The Houston daily post. [volume] (Houston, Tex.) 1886-1903, 1901-05-02
SCHOOL BOARD REPORT
ALDERMAN BEAVERTON TELLS WHY
HE WANTED AN INVESTIGATION.
The Report Submitted TO the Council Not
Satisfactory--Somc Comparisons
with Last Year.
To the Editof OF The Post.

abOut the resolution j troluccd Nv"
weeks ago calling upon the school board
for report Of It's expenditures. and sincc
he board has at last come forward With
report which, though partial. may ennbie
the teachers to get their salaries, word
from me may not be out Of or,les.
orr people arc so busy that they seldom
take time to read long official reports and
documents. hence comparatively few of the
citizens Of Houston are aware that on the
day those resolutions we're adopted the
president of the school board had come be.
Tore the council with rrauisition for over
quarter ~ million dollars. TO lac more
explicit. the board, through Its president.
Mr. Charlton. demanded $4,000 for The
current expenses and something over siGs,-
COO for buildings and furniture. or say
S2si,0o0 IN all. The city had no money
and was struggling along TO meet the pay.
roll Of the city employees and current cX.
penses. to say nothing about the Slo@U
to pay the teachers for ono months salary.
Last year the school hoard had only
asked for $4,000 in ali.
VIII any taxpayer say that the enormous
increase asked by the hoard this year dld
mt justify and even demand some action
by the council Ia ascertain how the board
was spending It's money?
must apologize for The use of the word
taxpayers Property owners OF this city
have 50 long submitted tamcly to every
form of exploitation that the politicians
have come to chuckle in derlsion a the
mention of the name taxpayer. The tax
payer is regarded as mere beast Of bur
den. as the legitimate prey Of the political
I D. In 81
city in the State Of Texas an enormous
increase in the demand of one department
Of the local government would call out a
mass meeting 10 protest against conisca-
fion. Here not Il murmur Is heard, not
hnger is lifted In their defense.
take great pleasure and pride in the
| fact that | proposed those resolutions, ana
| believe It is to the honor of the councn
that they were adopted without dissenting
| vote
| Let me repeat that when those resolutions
were adopted there was no money in the
| treasury. and In order that the teachers
could he paid one months salary the amount
had to he borrowed. | do not overlook
what Mayor Woolford says in Yesterdays
Post. | must confess that one might easily
he mlslcd by what he says, though doubt
| less what he intends TO say is true. In The
Post the mayor says that the city has
plenty Of money, that the property holders
are constantly paying money INTO the
treasury for taxes, etc. Now Mayor Wool.
ford does not say that the cty's abundance
Of funds Is from tax receipts. yet ! am
free to believe that such is the inference,
the wrong Inference. that the casuaE
reader viii draw from the statement. |
hope we arc getting toward point when
it viii not bc considered sharp politics to
make misleading statements about public
affairs or statements from which the public
M large viii infer one thing. aud yet the
speaker when pressed will be able to point
, out that his language strictly construed
means an entirely different thing L am
/ standing for plain. open dealings with the
public | believe the people warA what y
simply right and that they are entitled
TO know the whole. undsguscd. unvur-
nlshcd and unwarpcd truth about public
business, which is the peoples business,
Now, let mo rchearse the facts in TINS
/ ease. on March Alderman Thomas intro
& luced a resolution, which was adopted 10y
the council instructing the mayor AND
finance committee to make arrangements
|
; On March s tho council met in special scs
sion, and with other business to provide
means for obtaining the necessary FUNDS
, for the teachers. 1t was first suggested tC
borrow the money from the sewer funds
hut Mr., Szabo refused to pcrplit the trans
j, fer. ON March II, and after the presiden
Of the school board had made his pleadlni
Q to the council for funds, and said that TIT
o school hoard had there and then throw
y themselves upon the mercy of the council
/. land he assured that honorable body tina
y he felt that tho school board was in Ia
y hands OF good mem, the resolution onerc'
!. Ivy me calling upon the school board for al
d accounting was adopted. About March l
= an arrangement was made with one of tn
banks TO borrow $4,000. II was after TIL
N arrangement was made that the mayor al
y nouneed that the city had plenty o
Y money"
d The school board, too, Is guilty of instr
= certify in the matter. In the letter fror
% the hoard on March 20 to Mayor woolforC
4 the board says that the information II
" quircd by the resolution will be cheerful
b. furnished etc. Further on the board d,
cares that it deems the interest in Il
n charge TOO sacred TO permit 1t to entC
Id INTO controversy with the council In II
y gard TO the demands of the resolution. Tn
y truth is the board was quite unwilling
So furnish the report demanded of II. Ate
T. a delay OF nearly two weeks. the boar
O. comes forward With pretended repor
il, which is far short OF the demands ,ass
resolution, The resolution called fora con
pletc exhibit OF the boards expenditure
showing the items of expense, the nam,
- of persons employed, their compensation
etc. The report submitted shows ii
teachers aud ianitors' salaries aud ii
hours they work. then the lump sum
e. expenditures. The ilemzed report Of II
board expenditures is absent II the boa
he is SO cheerful about furnishing the =
he qulrcd Information, why is a partial reno
r. suhmitteds
er From the report submitted, unsatlsfa
a tory as It Is, sufficient information may
u. obtained 20 show the necessity for n
OF resolution. For instance. the report sho,
ny the following expenditures as compar,
% oi with last year aud taken from Mr.. szaoS
Nr published report:
Expenditures This year. Last We,
nd Rent ... St54f ~ S-is
10 Repairs .... a.nnT ~ .,gh,
ne School furniture .. $50 10 Itsl
he Scholastic census aOd - n,