| Show SCHOOL TAXES AND TUITION FEES WE wn have received the following letter from the trusted of a southern school district and reply to it to the best of our judgment and ability editor dewet news may I 1 en groach encroach on your val vai valuable ubbie time sufficiently to ask ash a little information through the columns of your paper on the following subject we raper have ave had four separate and distinct schools held in this district the past winter all of which have been managed under the supervision of our school trustees one of the schools is graded and taught by a male teacher who receives 16 per week the others are primary and taught by female teachers at a much less salary per I 1 week after giving each scholar entitled entitle dg the benefit of the public money equally is it proper to class all the schools together and make an assessment on each scholar alike to defray the balance of teach teachers erss wages or should each school bear beardt its own expenses as regards the payment of teachers you will readily perceive by making a grand average of the entire schools the primary departments are appropriating liberally towards the graded school which causes some speculation on the part of the citizens here relative lo 10 the duties of trustees respectfully TRUSTEE trume 1 there is nothing in the school law to determine this question we suppose from the letter of inquiry that thai the Atie four schools referred to are included in one school district under tinder one board of trustees the distribution of the school fund was proper and regular for though the present law does not make it obligatory on the trustees to pay out the tax money on the per capita principle yet this is eminently just and according to the spirit of the present statute and the ietter letter of the old one but it appears to us that the children who receive the higher grade of tuition for which the larger sal ait alt is paid should in justice be charged a greater tuition fee while we have this mixed system we must have a mixed policy if the whole business of school support wis was wat conducted on the taxation principle there would be no room for any difficulty of this kind teachers would be paid out of the general common fund ae cording according to their respective duties and abilities and that would ho be the end ot of the matter but where schools are supported partly by taxation and partly by tuition fees in the application of the latter regard must be had for the relative values of the benefits received the children who go to the primary schools where the teachers are paid low salaries should not in our view be compelled to pay as much as the advanced scholars who require the services ofa of a more expensive teacher we should say after the tion tiou of odthe tite tile school taxes to the respective spec spee tive teachers according to the number numbers of their pupils arran arrange arrango 0 the balance to make up their sa sala saia JL ries for each school separately keach each school thus bearing its own expenses but all this can be regulated by the people and the trustees together the latter are the servants not the lawgivers of the former it is easy to find out the wishes of the people when the trustees give in their financial report on the first monday in june in each year they can ascertain by vote of the regular school meeting what policy I 1 is desired by the majority g or r if this meeting is too distant in time a special meeting can be called to decide the matter harmony between the people and their trus tees is very desirable and by mutu al agreement confidence will be promoted and the interests of the community will be sub served there will have to abe be a remodel ing of our school system some time in the near future and we have to determine whether the paternal or the state system of education shall prevail in utah wh ether it is i s the province provi ice of the parents or of the tile state to educate the children whether our schools shall become secular izedor be conducted conducted under moral and religious influences whether we shall leave our children during the whole weer wees without public religious training and confine it to the sabbath schools or adopt a plan by which IgA mormon children cli ell ildren lidren can be trained and educated in Mor mormon mony mons schools leaving the people of every denomination to make th their clr cir own scholastic arrangements the taxation system of ot education by the state involves the secularization of the public schools for th the tho 0 simple reason that where there th e re are people of different denominations paying taxes and sending their children to the common m schools objections will swill be made by each sect to instruction in religious tenets by teachers of another sect it is true that we are in the majority and regard should be had injustice to the wishes of the majority but in religious matters we ought to follow the golden rule and if the latter day saints do not wish their children taught methodism they must also understand that methodists would not hot want their children taught mormonism the secularization of the public schools to our mind is the argument against the taxation policy and as we see the absolute necessity and recognize the duty imposed upon us by our religion as well as our pa to provide education for nil all 1 I our children ell cli ildren lidren so that no son or daughter of zion shall grow ap u up in in I 1 agnora ignorance I 1 nce nee and as wo vve perceive also aiso so the need of moral and religious training 1 in as a part of the re regular ular education tion 0 of the youth youth of our people we hope for a system by which every very child connected with our church and people can receive a common education in the rudiments of learning and at the same time instruction in the tenets and alid spirit of our faith falth without encroachment upon the rights and liberties and beliefs or dlAb diab disbeliefs dis ellefs beliefs of bf othe otho othera others rm gli gil there re is a way in which this can be consistently done and we may touch upon it at some future time |
