LOCAL GOVERNMENT AND TAXATION 109 



equal to Coos County in population and taxable wealth, but occupies less than 

 one-half of the area. Many problems are involved. What constitutes an efficient 

 governmental unit for administering public services, and who is going to deter- 

 mine the best size? Is an efficient unit for assessment of property identical with 

 that for the collection of taxes? Is an efficient unit for tax administration also 

 an effective unit for public welfare, public health, law enforcement, and highway 

 maintenance? Is it possible that administrative areas could be established by 

 competent authorities and that such areas could best be organized on a functional 

 basis, irrespective of county lines? 



APPENDIX 3 



FINANCING JOINT SCHOOL DISTRICTS 

 A Case Study of Financial Problems Involved 



The size and shape of school districts, like towns, are largely a 

 matter of "political accidents." Many small rural districts having a 

 sparse population and providing one or two one-room schools of small 

 registration are confronted with a heavy per pupil expense of trans- 

 porting children from a few scattered homes in outlying areas. In 

 some instances these more distant homes are within two miles of 

 schools in adjacent districts and it is found more economical for them 

 to pay tuition to another district than to provide transportation to the 

 local school. Some districts have diverted to another means of par- 

 tially overcoming this problem, that of setting off a section of property 

 into an adjoining district to be assessed and taxed for school purposes. 

 In some situations it is conceivable that the small rural district might 

 close its schools and transport its pupils to an adjoining district, par- 

 ticularly when the latter district has an adequate plant and instruc- 

 tional facilities of a high quality. From a financial point of view this 

 is a matter of balancing transportation and tuition expenses against 

 the costs of school maintenance. Another alternative is for districts 

 to form a union or joint district, or for a wealthier and more denselv 

 popidated district to absorb the small rural district and, accordingly, 

 to spread the school property tax proportionately over the assessed 

 valuation of the districts concerned. 



The following inquiry involves a situation which was recently 

 brought to the attention of local officials in two adjoining school dis- 

 tricts. It is presented here as a case study to illustrate some of the 

 financial problems involved when school districts of ill-matched popu- 

 lation and taxable wealth attempt to concur. The two units involved 

 are designated as District A and District B. 



District A maintains a new eight-room school, employs eight full- 

 time teachers, and has about 180 pupils. The organization provides 

 for six grades of elementary and two years of junior high school. 

 Moreover, this is one of the few districts in the state that i)rovides 

 high school transportation at public expense. On the other hand. 

 District B tnaintains two one-room schools, eight grades each, for 

 about 40 pupils. The town is distinctly rural and sparsely populated 



