The Semi-weekly leader. (Brookhaven, Miss.) 1905-1941, 1921-01-19
MILLIONS BEING
SPENT ON SCHOOLS
Compulsory Attendance Law Adds 25s-
600 to Rolls - Taxes Greatly
Increased.

/
Increased.
Jackson. Miss. Jan. 15.-Mississip
plans as a rule are proud of their ed
lucational system, regardless of what i
/ costs for maintenance. They long agS
ARRIVED at the conviction that the flu
ture prosperity of their state depended
to a very large extent on an educated
citizenry and, taking time and tht
children by the forelock admit then
to the public schools at five years OF
age, and permit them to go until they
are twenty-one.
For years the state has spent three
fourths of the money it received in the
cause of education. The taxpayers have
groaned a little, but they have stood
| it, and today are spending, in spite OF
hard times and the high cost of living
millions more on schools and colleges
than ever before.
When a bill appropriating more thar
$2,000,000 per anndm for the support
and maintenance of the common schools
was introduced at the 1920 session OF
the Legislature, few members of the
low pressure" element flung a flt'
L RaeoGC0
majorities and became a law.
This same bill carried an appropria-
tion of $1,26S,721 as an additional fund
to "equalize school terms" That also
became law. and the poor counties are
now boasting as long free school terms
as do the rich counties.
1t has been found that for years a
number of the weather. counties had
been maintaining six to nine months
free schools, while in many Others the
schools were carried on for only four
months, and that teachers were paid
starvation wages. The apportionment
of this fund was left to the State Board
of Education, consisting of the state
superintendent Of education, secretary
of state and the attorney general, "ir
| such manner as to equalize school
| terms as nearly as possible throu ghout
the state" The number of educable
children in the county, amount of school
funds derived from the state distribu-
ton, number of mills levied for school
purposes by the county. salaries paid
teachers, and other data of that charac-
ter was necessary to. be had and fig
ured on in order that salaries and
length of terms in all counties might
be made the same. The sum appor-
toned varied very materially. Copiah
county, for instance, gets about $50, 00G
per year from this equalizing fund
Kinds county gets $4,000, and some
counties get nothing-for the reason
that they make no county levy fol
school purposes.
But with all this money for public
schools each child gets but Stand
there are more than 100000 of them or
the rolls. 1t would seem that with an
appropriation approximating $500, 00C
per annum the teachers of the public
schools of Mississippi would draw dowr
| salaries somewhat commensurate with
| the service performed-and yet the av.
erage salary paid the white teachers In
Mississippi is but 1888 per year. The
average for the colored teachers is ever
less, for the reason that comparativel,
few of them hold first grade certifl.
| Gates.
TT has been found" says w. F. Bond
state superintendent, that the compuI.
sorry school attendance law passed af-
ter bitter fight in the 1920 LegfsIa.
ture has added more than $4,000 chill.
dren to the public school attendance, sc
| that we may claim the law is a great
| success, even if there are yet a large
number out of school, and who are yet
to be whipped into line" In one county
Union, the compulsory law has sent
more than 1900 children to school this
session for the first time in their lives
some of them being almost grown
There has been an increased attendance
in nearly every county in the state be:
cause of the passage of this compulsory
attendance law-and it would seem 8
great pity it was not placed on the sta.
ltute books long ayears ago.
But this $3,50O.0OO appropriated foI
| the free public schools is not by any
means all that Mississippi is spending
for education per year. The five OF
six state colleges come in for a million
more every year, and it is given un-
/ grudglngly, save in a few quarters Al
the last session of the Legislature bonds
in the sum of nearly $5,000,O 600 were
| ordered sold for the purpose of con-
structing more buildings and repairing
several of the old ones on the college
campus at the University, A. & NJ, Wo.
mans College, Normal College and AL.
corn University-also for buildings and
repairs at the elementary institutions
But the colleges get hold of the sums
and nobody who pays much in the way
of taxes is "beefipg' about extrava-
gance. though the Legislature found il
necessary to increase the rate of taxa.
tion from " to 9 mills.
In the event the price of cotton had
L a fn av. -
price at which it was selling when the
Legislature made these heavy appro-
priations for educational purposes and
increased the tax levy nearly one-half
no word of complaint would ever have
been heard. In county or two, mass
/ meetings have been held, and resoIu.
tions adopted demanding that the Bono
and Improvement COMMISSIONER mer
charged with the expenditure of the
| five million dollar bond issue-shoulC
hold up and quit spending the peoples
money until times get better and the
high cost of living is radically reduced
However the commission has paid NJ
attention to these plaintive cries, anC
feven now ish asking bids for an addi
tional $500,000 worth of the bonds
IuSSiHiHe ~ auSoluleiy HeSeSSdry 70 Keel
the state abreast of the times and il
line with other progressive states il
l,matters affecting the future of thou
sands of children who are to be tbs
men and women of their state in du,
course of time.
/
i The Worst Criminals.
How long would any community stanc
for any man or set of men dishine on