Plentywood herald. [volume] (Plentywood, Mont.) 1908-current, 1931-03-05
COST OF EDUCATION

Many well mentioned persons claim PlentywO0ds
educational system is too expensive. and entirely out
of proportion to what it costs in other second class
school districts throughout this state. We have heard
this so many times that we almost ~Ommenced to be-
lieve it ourselves, and were very glad to get the exact
figures in the last bulletin issued by the Montana Tax
payers Association, which gives the figures of as
second class school districts in Montana, and which
shows that there are only three districts which operate
at a less cost than Plentywood.
According to this bulletin it costs $72.56 per pupil
each year, attending our Plentywood school. There are
466 pupils average daily attendance.
Many of the critics of Plentywood schools should
review this bulletin which give a fund of valuable in
formation about the schools of Montana For example
there is Corvallis. which employees only IL teachers with
339 daily attendance and where the cost is s66.73 per
pupil; Harlem with 36s pupils employ 1S teachers at a
cost of $109.5S per pupil; Poplar with $50 pupils employ
Is teachers, at an average cost of S158.S2 per child;
Baker with 399 pupils employ II teachers at a cost OF
5000 for each pupil; and SO it is all along down the
line-cost of education much higher elsewhere in Mon
tana than here at home.
Add to this, Plentywood has one of the best schools
in Montana, and we can all be proud of the fact that We
have such a splendid school here and operated at such
a low cost.
Taking our schools with about the same number
of teachers, let us see how much is paid out for teach
ers salaries: Forsyth, II teachers, 1872, 366; Shelby, Is
teachers, $33,427; Wolf Point 81 teachers, $39,S14; Big
Sandy, II teachers, s24, POS; Columbia Falls, Fl teach
ers, s24,O70 and Plentywood with Is teachers and more
pupils per teacher than any of the above enumerated
schools, pay out $22,047.
And looking through the taxpayers bulletin we
find that in third class districts Outlook is also Oper-
ating at a very low cost per pupil in comparison with
most other listed schools Outlook pays out only $685.
per pupil with six teachers and ISL scholars. Of the
large list of third cass districts enumerated they are
ninth from the lowest; the highest is Cohagen, in Gar
field county, where it costs s27S.09 per pupil There the
daily attendance is only "a, but there are six teachers,
the same as in Outlook.
Another bulletin on the pupil cost in third class
district high schools offers another opportunity for
study, and again throughout a large list of such high
schools we find Outlook within one point of being the
lowest, as with 3 high school teachers and IS pupils
it costs Outlook $86.66 per year for each pupil; the
$8262 with IS pupils and four teachers, while the high
est is St. Regis, in Minera County, $332.79 per pupil,
there being "a in daily attendance and employing three
teachers. Of the large number of such high schools
enumerated the only two where the costs were less than
500 are Outlook and Sheridan
We are proud of the fact that these two Sheridan
county schools show such outstanding records for &C.
those who are constrained to criticize our educators
and the school boards for extravaganza will look into
the matter of cost and upkeep of other schools through
out Montana before passing judgment upon what we
have at home.