The San Francisco call., 1897-07-14
Did NOT HAVE
ENOUGH MONEY
The Grand Jury Thinks So
With Regard to the
Board of Education.
That Is Why They 0verran
Their Appropriations So
Largely.
The Jury Compliments the Board on
the Several Innovations They
Have Inaugurated.

The committee on Board of Education
of the Grand Jury yesterday filed sup
Elemental report in which 1t review the
financial status OF the department and
throws a lew bouquets at the board, sim
Cling out Director Waller, chairman of the
Finance Com mittee, for few additional
and separate nosegays.
The committee finds that the board has
In the year just closed created deficit OF
$l15, 1853 56. but condoneS the offense with
the expressed judgment that the appro-
prlatlon was not originally large enough.
After giving detailed statement of the
expenses he report goes on to say:
The ap ropriation allowed for school pur-
poses tor the year 1S96-97 was 81, 600 900. At
the beginning of The school year thei e was on
hand surplus OF Sal ,277 %, thus making a
year 1S96-97. Taking as a basis one-half of
the years appropriation and surplus. the
Board Of Eaucalion expended from July /,
1886, to January, 1897, $94. 944 n in excess
OF their allowance, while $40. sos 79 was the
excess OF expenditures over allowance for the
SIX months ending June so, 1897, showing a
total deficit OF $115,753 56 for The year We
believe the last appropriation WAS not ade-
quate TO meet the demands even for the neces-
sary expenses, such salaries, the purchase
OF furniture, supplies. fuel, lights, ETC., and
such needed repairs and Improvements on
school buildings and grounds.
We have visited a number OF schoolhouses
and find they are suffering from inattention
to their proper care some 1our or I've years
ago, and are virtually disinte grating Tin
roofs from lack of care and paint have rusted ,
SO as to require new roofs. The yard plank
ing, where 1t has been down Tor eight or ten
years, is in deplorable condition, aud needs
TO be relaid. The same applies to the build
1ngs. The wear and tear OF a schoolhouse is
tlar \,
building, hence in the case of a number of
schoolhouses that were erected from 1870 to
1876. and having already overreacbed the
natural life of q wooden bui ding, it becomes
incumbent upon the department to prolong
the life OF such buildings and save them from
total decay
Modern sanitary laws based on scientific
principles, demand certain notifications ID
improvements in plumbing in all the school
buildings. Such work is expensive and costs
from 200 to 300 per cent more than did in
ferlor methous OF construction fifteen TO
twenty years ago. The same may be said OF
ventilation. Much depends upon its proper
Introduction crowded schoolrooms TO in
sure good health, and there seems 10 be much
room Tor improvements in this direction in
the ma jority OF the sc loolhouseS.
We would recon mend that the board take
immediate steps 10 remedy this oefect, SO es-
sential 10 the childfen's health. Among the
innovations OF the new board is the Health
Committee. At the instigation OF S. L. Wal
Ter, its chairman, system of Temperature
CdTuS mas DGtn huOE ttu III d CihSsIOOuuS
throughout the City, having thermome .er
attached, which acts as a regulator of ven tia
ton and temperature OF classrooms and by
proper ins peclion will prove not only benefi-
cial to the children's health, but financial
saving to the department through Its check
ing unnecessary consumption of fuel Where
1t becomes necessary to reconstruct old build
ings or in new structures much care should
be exercised in the proper placing OF lights
and windows SO as TO conform with modern
principles and be least i'll furious to the eyes of
the scholars.
The Health Committee has appointed, with
out salary. two eye specia ISIS who have SO
far examined the eyes of 41S6 children, of
which 1914 have defective vision and should
wear correcting glasses. whereas but 13S are
now so supplied.
The committee finds much to praise in
the new system of bookkeeping adopted
by the department. and by the checks put
upon the method of making and filling
acquisitions. The com mittee filing the
report is COIL posed of i. S. Kasi (chair-
MANI, r. b. Kittredge and J. w. Cud-
worth.