The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1922-02-01

Looking to next year and the next
it is apparent that something must
be done if the schools r to be kept
going. At one time we had a school
board which believed in running the
schools on the money available. This
year according to our information,
even when all the taxes are paid,
we will he some six thousand dollars
short. The members of the Board of
Trustees are all good men, and are
interested in. the schools, but we
must question the wisdom of appro-
priating six thousand dollars more
for running the schools in a given
year than the~taxes promise. Not one
of the trustees would expend more in
rum ng his business than the business
promised to return Any man who
spends six thousand dollars more IN
running any business than the an
nual income of the business, must
expect to bankrupt the business. The
same is true of the schools.
The people of this school district
believe in paying their teachers.
Some two years ago they voted four
mills additional for the running of
the schools. But they find now with
the increased salaries of teachers
that they are in worse condition than
they were before the taxes were vot-
ed. Some relief must come. Where
and how shall it come?
1t should be easy to guess that the
people in this school district, most of
whom have lost every dollar they
have accumulated in ten and TWEEN
" years, will not be in a humor to
increase taxes. 1t is certain that the
amount of taxes collected another
year will be less than the taxes to be-
collected for the present year, be-
cause the values of taxable property
will be less than heretofore. The peo-
pie will not year in and year out pay
out of their private funds for the
running of the schools. A few would
be willing but some who pay no taxes
would not pay otherwise.
! There is but one thing we can do,
and that is to lower expenses. If we
are to have a good school in Able
vile for full nine months we must
try to get it by running on a more
economical scale. We should be will
ing to pay every necessary teacher
in the schools all that the income of
the schools vii allow, but we should
get rid of every teacher who is not
absolutely necessary for the proper
running of the schools. We do not
say now that there is such, but there
may be. Having done this we should
cut our cloth to suit the number of
suits to be made. And to do this will
work no unusual hardship on the
teachers. They may not make as
much money as they would like, but
nobody expects to make money in the
next five years. Every mar in Able
vile is satisfied now if he can hold
body and soul together, financially
speaking. The clerks, the b~ook-keep-
ers, the stenographers, the printers,
and most Of the other people are ac-
cept:ng much less than they receiv-
ed & year ago and two years ago.
! The school teachers. who work, less,
who have better hours, who enjoy
many advantages that the working
women and men of the town do not
enjoy, if they are equally patriotic
will be willing to do their part, 9TH
erwise it will be necessary to dispense
with their services.
There is another thing which we
had as we'll say, and that is that the
officers of the school should busy
themselves in trying to run the
schools as economically as possible.
The State Superintendent of Educa-
ton and the whole State Board of
! Education have for years been work
ing on the matter of securing better
pay for teachers. We have in part
been impressed with the justice of
their demands. But it has seemed to
US at times that the efforts of the
state officers and Of others has had
a tendency to make teachers dissat-