Albuquerque morning journal. [volume] (Albuquerque, N.M.) 1903-1926, 1921-07-03
THE SCHOOL TAX LIMIT.

State superintendent John Conway has launched
a fight against the constitutional amendment pro-
posal to limit the school tax to ten mills. 1t is
now eighteen mills.
The Taxpayers association is for the amend
ment Mr. Asplund, it's secretary, has blandly told
the public that teachers wages quite high
enough Probably that declaration will satieSS the
teachers. They will wonder how they were ever
misled into believing that their pay is too low.
Mr.. Asplund doesn't want any mistake made
about overlapping the teachers. He wants the tax
levy fixed where there will be possible error
made about too high wages. He would give nobody
any discretion. The simple route Of constitutional
limit, made low, will provide no money with which
to pay teachers high wages and the whole matter
will be settled forever to the satisfaction Of the
Taxpayers association, ie.: The Santa Fe railroad
the Ell Paso and Southwestern railroad the Phelps
Dodge company, the Chino Copper company and a
few other corporations with children of school
age. The people who have children may fail to
agree to this little tax-saving device.
Mr.. Asplund says teachers are now plentiful and
can be had for low wages They are commodity
to Mr. Asplund and their par should be left to the
mercies of the law of supply and demand, as is
sugar wheat.
The plain implication is that school boards viii
levy all that the law will allow them to do and
squander the surplus by over-paying teachers. We
would be glad to have Mr.. Asplund point out 70
us few concrete illustrations of over-paid teachers
under the present eighteen mill system.
Teachers are not a commodity-they per-
sonaltes which build themselves into the lives Of
your children for better or for worse. Just any
old teacher will not do. The profession must be
made inviting to those who possess the talent The
crowding out should be from the top down instead
of from the bottom up as Mr.. Asplund proposes
Those advocating the new limit say that the
absence of money with which to run the schools,
will force to the tax roll, property which is
not taxed. This is pure buncombe. II the
burden of forty-two mill tax will not 3
revolt against present outrageous system OF
favoritism, nothing will except new baptism Of
civic Righteousness and decency.
The school boards not and have
no control over the assessment rolls They can
would give the boards grossly inadequate sums in
most instances. Nine months of school would be i'm
possible in many communities.
New Mexico needs more schools and better
schools Without them there is no hope hope for
the future The people of the district who pay the
taxes, can be depended upon not to burden them
selves any than they deem absolutely neces-
sary. We are unalterably opposed to the unater-
able limit fixed by this constitutional amendment
People with children to educate should move
against this amendment. If they do not the cor
porations, which pay amount equal to
quarter of per cent of their annual tax to the
Taxpayers association for Just such purposes as
this will force this amendment on the state
The fight should be to bring property on
to the tax rolls not to perpetualy cripple the
schools with this impossible amendment
The Journal favors rigid economy. We must
have 1t but the schools must be made better, not
worse. There plenty of other places to begin