The Stark County Democrat. [volume] (Canton, Ohio) 1833-1912, 1874-02-05
Ger the Demoerat.) ~
NEW SCHOOL HOUSES.

The Bill BefogS the lLegtslature-
Plan QktAe.AoATu 81 Ea2ostton-
hog 4ni1a1nEs.ARsS Nsed=
ExOeed1Hg the 1sWfu1 Rate OF Tax
alton.
Asconsiderable misrepresentation exists
among some of our people, with regard
to the petition Of the Board of Education
and the bill now before the Legislature to
allow them 10 issue bonds and borrow
money, I ask q little space in your COL
umns to place the school needs of our
city and the aims Of the Board properly
before your readers.
We have three pretty comfortable
school buildings all east Of Market Street
with accommodations for not more than a
third Of the primary pupils entitled TO
school privileges; the old building on
West TpscaraWas street, neither comfoT-
table for pupils nor creditable to the
school spirit Of our citizens, is the only
other building. The parochial schools of
the,two Catholic churches relieve Us OF
the care Of between three and four hun
dred younger pupils, whom otherwise we
would have upon our hands with absolu-
Htely no accommodation for them.
The old building. occupied by between
four and i've hundred pupils, never was
well adapted for school purposes, and it is
now In such coalition that the health
and safety of the pubils are endangered, to
say nothing of the necessity / school
work of providing comfortable and attrac-
tive accommodations for the children. 1t
would require from fifteen to twenty
thousand dollars to put it in ordinary good
repair, and then It would be no credit to
our city, while In its present condition it
Is adisgracs.
While nearly eli the schools are more
than full, there are three primaries with
nearly a hundred pupils each, and the
school IN the Reformed church building
enrols more than q hundred more, from
which any reader can see that the school
aocommodations, even including the old
building, are entirely inadequate to meet
the Wants Of u children physically, in
tellectually OF morally. To meet the
present imperative demand and to pro-
vide for an ever growing necessity In the
near future, the Board Of Education pro-
If they can obtain the allowance of
law, to put up and furnish at once two
more ward schools, one in the second and
one in the third ward, and then remove
the old building, and put in its place a
central Highs Grammar School Building
which, avoiding all mere Snowy extraVa-
gance, shall be well adapted for the schools
Of higher grade, and an ornament to eur
city.
Twenty-Five thousand dollars will Sc
cure and furnish each Of the ward build
lngs, and fifty thousand the central build
ing, thus giving us ample and creditable
school buildings at a cost Of one hundred
thousand dollars at the utmost limit.
This indeed seems a very great sum of
money, and 1t would undoubtedly be a
great additional burden uponthe tax pay
ers, if the Board were to raise this amount
by special levy, In year OIL ven In five
years.
Now, however, the taxable property of
tins schooldistrict is over five and q quar-
ter millions Of dollars, and Increasing
every year; with this large and increasing
tax basis, The Board propose to borrow
the money and extend the payment over
= period of fifteen years, in which time
both principal and interest can be met with
an annual amount of twelve Thousand
dollars, requiring to raise 1t now, less
than Two and a half mills on the dollar,
stlltless than this from year to year
Is the taxable property of the district in
- --=um-EE
To run the schools economically will
about four and q half mills, so
if allowed to carry put their plans, |
The Board will be able to conplete this
necessary and creditable work within the
next two years, and not be required to |
ask tax payers for a single cent beyond
The levy of seven mills now allowed by
law Tor s"hool purpOsss.E FAD
Citizens of CanLen, are you willing that
children of this school district Fshalf
suffer, when relief can so easily be afford
ed2 Are yOn willing longer to suffer the
dlse race OF ahordlng poorer school faclll-
lies Tor your children than any otheI city |
Ofthe size in Northern Ohio2 .tttF
Let not the mistaken and by no means
creditable zeal of the few prominent men
who have left no stone unturned to AVA
ken your fears and to arouse your preiu-
dlces, prevent you from backing up the
request Of your Board of Education. They
have acted upon mature consideratien
md With q better knowledge Of the needs
Of the schools than any one else can have,
and they have withRl As much interest in
the business prospects Of the city as any /
else, nor 10 thsy desire unnecessarily
TO increase your burden of taxation.
If there were an easier plan they would
have cheerfully adopted it, as ut Is they
have takanlthe plan which they believed
beat for you as for themselves as tAxpay-
ers. Men may indeed think themselves
good school men, and disagree with the
Board q 8 to what is best, but of this be
present agitation to create OPP
and secure the defaEt Of the mea-
surs Of relief now asked from the Legisla-
is gotten up and directed by men for
the most part having no direct jpterest In
the schools without children other own
to educate and much property upon which
must and ought chesrfully to pay
w. i