The Worcester spy. [volume] (Worcester, Mass.) 1898-1904, 1898-11-05
MONEY.
School Board
w ants It.
MANY CREDITORS.
Something Like $4,000 in
Bills Must Lie Over.

The school department wants money
and wants it badly The department
has asked the city council for S6g. 500. 80,
and they will get probably $4,000, or
that is the amount that the committee
on education has recommended 20 the
committee on finance for ways and
means. The cutting off Of $4,000 means
that that amount of bills will have to
lie over until next wear, and that
good many people viii have to wait for
bills. About all the school department
can do this year from now on, is to pay
salaries.
At the close of the last fiscal year
the city council withheld bills to the
amount of $9S2290, which were paid
from the appropriation of the present
year. This balance is still charged to
the school department and is not in
Guided in the recent request for $780,
COO sent into the council, so that the
amount asked for is as stated, 500 600,
in round numbers The school depart
ment called for $500 600 for expenses
for the current year, but all that was
appropriated was S475,000. The demand
was a conservative one, and natural
ly, the failure to get the money asked
for, has caused inconvenience
The available money for appropria-
ton is $4,000, secured from the sale
of the 30year 100000 sewer loan; the
accrued interest on the loan, amount
ing to about $4,000, and about $4,000 of
the uneXpended balance from the Ii
cense money and city bonds. In con-
sequence, after the school departments
demand is paid all the available money
for appropriation in the city treasury
will be about $11 900. The engineers de-
partment, the public buildings depart
ment, the salary department, the treas
urer's department and the park board,
have made additional requests, and it
Will be readily seen that there is no
! more money to spare. 1t is rumored
that an attempt may be made to cut
| down the amount to be given to the
school department from $4,000 To $45.-
| 600. In case this is done $4,000
worth of bills will lie over
| At present the uneXpended balance
of the appropriation is but $35, 17S.46,
barely enough to pay the salaries of
teachers, janitors ard Office help. No
! other bills will be approved for Octo-
| Der. If the deficit keeps on increasing
year after year as it has for two years
past, there is no telling where it will
end.
The finance committee of the school
committee thinks that it is not re-
| sponsible for the shortage last year
OF the $4,000 which was laid over, $1,000
was taken by the city council under
the protest of the school board. for in
surance on the school building. The
| finance committee of the school board
refused to approve these bills, but the
city council approved them and the au-
ditor, considering that the city council
was the higher authority, paid them.
The other shortage would have been
insignificant but for this, and the mem
bers of the school committee feel that
they are not responsible This year
more insurance has been ordered by
the city council in the same manner.
Chairman Harris of the finance com
mittee Of the school board, opposed the
| insuring Of school buildings. He has
/ investigated and finds that in the last
/ Is years the city has not had $50 worth
Of damage by fire to school buildings
Better than pay $4,000 for insurance for
five years, he feels that the city should
take the risks, which are slight. He
argues that the city could well afford
to lose building now and then, ra-
Their than pay out so much money The
risk, he says, is very slight and he
considers the paying of insurance
4
en- to understand that this was done
/ by the council simply because such
pressure was brought to bear by the
| insurance men on the members that
they did not dare to drop the insur-
ance.
The discussion has caused some fric-
ton between the council and school
board, and the board feels that it has
suffered in consequence. The fact.
however, remains that fully $4,000 if
bills, perhaps more, must lie over until
next year before it can be paid. These
bills are for all sorts of things, and
some of them are Of long standing
The creditors are not pleased, and
there is discomfort ahead
The finance committee of the school
committee held a regular meeting yes
terday afternoon, at which it approved
a number Of the routine bills, among
them being those for 1anitor hire Of
flee help and similar expenses. The
majority of the regular monthly bills
We're not considered by the committee
/ The committee took decided action
on q matter that has been troubling
its members for some time. For long
time there has been a feeling Of dis
satisfaction ON the part of some mem
bers of the committee over the way in
which expenses for repairs and other
work on school buildings pile up with
/ out apparent reason. II mas DeeQ re-
ported to the finance committee that
there are number Of men employed
by the city on this sort OF work who
are working harder to kill time than
they are to repair school houses, and
the committee has decided to put a
stop to it.
Mr.. Harris said last night at the
conclusion of the meeting that the
committee had recently heard of one
case in which two men spent a whole
week in doing a job of carpentry that
competent builder Of the city after
wards examined and reported that he
could have done the same thing him
self in two days. To stop abuses of
this kind, the COMMITTEES yesterday vot-
ed that after Saturday, Nov. 5, to-
night, they would approve no more
bills for expenses incurred for repairs
on school buildings or for other work
around them except on written orders
Issued by the COMMITTEES on school
buildings. This will effectually rem
cry, it is thought the somewhat Slip
shod way in which this sort Of thing
! has been done in the past.
I In addition to this section. the com
nittee voted not to approve a bill of
/ $50 for insurance on one Of the school
4 buildings.
BUILDING PERMITS.
/ The following building permits were