The Augusta Courier

STRICTLY PERSONAL
By ROY V. HARRIS

The School Crisis Continues In Georgia.

The extra session of the legislature helped some. Yet the small amount made available failed to solve the problem. It merely relieved the temporary embarrassment.

When the legislature meets again in January, we will be facing the same crisis we faced at the extra session of the legislature.

Georgia will spend this year $88.80 per pupil on its public school system. The nation will spend an average of $178.71. This means that Georgia will be spending less than one-half of the national average.

The more prosperous states of the nation will be spending more than $200 per pupil.

Nearly all of the states of the southeast will be spending more than Georgia. For instance the state of Tennessee will spend $125 per pupil, and the state of Florida, if her new tax bills produce in sufficient amounts, will spend in both state and local funds an average of $183.68 per pupil.

There are those who say that Georgia schools are in better shape today than they ever have been before. That is true. Yet we have had so far to go, and we still have not done what we should do.

The situation reminds me of a story of a boy who won a prize in school.

The prize was offered to the student showing the greatest improvement during the year.

This boy won the prize and flunked in every class. He won because during the first part of the year his grades averaged 15 and 20, and during the latter part of the year his grades averaged 30 and 40.

He had a 100% improvement and nobody else could boast of such a record.

So he won the prize.

There are those who say that since our schools are in better shape than ever before we should be content and do nothing in January to further improve the situation.

Well the boy who won the prize with 100% improvement still flunked and failed to pass a single subject. The people of Georgia cannot afford to flunk out on this job. We must make good.

Especially is this true when we know that the earning power and the income of the people of the state will be in direct proportion to the amount we spend in educating and training our people.

At a time when we know that the per capita income of the people of Georgia was $439 less than the average per capita income of the people in the United States, we should not be hesitating or failing to meet the issue squarely in the face.

And especially when we know that in the states where they are spending over $200 per school child, the per capita income is running from $1500 to $1800.

The longer we put off the job of educating and training our people, the longer we will be forced to put up with a small earning power.

We cannot expect to reap dividends in the way of increased earning power until we have first made an investment in the education and in the training of our people.

The average educational level of the people of Georgia is about the 7th grade. The average in most of the nation is about the 10th grade.

The more we study the situation, the more convinced we become that we must spend more money in educating and in training our people before our present situation can be remedied.

I deeply sympathize with those who are in office and are faced with the unpleasant task of levying the taxes and raising the money.

I know that taxes have always been unpopular and will always be unpopular.

I also know that at the present time the Federal government is bleeding the people to death in the way of taxes, and the Federal government is threatening to increase federal taxes.

This makes it more difficult for the State and local governments to raise the necessary money to carry on the essential functions of government.

In other words the take of the federal government is so large until it leaves very little for the state and local governments to take.

Last year the federal government collected over 40 billion in the way of taxes. The states collected over 7 billion, and the local governments collected over 6 billion. Out of a total of 54 and one-half billion dollars, the federal government took over 40 billion. The federal government collected 73.6% of all the taxes paid in the United States. The states collected 14.3%, and the county and city governments collected 12.1%.

People are unable to make a distinction between the different agencies who collect the tax money. They only know they are required to pay through the nose.

There are also those who say that since federal taxes are so high and since the federal government is threatening to increase taxes we ought not to increase state taxes.

I believe that the Congress should be made to reduce taxes, and leave something for the states to collect, so that we can look after the education, the health and welfare of our people at home, and build some roads to stimulate business and industry.

Yet if we sit down and wait for Washington to do something we will be sitting and waiting when old Gabriel toots his horn. We have been waiting long enough in Georgia.

The time has come when we ought to do something for ourselves.

It looks as if our leaders in Washington are determined to make a Star Spangled Santa Claus out of Uncle Sam.

Since the conclusion of the war we have spent 33 billion dollars trying to help the peoples of western Europe, Greece, and Turkey, and everywhere else.

It looks to me that it is high time we do something about the education and training of the people of Georgia.

We should at least try to get the people of Georgia to the point where they can earn as much money as the average person in the nation earns.

And yet this crowd in Washington has voted nearly one and one-half billion more in money to arm the nations of western Europe.

And now the President is talking about some kind of relief program for all the backward people of the world.

There are more backward and poverty stricken people in India and China alone than any two nations like the United States could ever support.

All of these far-flung and world-wide programs of lifting everybody to our standard of living is just a little more than we can stand. If we keep it up we are soon going to pile up a load big enough to break our backs.

We have been spending all these billions for the purpose of keeping these people from turning Communists.

Yet the more we spend the closer they come to being Communists.

In my opinion, it is time to tell this bunch in Washington to call a halt. We can't play Santa Claus to everybody.

It is time to reduce taxes in Washington and to leave something for the States to tax.

If Washington will do this, Georgia can raise enough money from its own people to have an adequate system of education.

I know these situations put the legislature and the Governor on a spot. If they vote more taxes, they may be committing political suicide.

Yet I believe that the people of the state are now ready for somebody to tell the truth and for somebody to boldly step out and do what is necessary to establish an adequate system of education in Georgia.

It is a gamble, but it is a good gamble.

I believe the odds will be with those who are bold enough to take the chance.

Anyhow, it ought to be done in Georgia in January, 1950.

The legislature created a Tax Revision Committee two years ago.

This committee has been meeting and studying for 2 years. It is charged with the responsibility of revising ways and means to adequately finance the state government.

For two years the committee has had paid staff of investigators and for two years the committee has been meeting and studying the question.

This committee has been ordered by the legislature to make its report not later than December 15 of this year.

This committee should give us a plan for financing the Minimum Foundation Program for education and the legislature should finance this program when it meets in January.

If there is too much political dynamite in the program we ought to follow Buck Anderson's suggestion and declare a political truce long enough to look after the school children in Georgia.