The times-news. [volume] (Hendersonville, N.C.) 1927-current, 1933-05-16
SCHOOL BILL
HELD VICTORY.
FOR TAXPAYER
Is First Major Defeat Of
Organized School Forces
in the State
By ]. c. Baskerville
.f The Times News Bureau
Sir Walter Hotel


RALEIGH, May 1G.-The en-
actment of the Griffin school ma
chinery bill, in spite Of he house
amendment to permit cities AMI
counties not to default to levy
supplemental taxes for a nintn
month as we'll as to supplement
the eight months term, is regard
ed as a distinct victory for the
taxpayers of the state and as the
first major defeat Of the organ
lied school forces. The bill is far
from acceptable to most of the
school people since it is going to
make it necessary for most Of the
counties and districts to operate
their schools on the money re-
ceived from the $4,000, 200 q
wear appropriated by the state,
which is approximately $1,000
600 less than was spent this and
last year on the eight months
term. But the provisions in the
bill making it as difficult as pos
sible for local units to levy sup
elemental taxes is Il decided vic
tory for the people who have
been paying the school taxes and
who have been insisting that they
must be given some relief.
While it is agreed that the re-
duction made in the appropriation
for the eight months school term
is going to cause som" hardship
on the teachers and superinCend-
ents, principally through heavy
reduction in salaries. those who
have studied the new machinery
act maintain that the school chill
dren are not going to suffer ma
terially. Some even maintain that
in MANY cases the school children
are going to have a better educa-
tional opportunity than hereto
fore, as the result of the state
wide eight months term. They
also point out that while the teach
ers will get a reduction of 20 per
cent below the salaries they are
now getting, that they will nave
the advantage of being sure they
will get their pay checks for eight
months from the state. instead OF
six. For they will no longer have
to "take a chance" on getting
their pay for an extra two months
from local taxes which in the past
were often not collected. There
are many counties and tax dis
tricts, in which supplemental
taxes for the extended term have
been levied but not collected,
which are as much as two years
behind in completing the payment
of their teachers for the extended
term.
The school forces, especially
the superintendent, contended
that the Griffin machinery bill
would "wreck the schools" and
did everything possible to defeat
it and have the Aycock bill in
the house substituted for it. ,BuJ
the house turned a deaf ear to
their complaints and made the
Griffin bill even stronger than 1t
passed the senate. For while 1t
provided that the larger cities
and units may levy supplemental
| takes for a ninth month, it adopt
ed the O'Berrv amendment that
provides no city, county or unit
in default may levy supplemental
taxes for a ninth month. even by
a vote of the people. The super
intendents also opposed the heavy
reduction made in the salaries Of
| superintendents. which now will
range from $1,4O0 a year to ST.
500 a year, where they formerly
ranged from $4,000 to $4,000 a
year. They also opposed the pro
vision in the bill that does not set
up any definite pupil load per
teacher. But both of these fea-
lures will bring about the more
economical operation of the
schools. so they were retained.
Another feature of this bill
that will save the state at least
100000 a year is the section re-
garding transportation and put.
| ting it on a statewide instead OF
a countrywide basis. Heretofore
the state has been allntting So
s-- MO-.