Omaha daily bee., 1905-08-08
FINANCES OF SCHOOL BOARD
Member NoOague Gives Some Definite
Defensive Information.
POLICY DICTATED BY GOOD JUDGMENT
Board Forced by Charter to Look
Eighteen Months Ahead in Esti-
mating Expenses on which TO
Base the Levy,

Just before the adjournment Of the
School Board last night Member McCague,
chairman Of the finance committee, spoke
in defense Of the management Of school
affairs by the board He said:
want IT to go out to the public that
this School Board has not been extrava-
CANT in asking for a 13 mill levy. The levy
this year raises the same amount Of money
as dlu the 20 mill levy OF last year. The
nnanCe committee found IL necessary to
hgure on the income for two years hence,
because the wise charter makers decrecd
that we must figure two years ahead. Two
years ago the board required 35 mill levy
upon total valuation of property. Last
year because of the workings of the sCav-
enger law we cut down the levy to 2.6
mills on total valuation of S0,OO0000,
producing S26OOO0. We are operating under
that levy now. BY the new charter we
are forced to look ahead eighteen months
or two years and We are asking the same
amount. The l3 mill levy on a valuation
of one-ffth, estimating the total valuation
at 500, 1000 and one-fitth at S20,0OOOO0 will
give us S26OOOO. Last year for maintenance,
bond redemption, we expended Si576OO The
finance committee for the eighteen months
figures we will spend Sl59,356 or just Sl,7Oo
passed we have built two school houses,
increased the bond redemption fund and
cancelled bonds to the amount Of 100000.
want the public to know that this board
has not been extravagant.
Change in Text Books.
The board adopted the same course Of
study used last year with a few ex-
ceptions. In the new course Keysor &
Momteser's Brief German course takes
the place of Daniels Latin Grammar
Allen & Greenoughs Select Orations and
Letters" new edition, takes the place of the
old edition; D'Ooges Latin Composition
parts H. and III. take the place of Dan
iel's Latin Composition"
The report of the text book committee,
which recommended that the superintend-
ent with the consent of the committee. be
! allowed to purchase half dozen or so sets
of supplementary readers, was vigorously
opposed al first by Member McCague, who
in a lengthy speech, said It should be the
duty of the board to stick to the funda-
mentals and not adopt so many frills and
fads Mr.. McCague said the board should
strive to simplify its course Of study and
not be adding new and unnecessary books
to it. II was explained by Member Det-
weller that the books are intended merely
as supplementary to the regular course
which would not be disturbed; that when
the regular course book is completed the
! supplementary reading will be started and
that one set Of books will be sufficient for a
room When the vote was taken McCague
voted for the adoption Of the motion.
Piano for the Gym.
Among the list of purchases ordered
was a piano for the girls gymnasium and
set of wall maps, while motion for the
purchase of FIVE sets Of National Ency-
clopedae was laid over for some time in
| the future.
| The designations of Ora B. Clayton, Ger
trude Waterman and Winifred Lemon
were accepted, while Eva Bartlett was
granted years leave of absence. Jane
/ Smith was employed to take the place of
| Wnifred Lemon in the high school. She
| will receive $50 a month salary.
Pettibone Brothers were awarded the
contracts for furnishing cadet uniforms at
a total cost of $14O5 each.
| A car load of seats was ordered pur-
! chased claims to the amount of S741
| were ordered paid, and the members of
! the Womans Christian Temperance Union
| were given permission to run lunch
| counter at the high school as in the past.
| The Putnam company in communica-
! tion asked that the board sign a paving
petition to repave Fifteenth street from
Davenport to Webster, which would com
plete the petition. Mr. Franck. owner
of the Midland hotel, is getting up the
! petition.
Echo from Cadets Camp.
very serious communication from an
| iowa pleaSure-naklng man asking for
damages because of injury done to his
pipe organ, as he alleged, by cadets while
at Missouri Valley last June, created some
amusement, and referred to the at
torney with the request that he secure the
names of the guilty parties, one of whom
the Iowa man said was a student named
| Mickey Mullen" name not on the roll.
! That the boys. or some one, certainly did
| plenty to the pipe organ is evident by
the following excerpt from the communi-
cation, which is signed by NJ f. Pick
| erill:
The following damage was done to the
! pipe organ: Taken from said organ,
eighteen pipes which cannot be found
tore out bottoms OF three pipes which
rendered the same worthless; broke the
bellows; tore out the valves under the
pipes and the cloth from the frames
turned the roller back against the finger
board, breaking out and running the pin
in the roller; broke pinion on end Of roller;
I tore handles out of the organ; tore out
| and ruined the screws which go into the
valve slides and in general practically de-
| stroyed the organ.
| Mr.. Pickerill asked the board to either
have his pipe organ fixed or pay him Sl5(
or $500 as a fair compensation for damages
received. The pipe organ was used in con
junction with a merry-go-round.
ONE DEAD AND SIX MAY DIE
Reports from Victims of Ohio Acci-