*This continues last week’s article, which concluded with, “However, records just do not exist that tell the story.”*
1856-1857: Thirteen teachers were paid from the INDIGENT FUND by the County Treasurer at the rate of 7½ (seven and one-half) cents per child per day for the “indigent” pupils and 5½ (five and one-half) cents per child per day for pupils from the homes that paid tuition.
There was no “local taxes” income for the support of the schools, no school buildings in the modern sense of the word, and no permanent organizations for administering school affairs!
The unrest and anxiety “incident” to the approaching Civil War was no doubt partially responsible for the collapse of the school system in the State.
In Kaufman County, according to the “Minutes of the County Court” of May Term, 1863, Volume One, page 365, “only three schools were maintained during the year, 1863-1864.”
During the short period between the passage of the School Law of 1854 and the outbreak of the Civil War, little was accomplished towards the establishment of a Public School System!
1866: The State Legislature passed a new school law, which authorized the establishment of a system of schools very similar to that of 1854; however, the Federal Government nullified the Constitution of 1866 upon which the School Law was based before the law became operative.
The Constitution of 1869 and the Law of 1870 made provisions for “a complete system of schools for the gratuitous instruction of all the inhabitants between the ages of six and eighteen,” but the people treated this law with indifference since it was, in the opinion of that day, too drastic to fit the needs of the children, and the tax for public education met disfavor!
In the November Term of 1869, the Court organized the County into a school district and made the five justice precincts the subschool districts. The Court appointed three trustees for each of the sub-districts and three Examiners for the County. It was the duty of these Examiners to determine the fitness of applicants to teach. Each Justice of the Peace took the scholastic census of his Precinct.
The Court levied an ad valorem tax of 1/8 of one percent on the property of the County during the May term, 1871, for the purpose of building SCHOOL-HOUSES. The records of the County do not show the results of this tax, for the radical system was introduced in Texas by the Law of 1871 and took precedence over the laws prior to that date.
This law provided for THE MOST CENTRALIZED SYSTEM OF SCHOOLS EVER KNOWN IN AN AMERICAN STATE! The organization was military in nature and assumed ENTIRE CONTROL over the education of the children.
The result was an extravagant and very unpopular system of schools!
Opposition to the ad valorem tax of one per-cent on all property for the maintenance of the school was widespread and determined. It attained the proportions of a rebellion!
The compulsory attendance feature of the law violated a deep-seated prejudice of most Texans. The people did not approve of the importation of teachers, who were strangers to the Community, nor did they look with favor upon the education of the Negroes.
Also, the selection of the textbooks by the State Board of Education was condemned chiefly because of the fact that most of them were written by Northern authors and contained sentiments that were obnoxious to Southern People!
The reaction from and towards this radical system was witnessed by the Constitution of 1876. Provision was made for the simplest and loosest system of schools ever used in Texas.
Many citizens believed that every man should pro vide for the education of his own children and that the State should have no voice in this important function. The plan was commonly called “The Community System.”
However, it lasted only one year! Kaufman County maintained several schools under this system, but no record is available to chronicle their successes or failures.
More information coming next week.
- Log in or Subscribe to post comments.