Los Angeles herald., 1908-04-15
LAYS BARE FAULT
IN SCHOOL FUNDS
AUDITOR SAYS STATE AND CITY
LAWS CLASH
CHECK ON EXPENDITURES Is
INADEQUATE
Expert Mushet Tells Council Business
Mems Committee Should Pass
on Boards Policy Of
Financing

Auditor w. c. Mushet told the city
council Monday that the school board
received more moneys than it asked
for from the city council, yet despite
this 1t will end the year far behind
financially and the teachers will have
to be content with two weeks less pay
than they figured on,
The conflict between the state and
municipal laws concerning school
moneys is partly responsible for this
condition; another is that no auditing
system in which the city and county
auditors compare exists in the schools
and no monthly check is in vogue.
These are the reforms which Auditor
Mushet suggested to the council in
reply to a resolution of inquiry passed
last week.
Councilman Dromgold suggested that
delegation should visit the next legis-
lature to ask that all school moneys
from the state be put In common
fund with all municipal moneys so that
the expenditures and estimates can be
guarded more advantageously.
Auditor Mushet's report is as follows:
l would take this opportunity of call
ing your attention to sections 79 and ~
of the charter of the city of Los An
geles, which require the treasurer
of the county to pay to the treasurer OF
the city the revenue from the state
and county school fund, to be placed
to the credit OF the city school fund, so
that every demand whatsoever passed
by the board of education would come
under the scrutiny of the city auditor.
Such transfer is not made. and conse-
auently only about one-third of the
demands are paid by the city treasurer
and the remaining two-thirds by the
county treasurer, so that the books OF
the city at no time show the cost of
the city schools, the records being kept
in two places and the checking out of
the money being made under quite diff
ferent conditions.
Conflict Over Laws
I took this matter UP with the city
attorney shortly after coming into Of
flee and he informed me that there was
a conflict between the state law and
the city charter: that the state law
governed and the board was comply
ing with this state law.
| would also call your attention to
section IA of the city charter. which re-
uuires the board of education to fix
schedule Of salaries for teachers and
employees of the school department
during the month of June of each year
for the ensuing fiscal year, and also to
the fact that the budget ordinance OF
the city is not passed until after the
middle of August of each year, so that
the board of education is obliged to fix
it's expenditures before 1t has positive
knowledge of it's income.
I would also mention that the school
month is a lunar month, or a month of
four weeks; that in paying the teachers
for ten such months the time covered
equals nine calendar or regular months.
| mention these matters for your in
formation, although they have little
bearing on the subject of this inves-
tigation.
Get $4,000 More
For the fiscal year 1906-7 the school
department asked the previous city
council for s3S3,000, and was allowed
$500, 900, of which they used during that
year about $255,O0O. and hence carried
over as unexpended into the present
fiscal year about $4,000. 1t will thus be
seen that the previous council made
cut on the estimate of some $4,000.
The present council at the beginning
of this fiscal year was asked for $685.
600 and allowed $365,000, making cut
of 100000, about $4,000 of which was
owing to the fact that that amount was
carried over as balance from the pre-
vious year. so that the city apportioneo
to the schools $365,000 this year, as
against $290,00O last year, making an
increase of $4,000 over the previous
Years allowance; an increase OF about
26 per cent, which just about takes
care of the 71s per cent average IN
crease in school attendance and the
city's share of the 20 per cent increase
on teachers salaries.
Whilst It is true that the rate al
lowed the school board by the council
is only IA cents on the $100 this year, as
against 14.2867 cents last year, it must
be remembered that the assessed valu-
a tiop this wear was some $50, 900, 900 |
greater than last year. In other words,
Il 2s67 cents last year produced $780,, |
900 and IA cents this year produced |
$365, 900.
Improve Efficiency
The average increase per month in |
the number of pupils belonging dur
ing the first six months of this fiscal |
Wear over the corresponding period last |
Wear is $500, nearly 5 per cent, which
allowing for forty pupils to the class |
would call for sixty-two additional |
teachers, whereas the actual increase
of teachers per month for the same |
period was 1874, or nearly IA per cent
Thus It will be seen that in addition
to raising the salaries of all teachers
20 per cent, the board of education also
the efficiency of the schools
by reducing the number of pupils to
each teacher.
AS to whether it was advisable for
the board of education to increase it's
force by a larger percentage
than the percentage of pupils belonging,
in view of the 100000 cut by the coun-
Gil. is a question of policy which do
not care to discuss.
will call your attention to the fol-
lowing table:
Avara 90 No