taxable valuation not less
than 100000. The average consoli-
dated district has 100000 valua-
tion; some of them have more than
$1,O00,000, and others have still
more than $1,00O.OOO, and others
have still more. AS basis to figure
we'll say our consolidated district
1.-TWO or three small districts) has
a valuation Of 100000. II two DIS
tricts don't have that much it is we'll
to take in a third district to bring
the valuation up to that figure. Fiji
teen mills school tax which is all the
Oklahoma law allows. will bring in
$4,000 a year to build and run the
consolidated school.
1t will cost $4,000 to erect, and
furnish the school building and equip
it with modern conveniences, includ-
ing an electric light plant. play
grounds. auditorium, library, etc. All
of this $4,000 doesn't come out
of our pockets at one time. We get
$2.500 from the state to help pay for
the building, and we float a bond
issue for $4,000. We are given
20 years to pay back this $4,000,
paying little each year. An annual
payment of about $1,000 takes care
Of the principal ana interest on his
bonded Indebtedness. The interest
is paid to the bank or firm which
buys the bonds and the payment on
the principal goes into sinking fund
where 1t stays until final payment
on the bonds is due, and the sinking
fund draws interest for us all that
time.
Five Teachers at Good Salaries
Between 200 and $50 pupils will
attend the consolidated school. Five
teachers will be needed. one Of whom
Is the principal or superintendent.
We can get two good teachers for the
grades at $40 month each; one
teacher for the higher grades at
s140 a month and another at $3.50 a
month; and principal at s175.
These are good salaries and are
high enough to get the best teachers.
The total cost for teachers is $6S5
month o. $6.165 for the whole term
of nine months.
Other expenses include $1,000 a
year each for three busses and driv-
ers. All pupils living over two miles
from the school are hauled to and
from school free OF charge in these
buses. A thousand dollars a year
ought to get good trucks and good
drivers. There will be five good
stoves in the building and each one
will burn about four tons OF coal;