The people's voice. [volume] (Helena, Mont.) 1939-1969, 1948-12-03

does to these roads. Now 10 YEAR
have passed and l still live in thi
same community. Finance and teach
er shortage have closed two of these
three schools. The school children
travel from seven to 20 miles to thai
nearby town school. The greatest
hardship is on the lower grade child
rem. The school is very impressive
looking place. But it is overcrowdec
and understaffed. The rosy picture
| had of better education in bigger
schools was mirage. The average
student is sliding through and the
below-average student is sliding back.
The quality of work being done there
is poorer than what we were doing
in the little school.
A Typical Picture
This is not an isolated case, but is
a typical picture of what is happen
ing throughout the state as borne
out by correspondence with people
in many localities. Community ac-
tivities die with the local school. The
young people have little time for any
thing ecept the long bus ride and the
school day. They can not even take
part in very many school activities.
To spare their children the hardships
the families who could possibly af-
ford it have established winter resi-
dences in nearby towns In so doing
they have had to give up producing
meat, milk, poultry and eggs and
have become consumers of these
goods. This tends to upset the whole
economic setup and makes scarcities
of these products.
During the present high level of
farm prices we can get by this way.
But the time has been and may be
again when we will not be able to
do so. Then what?
We have suffered already the ills
and hardships of too few rural schools.
This has been brought about by lack
Of financial support by the state of
Montana and by the teacher shortage.
1t would be bad enough if proposed
school legislation sought to make our
present school situation legal and
permanent. But the MEA research
experts want to go even further.
They seem to want to cut down on
he number of rural schools just be-
,ause they cost too much per pupil.
The experts may be expert on the
figures on file in their offices. We
ural people knew even before Novem-
Der End that they were not so expert
IN our problems.
We maintain that no one living
outside the physical boundaries of
any community is an expert on the
needs of that community.
The people of the state of Montana
re paying some terrifically high local
ewes to keep their schools going.
wen so the finances have not been
dequate.
In the statewide meetings we have
net many half-truths and outright |
projected upon our thinking /
Y the experts on education.
Among them are these:
eve must cut down on the cost of |
ducation if we expect increased state
i'd" What is the use then?
"Our estimated cost must be under
ne "a million mark or the legisla-
ire will not even consider it"
Who Says So?
eff we accept increased state aid
e must be responsible to the state for
ow we spend the money" He who
ontrols the purse controls all, is that
:?
"Unless we accept reorganization
e will not get the financial pro-
RAM" Who has the right to rule [
,us or to seem to? |
''The small rural school and local {
strict is an inefficient and uneco- /
Omic unit" By whose yardstick? t
There are many good intelligent '
eople who honestly believe that the {
roposed scheme of reorganization t
school districts would be good E
ing. They see only the rosy picture
ainted by those who are out to sell
1t can be made to 9
,und very good indeed. But farm G
s are getting harder and harder to 6
'ol. They insist upon thinking the {