Omaha daily bee., 1899-12-15
HIGH SCHOOL SITE TROUBLE
Two Petitions Are Put in Circulation Re-
garding the Matter,
ONE CALLS FOR A SPECIAL ELECTION
Another Faction wants the hoard TO
Select New Site-Mnndamus
and Injunction Proceedings
Are Threatened.

Now that the Board of Education is ono
more called upon to select site for tn
new High school building and it bein,
| generally understood that there is no unan
unity among the directors as to location
a great many of the taxpayers and patron.
OF the schools are anxious that an expression
as to where the building should be locatec
should be secured from the voters of tn,
school district In order to obtain this ex.
preston it would be necessary to hold
special election, and numerous copies of
petition requesting the board to order one
were circulated over the city yesterday The
petition reads as follows:
! To the Honorable School Board of the In.
, dependent School District of Council Bluffs
la.-Gentlemen: We, the undersigned citi.
zens and voters in the Independent Schoo
District of the City of Council Bluffs, re.
spectfully petition your honorable body tc
call special election of said Independent
school district for the purpose of obtaining
an expression from the voters of said dis
trict as to the location of the proposed new
High school building. We ask that at such
together with the prices at which each can
be secured, be submitted.
The petition was numerously signed and
by the time the board meets next Monday
evening, when it will be presented, 1t is ex-
pected it will bear many hundred names.
When the opponents to the Oakland
avenue site, who are responsible for the
litigation which has delayed the building
of the new High school, learned that the
petition was in circulation and being numer-
ousy signed. they started out to offset it
with another petition in which the board is
asked to proceed at once to the selection
of site. The counter petition is as fol-
lows:
The undersigned, electors of the city of
Council Bluffs, respectfully submit that all
due consideration has been given to sec
tional fights for the location of the High
school. and we, as citizens and residents of
the city, respectfully ask that you at once
do now comply with the express wishes of
electors as expressed at the last school
election, and with the decision of the state
superintendent of public instruction, and
proceed at once to the selection of CEN
trail site for the High school either by pur-
chase or condemnation, without faltering
or delay.
1t could not be learned what success the
promoters Of this petition had in securing
names, as the persons circulating it were
inclined to preserve an air of secrecy and it
was with considerable difficulty that a copy
of it was secured.
Mandamus in Sight.
Attorney l. N. Flickinger, who has been
the leading spirit in the opposition to the
Oakland avenue site and has acted as coun-
sci for the plaintiffs in the Smith appeal
and Peterson injunction suits, stated that
If the board failed to select site at the
meeting next Monday he would apply to
the court for a mandamus to compel it to
do so When asked If he was willing that
the question should be submitted to the
voters at a special election, he said: 1--WE
offered to do this before we commenced
the litigation and the board declined to
accept our offer There ca1 be no use in
holding a special election az the voters can
not determine the location Of the school,
the law designating in the plainest terms
possible that the board is the only proper
tribunal to select the place where it shall
be built. At the time that the bonds for
providing means to build the school with
were voted the people then had a perfect
right to designate by their votes where the
school should be located but they cannot
do this now
President Sims of the Board of Education,
when asked If the board had authority to
order special election for the purpose of
obtaining an expression from the voters of
the school district, said it certainly had.
but of course he was not prepared to saw
what action the board would take in the
matter Unless majority of the board
were in favor of calling a special election
1t could not be done, he said. He stated
further that he would continue to vote
for the Oakland avenue site as he was
firmly convinced that the majority of the
people were in favor of the school being
built there. He said "The state super-
lntendent did not determine the question at
all and never decided whether the Oakland
avenue site was central location or not.
He simply based his ruling on the fact that
after the site had been selected a majority
OF the board now say it is not a central
site. am still. as have always been from
the first, in favor of the Oakland property.
II 1t should be that shall be compelled to
select some other site / shall vote for the
street tract. i am in favor of calling a
special election, as by that means the mem
pers OF the board can ascertain where the
majority OF the voters desire the school to be
located If they should vote in favor of the
Oakland avenue site, l see no reason why
The board should not put the school there"
More Rocks Ahead.
A property owner in the Fourth ward
who has been more or less active In the
opposition to the Oakland avenue property.
stated that II special election was held
and the people voted for the school being
o0a'eu OH oikanu avenue he would at once
apply to the courts fer an Injunction
Member Stewart says he is In favor of ,,
erecting the eckCol on the Ballard property
ust west OF the Grand hotel on First avenue |
,aclng Baylss park, When the question of
4 site was first before the board The
Woman's Christian association offered to sell
he school district the Ballard property.
with the buildings on it, for $4,000. The |
property has frontage of $50 feet on the
avenue and is 1872 feet deep. At present IL |
IS tied up In litigation brought against the |
Woman's Christian association by the heirs
d the late Mrs. Ballard, but 1t is under |
stooa they are willing to give the school |
ilstrlct a clear title provided the proceeds |
d the sale be turned into court.
At least two OF the members are in favor
d locating the school at the southwest cor
ler OF Firth avenue and Seventh streets on
Shat is known as the Fifth avenue site
me property comprised In this tract is
lwned by C. II. Hannah, Thomas Officer
j. Brown and others. Member Moore be-
leves the whole question can be satIsfac-
orlly settled by the board condemninp the
property Just north of the Catholic church
IN sixth street and building the school tbaro
The location is eminently central and easv
II access from all parts of the city.
Davis sells paint