The Salt Lake tribune. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1890-current, 1911-06-04
NORTH BENCH
WANTS SCHOOL
Residents Will Hold Mass Meet
ing Monday Night to Dis
cuss Matter.
SCHOOL BOARD MEMBER
EXPLAINS SITUATION
Says Circumstances Made 1t
Impossible TO Build at
This Time.

Residents Of the north bench from
street on east aud north of Third
avenue have been generally notified OF
meeting to bc held Monday night
relative to a proposed new school build
ing on the north bench, The call for
the meeting is couched in the following
letter, which is signed by the "North
Bench Improvement League;
"You arc urgently requested to at
tend a meeting of the residents and
property owners Of the north bench TO
be held at the store, corner Ninth ave
nue. and * streets, on Monday evening,
June >, 1911, 8 p. M, for the purpose
of taking steps 10 prevent the unlaw-
full diversion of moneys voted for the
| erection Of the Ninth avenue school
house.
| "[t is rumorcd that the board of ed
ucation contcmplatcs using the money
realized from the bonds voted to build
the Ninth avenue school house for the
building of Il school in another part
Of the city, and it is for the purpose
of preventing this misuse of our school
house fund and for the purpose of urg-
ing the immediate erection of the Ninth
avenue school that this meeting is
Icallcd.' -
MI. lQODaS Explains.
Mathoninah Thomas, a member OF the
school board when told of the pro-
posed meeting said: 81 had not heard
vidual eases I have explained the ac-
tion of the school board and the cir
cumstances arising that made it nee
essary TO postpone the X street build
ing. When the bonds were voted they
were for 100000. OF that amount
100000 was to be set aside for the
erection of district school buildings,
cluding the new manual training high
school TO cost $4,000. The board had
purchased ground on Ninth avenue and
| X street for district school build
ing and ut the time the bond issue
was made had full intentions, ] sup
| pose OF making one of the district
buildings out Of the fund go to that
location. Meanwhile the city annexed
the Waterloo district which largely
| First ward. BY the school census the
First ward increased in school popuia-
tIon more than 1900 while the Fourth
ward, the ward of the K street loCa-
tion, Increased less than Il hundred.
"It was at this time that the board
was hard put TO care for the additional
school children in the First ward There
was ample room for the Fourth ward
children with the Lowell. Wasatch and
Lafayette schools so near.
Appreciate Need of School.
"Of course, the board appreciates the
need of a building on the bench. If
that part of the city were level the i'm
perative need of a building would not
he apparent. For convenience sake,
new building is needed, and | know the
board contemplates nothing else than
erecting one on the ground owned for
| that purpose. But circumstances came
| up over which the board had no con-
| troll. Children in other parts of the
city had to be taken in and there was
not any room for them without adding
| to the buildings and erecting new ones.
Meanwhile the board added to the
jefferson school building, but not ont
| of The 100000. The Wasatch and
| Longfellow buildings also were en-
| larged,
"The board had to meet existing de-
mands irrespective of individual
wards. 1t is the duty of the board to
the whole city first, and it was the
following out Of this policy that caused
the board to- defer the erection OF a
building in the Fourth ward
School Will Be Built.
tion of school funds. The board did
not commit itself 10 build the X street
building out OF the 100000 in the final
call for the issuing of the bonds.
81 believe | express the sense Of the
| board when [ say the board will carry
out the original Intention and give the
people of the north bench a building
as soon as 1t is possible to do SO. How.
ever. the board must face the question
of congestion first. The new district
building which is to go up east of the
Waterloo building and west of the
Irving school, of course, is out of the
100000, The board used its discretion
in selecting this site for district
school, taking into consideration the
needs and demands in that part of the
! city. I may. too, say that it has been
the policy of the school board to buy
land and build school houses whenever
and wherever the demands shows the
actual need of building''