The Barre daily times. (Barre, Vt.) 1897-1959, 1922-03-03
LETTERS TOTHE EDITOR
Cost Of School System.

| Editor, Barre Times: Owing TO hui
man sclhshness there il always a de-
mand to have prices adjusted upward,
but strenuous rebellion against hay
ing them adjusted downward. Then
the high cost OF living was at its zenith
it was only reasonable that wages and
salaries should be adjusted upward.
But now that the cost of living has
dropped at least one-third, there is a
general protest against reduction OF
wages. Bread flour has dropped from
$3.50 to $780,. sugar from 27c az one
| time to six cents, potatoes from "
per bushcl to 81, butter from zoe TO
40c and everything else substantially
but less in proportion.
Common wages in the rural towns
were S4 per day, now $3.50, and many
out of employment would be glad TO
work for So per day. And many, espe-
cially in eopen shop" factories, arc glad
to keep their steady jobs at a 20 per
cent reduction.
Why, then, should our salaried school
officers and teachers not be willing to
| submit to a 20 per cent reduction from
! the boosted wartime prices? And yet
| the head of the Vermont schools has
been reported as saying there must be
no reduction in teachers and school OF
ficials' pay Why should those who
are entrusted to teach equity to the
young of our state not be willing to
submit to an equitable readiustment OF
their own salariesY In answer to this
pertinent question, we are told that
$50 much more is required Of teachers
now than previously that their salaries
must be kept high or enough Of them
cannot be procured"
That was true to an extent during
the war, when all shops and factories
were running on full and over time
and many educated young men We're in
the army and the educated young iar
dies were working in business offices,
but not SO now TO any great extent.
Many men and women, who are well
qualified, would be glad OF employment
now at about one half the prices they
received during the war. 1t il true
that the recently established teachers
training schools do add to the eX
pcnses both to individuals and to the
state, but are their values equal 10
their cost? And ii so, is il reasonable
to overload the taxable property Of a
state no richer than Vermont with the
almost unlimited expense that its pom
derous educational machinery is cost |
ing the slater
A bright lady, who attended teach
ers' summer school. was asked how |
much benefit she thought she derived |
from it. Her answer was that Of
course she derived some help, but there |
was so much Of il that she did not /
deem of much practical value that her I
time at home in some more practical |
studies she thought would have been /
worth more to her, not counting her
expenses.
The aim Of the present school sys
TEN seems to be to teach such u great
variety Of things as to result in SC
rious lack Of a thorough mastery Of
such essential branches as mathe. /
matics, reading, spelling and gram
mar, especially mathematics. Besides,
many are rushed through and gradu-
ated, regardless Of their attachments,
who should in Justice to themselves
and the reputation Of the boosted
school system remain in school an
other year or two,
If salaries of the many school officers
and teachers as we'll are not reason,
ably adjusted downward, there will
surely be a demand TO return TO the
town system of each town running its
own schools.
Let the school directors of Barre
and elsewhere not be too lavish in pay
ing out the taxpayers money for
schools, and yet be just to school teach
ers, for this is a time when rentable
is hard hit in the city.
A Taxpayer.