The Jersey City news. (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1889-1906, 1900-09-25
out OF FUNDS.
Impossible for Board to Erect
New Schools Until 1902
Under Present Con-
ditions.
WANTS BONDS ISSUED
Erection of School No. 20
Will Absorb Three Years
License Money, Says
Mr.. Snyder.
WANTS BONDS ISSUED

Superintendent of Schools Henry Snyder
has just submitted his thirty-second an
nual report. In speaking of the school
census after comparing that of 1895 with
that of 1900, he says
1T is somewhat surprising to find that
the census of last May shows a decrease
of the school population during the year
of 4,124. The Third, Seventh, Ninth, Tenth
and Twelfth wards show the largest loss.
This decrease will mean reduction in
the city's share of the State appropriation
of about $50
'In school enrolment, average register
and average attendance there has been a
Slight gain. This gain is attributable to
the opening of School No. 26 in February,
and would have been larger had it not
been for the burning of School No. 20.
The loss of sittings in the latter rendered
a larger increase in attendance impossible.
Under the circumstances the gain, all
though small, shows that the schools are
becoming more crowded"
In a chapter on school buildings, Mr..
Snyder speaks of the remarkable activity
in school construction during the year
1S97-1S9S, during which seven new build
ings were erected. He speaks of the loss
by fire of School No. 20, and says of the
new school, now in course Of erection
Some disappointment VII doubtless be
felt by those who are not familiar with
prevailing conditions, because the new
No. 20, when opened, will be filed at once,
and may not receive all who apply 1t
should be understood that circumstances
,lJo Iir,cr
which will accommodate only the same
number of pupils as the old building
There could be no provision for the in
crease in the number of pupils during the
course of construction"
The great need of more new schools is
forcibly brought out with the difficulties
under which the Board of Education must
work On this point the superintendent
says
I'm considering methods of securing
funds with which to erect new schools
your Board and the Board of Finance find
themselves seriously hampered by the lack
of sufficient legal authority to incur in
debtedneSs. Since the adoption Of the new
charter in 1883 the city has been i'm
mensely benefited by the section which
provides that one-quarter of the receipts
for licenses shall be devoted to the erec-
ton of schools. Under this provision
Schools Nos. /, 8, Is, g. "a and %, all large
schools, costing about $4,000, have been
built, and the High School site at the
corner of Fairmount and Bergen avenues,
purchased. When it was found that the
income from the license fund did not pro-
vide schools enough, special authority was
secured by the passage of a law in 1897
providing for an issue of bonds to the
amount of 100000 to erect schools. This
money was expended during 1897 and 1898.
The authority granted by this law has
therefore been exhausted. The only other
law applying specially to this city is the
one passed by the Legislature of 1859, per-
mitting an issue of bonds for the purpose
of rebuilding School No. 20. This applies
only to Mo. 20 and is not available in the
erection of other schools. The only con-
stant provision for school construction is
the income from the license fund. Upon
this you will be compelled to depend, at
least for some time, for means to supply
the needed additional accommodations
Knowing the limitation imposed by law
upon your resources, it was with much re-
gret, and even dismay, that you learned
that it was the intention of the Board of
specially providing for the rebuilding of
School No. 20, but to use the license mon
ey for that purpose. The destruction of
No. 20 was regarded as a calamity, not
only to the people of Greenville but to the
whole city, which should be met by an ex-
traordinary effort on the part of the city
1t was thought that its disastrous results
should be felt only by Greenville and
should not affect the rest of the city.
Hence the passage of the law Should the
license money be used for this school, not
only will the pupils of the school have suf-
fered serious injury, but the whole city
will feel it's effects for years to come.
1t was the obvious intention of the New
Charter to provide a permanent provision
for the erection of new schools as they
might be demanded by the constant
growth of the city, in order that a seat
might be given in the schools to every
child of school age. The object of this
eminently wise provision would be de-
feated by the diversion of the fund to any
other purpose. The last school erected un-
der this law was. School No. /. AT the time
of its erection, the wisdom Of using license
monies for the purpose was seriously
questioned. But as at the same time the
special fund of 100000 was available it
was decided that it did not matter
whether the school was rebuilt by means
of the license monies, or the special fund
of $3O0,000, that it was merely a matter of
bookkeeping and not of results. So far
as the results were concerned it might
with justice be said that the school was
rebuilt because of the special issue of
bonds. At present, conditions are differ
ent If the special fund which can legal
ly be secured for School No. 20, is not
raised for that school it can not be
raised at all, because, as has been said
the law is special in its application
School No. 20 will have cost, when COM
pleted about s1Se,oo0.
AS the income from license moneys is
about se5, 900 annually, the erection of
No. 20 will absorb the income from this
source for the years 1899, 1900 and 1901.
An Old and Well Tried Remedy