Omaha daily bee., 1902-05-14

The Woman's club held Its regular meet
ing Monday afternoon and the discussion
Of the report recently made relating to the
expenses Of the Board Of Education Cor the
current year was continued by Mrs. C. @.
Belden, Mrs. Andrews and Mrs. McGilton.
II will be recalled that in The Bee Of Sat-
urday last members of the board undertook
to point out that errors had been made In
the Woman's club report. Mrs. Belden's
statement, in answer, is as follows:
A member of the Board of Education
says in Saturday Evenings Bee that the
committee of the Woman's club has fallen
Into errors and he attempts some eXplana-
tions to show that the figures given In the
report are wrong. Either this member Is not
view, or, appears more likely, he is
attempting to explain something which he
himself does not understand.
the error Of calculating the expenses upon
the calendar year" This sounds queer
or should know, tina the board itself made
the figures used In the report calculating
expenses by calendar years. The member
year 1901 estimate was made to the city
council at the beginning OF the year, funds
of amounts which had been expended: also
that for the year 1902 estimate was made
Of the AMOUNT proposed to spend during
that calendar year, and . demand was
made upon the city council for funds to
that amount.
nc iSulbc says lhtg ndNS dlSO Nb-
timated the. school year at forty weeks,
when we only hold thirty-eight weeks, and
eays ns syers held ys6t more t than ms that in wo the
inform himself he would ind, as the COM
mittee Of the Woman's club found. that
session forty weeks. 1t is proposed that
in 1902 they shall be in session only thirty
He says further: "As "a result OF these
false promises they have made the total
expenditures of the present board at least
Ahl INN n nXnn1a q wFhnN NhnNH Nrfl ha - n
member should not thus dlscredit himself
and his fellow members. The statement
be was taken bodily from the estimate Of
the board itself showing. what funds would
be needed for the various purposes and
what the board proposes to eEpend. II
there are any false premises" the esti-
mate made by the board, the stimat on
the strength OF which the board demanded
from the city council a certain sum of
money for the schools, that, estimate con-
stitutes the false premises"
He says that the payroll is about $40, 900
a month and two weeks less of school
would save half that amount, about $780,
school affairs he would know that almost
the only saving. in shortening the school
ers' wages. The teachers payroll is about
$4,000 a month, so that the saving by cut
ting on two weeks of school is only about
less in vacation than in term time; repairs
cost the same, fuel the same, textbooks,
about the same whether thirty-six, thirty
! eight or forty weeks of school constitute
He says: I'VE have placed 5000 in the
sinking fund for the first time In several
p lsoS'. $1,000. SSSo in m f 1901, Sls 81. 5gS. f0H The sis siGEln IN
U was on.y considered and. noted, and
/ the Woman's club committee. The pres
this fund %SfOr the f first iSUN tiIao N fnO'G sev t Z
The "other items of the kind" on which
he talks vaguely Of saving $4,000 hardly
One Nurious statement he makes in clos,
Ing. He speaks Of 5000 which is to be
n t,ssysd% :. upon n0% the hsd new High sSh9ol; The
expendeG, mot mot "ssve%di,S ' Mo item item Of IS t add Re
new High school appears in the estimate
OF expenses made 6Py the board last jan
expended in addition to the amounts asked
for in that estimate.
The report Of the woman's club commit
tee. was, made after much Investigation,
small errors at would be difacuit to avoid
errors entirely among so many items) no
such errors have so far been pointed out,
and the report was not made as the result
ton.
The proposed changes in the constitution
will not be made until the next meeting on
May 26. Mrs. Burney read a report on
Natural Science" prepared by Mrs. Pearse.
1t was decided that at the coming annual
meeting members will each be permitted to
bring two guests.
The meeting concluded with a program of
entertainment consisting of a harp solo by
Miss Swanson, piano solo by Miss Free, two
vocal numbers by Mrs. Ely and readings by
Mrs. J. H. Dumont, Mrs. Comegys and Mrs.
Shields.
C00s1 49, a--,,