Five Mile Beach weekly journal., 1922-05-05

these methods would very adversely
affect our own County of Cape May.
for as you all well know, u county
is assessed on a very high valuation
as compared to some of the other In
land counties, and as we have a small
school attendance in proportion to that
valuation, we would receive a much
smaller return of state moneys were
the distribution to be made by either
of the last named methods.
A concrete example will probably
serve to explain the subject more
clearly.
Cape May County raised and paid to
the state, in 1921, state school taxes IN
the amount of sos ,591, and received
back from the state $105, 236, or APP
proximately 81 per cent of the total
amount collected. Had the distribution
been made on the basis of attendance,
about $6O,750, or Sc per cent would
have been received.
You can readily see, therefore, that
it is very essential from the stand
point of self-preservation, that we
watch and oppose every effort that is
made to change the present method OF
distribution, for whatever amount we
lose in the distribution of state funds
must be added to our local school
taxes.
The same method of distribution is
at present employed in allotting the
railroad tax to the various counties.
The 1921 apportionment on the basis
of valuation gave Cape May County
$33,164.O7. Had the apportionment
been made on the basis of attendance,
the county would have received $751;
96S.92, and if on the basis of enroll
ment. the sum of $22,917.39 would
have been realized. This is but an
other concrete example of the neces-
sity of holding to the present form OF
distribution. In connection with the
railroad tax it may be interesting to
you to know that while in the case of
the state school tax practically the en-
tire amount is returned to the counties,
a large proportion of the railroad tax
is used for other purposes.
The total railroad tax for 1922 will
be $S,75S, 959.52, of which amount So
O1S,56S.64 is used by the state for other
school purposes, leaving only $3,74O,-
39O.SS for distribution to the counties.
OF this amount Cape May County gets
42,64O.92.
The attempts in the legislature of
this year to change the method of dis
tribution not only called for a change
in this respect, but increased the tax
from 2 mills to 6 mills for state school
tax. By taking the figures before
given and multiplying them by 3 you
a readily see what an effect such an
act, if passed, would have on our
county. We would pay into the state
approximately $324,0 900 and receive
back on the basis of attendance about
$3.50, 900.
1 know that our County Superin-
tendent has been most ardent in his
opposition to all proposed legislation
along these lines, and I feel the people
of Cape May County are indebted to
him for his efforts in looking after
these important matters.
There are other funds of minor i'm
the various counties, and while of
smaller amounts may be interesting
and probably have a rightful place in
this discussion. They are the $780,
900 state fund, of which Cape May
County in 1921 received 81, 2O6.50; the
A00 cfofn fund nf uhioh nIr |
county received $2,070.26, and the sur
plus revenue fund, of which we re-
ceived $3.50.
1t may be interesting to you to know
that in 1921 Cape May County raised
in addition to the state school tax the
sum of $273, 9S5.03 for local school pur-
poses and $S42,OO5.43 for all other
local purposes exclusive Of schools.
The average tax rate for local school
purposes throughout the county was
CT, the average tax rate for other
local purposes was $2.0S, and the aver
age tax rate for all purposes, including
county and state taxes was $4.35.
1t may also be interesting to know
that dividing the state and local taxes
by the number of pupils in attendance
the county received from the state
$27.65 per pupil and from local taxes
$53.1S per pupil. Cape May County
ranks No. 1 of all the counties in the
state in the amount per pupil received
from the state and No. IA in the
amount raised locally.
l congratulate you all on the SPLEEN
did showing of the schools of Cape
May County and trust that our county
will always be found in the front ranks
of the state in educational lines.
VISITING THEIR DAUGHTER