Atlanta tri-weekly journal. [volume] (Atlanta, Ga.) 1920-19??, 1923-11-06
,lrss4f9sIql
d WNO.
STATES VERY EXPENSIVE PUBLIC
SCHOOL SYSTEM

TIE It understood this scribe has always
X been an advocate of educating the chill
- dren of Georgia--of giving them all a
chance to read and write and to acquire
| the elementary science of figures. No mat
| ter how humble their homes and how plain
| their belongings, every child in free gov
eminent should be able to understand their
opportunity for becoming worthy citizens in
a republic like ours
And because it ia more humane to teach
| the youth of the country to be intelligent
that to build jails and courthouses, and pen
Eentiaries--to punish them for crimes the
| leaders of public opinion, organized a public
school system to be supported by statewide
taxation, to pay teachers and to provide
school houses-to carry on the system of
| free school education for all who are of
school age-for the poor and rich alike, and
| the compulsory taxation inflicted or re-
| CURED of taxpayers-demands compulsory
attendance, as a matter of right and justice
| to those who have children to educate
and who must pay their proportionate part
II they get no personal benefit from the
school fund. I hope we understand this
part Of the system clearly-because 1t is
| evident that the people OF Georgia are heavily
taxed to educate all the children of school
age, and they should also understand, that
while the school enrolment is 745,435, on
| the states ledger, less than half attend the
public schools.
This does not mean that less than half
the youth of Georgia do not go to school
somewhere--but it does mean that we are
taxed to support the enormous number here
mentioned by the state-and that money is
spent (and as some thnk) is swallowed UP
in the state by salaried peop1e-who fail to
teach (the more than half those who do
not attend public schools.
Ct get these figures from the report OF
the state school commissioners published in
1929
In the 7th grade grammar schools only
E4O,557 attend. One out Of every rs stu
dents enrolled This is a tangible represen-
tation of the indifference of the parents,
likewise OF the neglect of the school super
1ntendents who do not report the non attend
ance under the legal requirement OF compuI-
| sorry attendance by the state. Remember,
the number of school enrolment is nearly
5O,0O0-and the school enrolment in gram
mer school seventh grade, Is only 4O,557-
| one in rs, OF those who were enrolled as
primary schools first grade Count it for
yourself The state pays for school equip
ment, including multiplicity of superin~
tendants and teachers-and fifty cents out
OF every dollar of all taxes is devoted to
the education Of pupils-in plain common
schools-and more than half do not go to
public schools at all, and of those who do
go to public schools, only one in IS, is
found in the seventh grade
"To have good schools in Georgia there
must be better attendance" is the report of
with the states money where school chill
dren are scarce-and to pay out tax money,
only where the school children are present
to be taught, is the demand of the hour.
We have tremendous machine for opera
ton In Georgia. We pay in compulsory
taxation, to educate 100000 children-that
money is drawn out of the state treasury
for this purpose. Fifty cents out of every
dollar is carried to comptroller general and
to the treasurer of the state, and turned
over to public grammar school authorities
to be spent under the latters direction
and nearly four hundred thousand either at
tend other and different schools or do not
go to school at all! This is wholesale
farce, II 1t is not a cruel tragedy! The
tremendous machine operates for the bene-
! fit of an immense lot of teachers and man
agers-and the cry for more money" is
exactly what we hear-a perfect scream for
more money" and heavier taxation-for the
taxpayers-from January to December The
f1fty-flfty divide all goes TO the grammar
schools-but we have to raise more taxes