Henderson daily dispatch., 1935-09-09

1 tne ScnootS employ better urabned
Iteachers by paying the difference be
| tween what they had been paying and
the cost of employing teachers with
Oetter certificates. AS a result OF hits
encouragement and financial assis-
tance from the State, the training of
teachers has increased from an aver
age of only 1 1-2 years of college
training in 1877 to an average of 1-2
years Of college training at present
Funds Increased.
Because the public, the school peo-
pie and especially the taxpayers had
become so pleased with the manner in
which the school tax reduction fund
or equalization fund" was being ad.
mlnistered by the Board of Equaliza-
ton, the 1929 General Assembly in
creased the fund to $6,5O0,000 a year
Tor the next two years in order to
rurther reduce school taxes in the va
rlous counties and school districts
and to help maintain the extended
term III those districts which had es-
taDilshed an eight months term. This
$e,5u0,OOO a year made it possible for
Martin and the Board of Equalization
to bring about a reduction in school
taxes that averaged about 20 cents on
the $1OO valuation for the years 1929
30 and Le20-31. And after the depres-
sion hit in 1880, it proved a zeal life
saver, since at least 600 or 700 ex-
| tended term schools would have had
to close at the end of the six months
/ term if it had not been for this fund
BY the time the 1881 General As
sembly met, it was apparent that
| many counties could not continue to
| support even six months school
| term from local property taxes, with
| the result that Representative A. D.
| Mclean, of Beaufort county, pushed
| te enactment his ibillo fir complete
| State operation, from State funds, of
the six months school term. It was
then that the job of operating the
six months school term and of al
loting the $17,0O0,0O0 a year which
the legislature appropriated for main
| tanning it, as well as $1,500,00O a year
for extended term aids, wa handed
to the Board of Equalization and to
Martin. It was during this 1881 ses-
| sion also htat the IS cents property
tax for schools was levied, of which
nearly 100000 is still uncollected
AS result of this action by the 1881
General Assembly, all local taxes for
| the support of the six months schoo1
term were removed
Budgets ScrutiniZed.
| This same General Assembly also
passed the law requiring all superin
tendents to submit supplemental bud
| gets to be the Board of Equalization
for it's approval before they could ask
the county commissioners to levy any
| supplemental school taxes. This
brought a terrific howl from the
school forces, who blamed Martin for
this law. But it resulted in a saving
of millions of dollars to the tax pay
ers and in unnecessary school expen-
| ditures. For it compelled superinten-
dents to itemize every item for which
addition funds were asked before the
! budget was approvde or the taxes
levied. Prior to this budgets had not
! been itemized and county commits
sioners were required to levy what
ever tax was needed to produce the
revenue called for in the budget ap-
proved by tie county or districts
boards of education, which generally
J approved whatever the superinten-
| dent recommended.
System Worked Well.
| But while the State had taken over
! the expense of operating the six
months term, the various local units
| which had eight or nine months
school terms were still having to sup
| port the addition two or three months
from local taxes, while some were
supplementing the six months term
| also with local taxes, with the ex-
ception of the $15OO,0OO a year which
the State was using to help the ex-
tended term schools. And it was be-
coming more and more difficult to
raise the money needed for the ex-
tended term from local taxes, with
the grip of the depression getting
| tighter every month.
Because of the success shown in
| the operation of the six months
school term by Martin and the Board
of Equalization and the manner in
which they had demonstrated that
expenses could be cut without injur-
ing the quality of school instruction,
| the 1888 General Assembly decided to
set up a Statewide eight months term
to be supported entirely from State
funds without any property taxes, ex
cept for supplements. But becauc
revenue was scarce and the outlook
dark and gloomy, it appropriated on
| ly $160O0,O00 a year for the eight
months term But Martin and the