Omaha daily bee., 1889-05-15

THE SCHOOL BOND PROPOSITION
Two separate bond propositions are.
to be voted on at the special election
that will be held in this city next Sat-
urday.
The first asks the sanction by the cit
liens of Omaha of o proposed issue of
two hundred and twenty five thousand
dollars in five-per-cent bonds, to be ex-
pended in the purchase Of school sites
and construction OF school houses. The
estimate for the sites as submitted to
the electors is as follows:
For the purchase Of site in the vicinity Of
Twenty fourth and Lothrop streets at eight
thousand dollars; q site in the vicinity OF
Fort Omaha at twenty five hundred dollars;
a site in the vicinity of Gibson at twenty
five hundred dollars; a site in the vicinity of
Dupont place at SIX Thousand dollars; addi-
tional ground adjoining the Hickory school
site at fifty-f7e hundred dollars; additional
ground adjoining the Hartman school site at
an estimated cost of ten thousand dollars.
The projected school houses are, re-
spectively:
Long street school, thirty Thousand dol
lars; Franklin school, thirty thousand dol
lars; West Omaha school, thirty thousand
dollars; Hickory school, thrty-elght thou
sand dollars; Hartman school, fifty thou
and dollars.
In addition to these the board also
asks in its first proposition permission
to experd twelve thousand five hun
dred dollars for additional retaining
walls around the high school grounds,
and construction of sidewalks around
the Leavenworth and Farnam school
sites.
We should have preferred that the
board limit the cost Of any school house
to twenty-five thousand dollars, so that
more school houses could be built with
the proceeds OF the bonds asked for.
But now that the board has left US no
other choice than to vote the
bonds or leave the city
without much needed school
facilities, we deem it our duty to sup
port the first bond proposition.
The cry of extravaganza and high
taxes should not be allowed to outweigh
the imperative demand tor more school
| houses are erected this summer hun
dreds of school children will be deprived
| OF educational facilities. That would
| be most deplorable. How is the school
board to discriminate as between the
| children that are to have schooling and
| those that are to be crowded out and
counted out?
Quite apart from the absolute ne
| cessity Of more school houses comes also
| the sound economic policy of providing
| employment for mechanics and laborers
| during season when building is not
very brisk.
The second proposition asks consent
and authority for the board Of education
| to issue seventy-five thousand dollars in
bonds, the proceeds of which are to be
| used for the erection of an addition to
the High school building.
This proposition should by all means
be vsted down. There is no demand
for high school annex at this time,
least of all an annex that contem-
plates the continuance of graded classes
in the high school building. If we are
ever to build an annex it should be
planned with a view of remodeling the
entire structure to conform to the wants
of high school and normal classes.
| That, OF course, would require
altogether different subdivisions from
those now proposed.
| We can much better afford to offend
the eye of aesthetic art critics by leav-
ing the high school in its present shape,
than to squander seventy-five thousand
dollars on an annex which may have to
be torn down or rebuilt within the next
five years.