The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1932-03-10
MAINTENANCE OF RURAL
SCHOOLS IN PENNSYLVANIA
Financing of Education Largely
Taken Over by State as Adam
dOned Farms and Diversion of
Industries Reduce Local Rev.
enueS.
By DIR. CLYDE L. KING,
Secretary of Revenue, Commonwealth
of Pennsylvania
lin the United States Daily

During the nineteenth century the
traditional source of income for the
support of Pennsylvania schools was
the general property tax.
A century of experience proved
that the general property tax could
not give all the children of the State
an equal chance for an education. As
sole source of income it resulted in
| heavy burdens Of taxation in some dis
tricts, and in other districts low stan
dards for wages of teachers, short
terms of school, and poor school
equipment, even though the tax rate
was high and the assessments made
at 100 per cent of values.
To overcome these inequalities the
school subsidy system was adopted in
this State. Folk generally thought
that under the system the poorest
school districts of the State would be
able to pay at least Is percent of their
teachers salaries.
But even though certain classes of
school districts receive as much as rs
percent of their teachers salaries as
subsidy from the State treasury,
there are now in the State some 400
insolvent school districts; insolvent in
the sense that with full assessments
of value and high rates current bills
cannot be paid in full.
The State, in other words, set up
standards as to teachers salaries, as
to term of service, and as to school
equipment of such character that, al
though the State now carries the ma
jor portion of the burden, these school
districts are still bankrupt, and con-
fscation and great suffering have been
put upon property owners.
The Legislature of 1929 appropria-
ted 100000 for distressed school dis
tricts to help out such districts as
could not pay even one dollar out of
four spent for their teachers sala-
ries. This sum proved too small. The
Legislature of 1881 appropriated ST.
100000 for this purpose, and this huge
sum is about one-half the amount
actually needed.
This State subsidy to the school dis
tricts took $29,OOO,OOO in 1921-1923,
and will take $62,OO0,00O in 1931-1933
for all common-school purposes.
Though the present budget calls for
more money by millions of dollars
than was ever appropriated before,
even larger sums must be required
from the State in the future if the
standards as to teachers salaries and
as to school tenures are to be main
tanned. 80"
We are coming rapidly to a place
where the State is in fact assuming
all the expenses of certain school dis
tricts. There is no real financial au-
tonomy nor responsibility in school
management in such districts.
The taxes on real estate and build
ings as a source of school income in
this State has in fact broken down.
The reasons for this lie in the declin-
ing values of real estate.
These declining values are not by
chance, nor are they related primarily
to the present depression. These de-
Ginning values are due to serious shifts
of capital enterprises from the State
of Pennsylvania, and they include
alike city and country. AS illustra-
tions of the causes I give the follow
ing: