Vermont phÅ“nix. [volume] (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1834-1955, 1905-07-14
BELLOWS FALLS NEWS
Special Town Meeting Will Be
Held Next Tuesday at 8 p. m.
carneele's Proposed $4,000 Gift and
library Site

Additional Tax for sohools-Actlon on
carneele's Proposed $4,000 Gift and
Library site.
A call has been posted by the selectmen
for a special town meeting to be held at
D. m. next Tuesday to act upon the
following articles:
LIST. To see If the town will vote to
raise a tax of per cent. additional to
the present school tax
I'd. To see what action the town will
take in relation to the acceptance Of the
proposed gift of Andrew Carnegie
Sd. To see what action the town will
take in regard to the purchase of q site
for a Free Public library and provide
means therefor.
Considerable interest centres in this
meeting and without doubt it will be fully
attended. In relation to the first article,
the school directors find they are unable
to keep the schools of the town up to the
standard of former years unless the addi-
tional tax Is laid Last year the cost
of the schools exceeded the so cent tax,
but as there was a sinking fund from
former years it simply acted to reduce the
amount of the fund available for the fin
ishing and furnishing of the third story
of the high school building In the annual
report Of the school directors an increased
tax for school purposes was asked, but
not Dy Ine TOWN.. Inc COSL OF the
schools last year was $26,6S7 besides the
special repairs. The so per cent. tax re-
Quired by law for school purposes amounts
to only about $4,000. This is the avail
able amount unless the additional tax is
laid. The school census Of the town this
year shows 109 more children of school
age than the previous year, 100 of whom
are in the village of Bellows Falls. 1t
has been necessary to increase the
salaries Of the teachers in the high school
about $500 this year or make undesirable
changes in teachers Possibly it will be
necessary to add another school, and the
directors hardly see where they can trim
the sails If the per cent is not granted.
The cost per pupil of the Rockingham
schools last year was S19.4S. The amount
expended by Brattleboro was $2S.07
Regarding the second and third articles
of the warrant, Mr.. Carnegie offers the
town a gift OF $4,000 for the erection of
a library building upon condition that the
town provide proper site, and annually
raise 10 per cent of the amount or $500
for its maintenance. Plans have been re-
ceived showing that a suitable building
can be erected for the amount, sufficient
for the town for many decades to come.
The trustees of the Rockingham Free
Library two months ago chose from their
number a special committee consisting
of c. w. Osgood, Dr. Hill and Charles E.
Howard to take the whole matter under
advisement, look up available locations
and report to a special town meeting, and
1t is upon the report and advice of this
committee that the voters will be called
upon to act They have spent much time
in investigating different locations, find
ing it impossible to get terms upon some
they hoped for, finding others unsuited to
the purpose. They do not wish to advise
an obscure or unhandy location which the
citizens of 20 years hence will find i'll
adapted to the needs, nor a lot of too
small size. At least a majority of the
committee, possibly ALL will advise the
purchase of the John B. Morse lot on
School street, the price of which is I'M
derstood to be about $4,000. Although the
tax payers will probably feel the outlay
to be large at the present time, burdened
as they already are with heavy in
debtedness, yet it will require thinking
twice before they refuse to come to Mr.
Carnegies requirements. They may have
a creditable and needed home for their
library, which now numbers about 5000
volumes.