Nashville union and American. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1868-1875, 1870-01-19
THE CITY SCHOOLS.
Reply of Mayor IIOrrist 80 Giae BOarsi
of EducatIou.

GENTLEaGEN-Your communication, dated
the 18th inst, and addressed to me as
Mayor" came TO my hand in the news
papers Of the 10th. Though addressed TO
me in my official character, and signed by
all the members of the Board of Education,
l suppose it is only intended as a personal
explanation made by you to the public. In
that view, the matter ought to be more fully
explained.
The resolutions which you reprint, |
originated as follows: The President of
the Board of Education called at my office, |
bringing with him the preamble, with its |
three clauses, the second of which declares
that CAN the school funds, or nearly all |
that have been levied, have been collected, |
and expended in the maintenance of the |
schools, I" and also the first resolution. He |
requested that the paper be rewritten by |
the Mayors Secretary, which was done, |
in the presence of your President, and to |
his satisfaction. Some changes were made |
in the re-drawing of the preamble and
resolutions-but only in form, and as be
fore said, to the satisfaction of your Presi- !
dent. Then after conference between him
and myself the second and third resolutions
we're drawn by the Secretary, and so as
to meet the views of the President-one
of them being altered after it was first
drawn, the moro perfectly to satisfy him.
The preamble and resolutions thus pre-
pared. and which your President desired
the City Council should pass, were as they
were offered-and were passed as you have
republished them, being as follows:
''Whereas, In order to carry on the pub
lie schools of the city it is necessary to
raise, between this and the first day of Ju-
". 1870, the sum of $4,000, and
"WhereaS, All the school funds, or near
lv all. that have been levied have been col
lected, and expended in the maintenance
of the schools, and
sSWhereas, There is no way by which
the money to conduct the schools to the
end of the present scholastic year can be
raised so easily and justly as by the Cit
zens who are willing to come forward and
nav their school tax for 1870, or such por-
| ton thereof as will raise the needed funds;
| now, therefore, belt
"Resolved, That every taxpayer who
will come forward and pay to the Revenue
| Collector two mills on the dollar on the
| amount assessed against him for the year
| 1869. shall, upon presenting his receipt to
| the Revenue Collector for 1870 have a
credit for the amount, with six per cent
interest to July i, 1870, thus paid on the
school tax assessed and levied against him
for 1870; and further,
"Resolved, That unless this proposition
meet such a response as will warrant the
continuance of the public schools, with
reasonable certainty of means to defray
their expense, they should not be resumed
at the end of the Christmas vacation till
there shall be funds raised for their main
tenance.
ssResolved. That unless funds can be
raised by the first Monday in February
sufficient to place the schools on a solid
| basis, the Board of Education shall be
authorized TO make such private arrange
| ments for conducting schools in the public
school buildings as may be judged best by
them, till the public schools can be re-
| sumed
| Isupposed that these resolutions embod-
led the views of your board; and in COM
| pliance with what was thus led to sup
| pose were your wishes, I handed them to
| Alderman Hurley, who introduced them,
and they were passed. The amendment
| made in the Council is not material here to
| consider.
| Two Of your most active members were
/ present, and we're understood to desire the
passage of the resolutions. If there was
| any opposition to them on your part,
knew nothing of it.
The preamble and resolutions are not
| hard to be understood, as it seems to ne.
1t is simply a proposition that if parties
should be willing to pay certain amount
of taxes tn adUaRce, they should receive
! credit for the amount so paid, with inter
| est to July, on whatever amount of school
| taxes may be hereafter levied on their
property, by ordinance, for the year 1870.
After carefully considering your communi-
| cation, am still unable to see that the
resolutions amount in form or substance to
what is stated in your appeal that
Your City Council = have leUted a
tax of two dollars per thousand on the as
sesSed value of your property. The Mayor
Of the city has approved the bill,
and it is now the law of your city
Looking, however, to the second resolu-
ton, which you were understood to ap-
prove, and looking to the fact that only
forty dollars had been paid in under the
| first resolution, l was surprised that you
proceed, without further conference with
US, to reopen the schools early in January;
and as you now assume that these resolu-
tons had ''the force and effect of law.
huu II 3D. hONAln NOu4OA bAAlAIS4Shb hotLAOAAlN
to suspend the schools, am still more at a
loss to account for your action.
But have shown that the resolutions
above had their origin with, and their pass
age was favored by your Board, or some of
them, with another view. / suppose that
intelligent gentlemen like yourselves were
fully competent to understand the resolu-
tons, as simply offering premium for the
,,a7-yoan+ Of ovac in Cd Tho T-acoly,
tons were widely circulated, and the only
person who responded was member of the |
Board Of Education, who made a payment
of $40. But I, thought your address to |
the people made a false impression, by |
inducing them TO believe a special add |
tiOnal tax had been levied. As you chose to |
represent me as signing a bill to that |
effect. I felt bound to correct a misunder- |
standing in relation to my official acts, |
which might mislead my overtaXed fellow |
citizens to their injury. promptly made |
the correction before the representatives |
of the people in the Common Council. If
my prompt avcwal of the truth, and dis |
avowal of error, has offended the Board of
Education, 1 regret it. Nevertheless, as |
highly as prize the approval Of your hon |
orable Board, 1 cannot depart from my |
duty, even should my refusal to do SO in
cur for me your displeasure.
In conclusion, gentlemen, I respectfully |
call your attention to a statement of the |
Recorder in relation TO the school tax, |
published by the Finance Committee of the |
City Council. X. j. MORRIS.
TIE FINANCE COMMITTEE TO THE BOARD OF |
EDUCATION.
To the Board Of Education Of the City Of Nash |
vile:
GENTLEMEN-There having been some |
misunderstanding with reference to the re-
ceipts and expenditures of the city on &C
count of the Public Schools, we have |
deemed it advisable to direct the Recorder
and Revenue Collector TO draw off state
ment of the same. Below we give brief
exhibit of the receipts and expenditures for
the past four years, promising that there Is
no sum charged among the expenditures
which was applied to the purchase or hire
of buildings or lots for school purposes.
Without further comment, we refer you TO
the statement. Respectfully,
D. T. CARTER Chairman,
JAS. B. CRAIGHEAD,
G. G.. CABLER,
JOHN HEREFORD,
VIM. SIMMONS,
JOIN II. BUDDEKE,
HUGH CARROLL.
NASHVILLE, Jan. Il, 1870.