One is hearing much complaint nowadays from non-resident patrons of our city public schools. This is brought about by the recent enactment of the city board of school commissioners that in the future the on-resident patron shall pay an incidental fee of $2 a month per pupils for six months and tuition of $6 for three months.
This is better understood when it is recalled that non-resident patrons have access to schools of only six months term. This does not entitle the pupil to accredited rating, and most of the schools have no high school department. The sum charged brings a non-resident pupil into the city high school, with all the advantages it has to offer, at a total cost for the nine months of only $30.
Superintendent M.S. Beam, of the city school, has kept accurate accounts, and he knows to a penny what it costs the town to carry a pupil through the high school. This cost per pupil is slightly in excess of $63 per pupil each school year.
When it is understood that the number of pupils attending the high school are approximately one-half the total enrollment, the inequality of the old rate is readily seen. Pupils theretofore have been charged at the rate of $9 for three months—this being the term of school in excess of the six months provided by law.
Assuming that the city school has an enrollment of 300 pupils, past records would indicate that the outside districts would furnish at least 150 of these. According to figures in hand, the school educates these 300 pupils at a total annual cost of about $19,000. Under the old plan of payment, the outside pupils would bear just $1,350 of this expense.
The state provides that where non-resident pupils attend an accredited school, for every 30 such pupils attending, an additional teacher would be paid for out of the regular school funds. (The Press is only quoting from general knowledge of the law, and is not specific in its terms.) With 150 outside pupils, the county would pay towards this expense the cost of five additional teachers. Allowing for this purpose the sum of $6,000, which added to the $1,350 paid by the pupils themselves, it is easily deducted that the city itself pays over 1 ½ times as much for the education through one year of high school of its portion of pupils, or $11,650.
Some few pupils outside the district take advantage of the grammar grades. The new scale of prices provides for tuition charges of $4 for three months, and incidental charges for six months of $1.50, making the total per pupil for the nine months of $21.
The reason for the ruling is plainly seen. The pupil outside of city limits has a great advantage in costs over the pupil on the inside. The figures given above do not include rental estimates, upkeep, interest on bonds, nor sinking funds. The cost to the pupil of Albemarle is very far in excess of the cost to the pupil outside the taxable district.
While it is natural that the non-resident patron should feel that increasing the price to him 100 per cent is an unreasonable one, yet the figures, when properly presented and understood, must cause him to understand that there is no especial reason why the town of Albemarle or a special tax district for any other school should be taxed to provide education for outside pupils at a lower cost than it can educate its own.
It can probably be presented with effect that the increase has been made without sufficient notice to them. Such matters come out at special seasons of the year, when budges are being made out, and when the financial boards must lay their fiscal plans. We note that the same thing has just occurred in Charlotte, and a paragraph in the news column of this paper carries the Charlotte schedule.
However, The Press sees where it would probably have been better in many ways for this information to have been given out at close of the last term. As teachers have already been employed upon the basis of a certain number of non-resident pupils being enrolled for the present year, any material drop off in that number would cause embarrassment in more ways than one.
From the front page of The Albemarle Press, Thursday, Sept. 3, 1925 “A Stanly County Weekly of Character”
newspapers.digitalnc.org/lccn/sn91068199/1925-09-03/ed-1/seq-1/
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