Arizona republican., 1919-04-25
s10O,000 BONDS r OR SCHOOLS |S PROPOSED
Representative Gathering
 Meets With Trustees And
 Decide Immediate Move for More Accommodations

| That the people of Phoenix believe 1 there is nothing too good for their | schools was the sentiment expressed i last night by a representative gather l ing at the call of the Phoenix school l board for a conference regarding the 1 proposal for a bond issue of $1000 900 to 1 be submitted to the voters of this 1 school district next Tuesday.
 The meeting in the auditorium of the school administration building was called to order by Chairman Ely of the board, who said that the board had desired an expression on two points: whether the building fund should be increased by the amount of the pro- 1 posed bond issue. and next. whether it
 was the wish of the taxpayers that
 on account of the higher cost of build-
 ing material. there should be adopted l a cheaper type Of construction than had obtained in recent years.
 Superintendent Loper briefly but
 plainly laid the situation before the
 meeting. He said that in the location
 of school buildings the board had
 always had a problem to solve. That
 was whether the school population in
 any locality would be a stable one
 making permanent construction neces-
 sary. So far. stability had developed
 in all localities, but this problem was always considered in every new loca-
 ton.
 Schools Now Overflownq
 About four years ago, the board had provided the schools of Phoenix with a sufficient capacity. Thereafter for a period of a year or two there was no increase in the school population; in fact. one year showed slight diminu- ton in attendance. After that, the population began to increase rapidly until now the attendance is greater by 5oo than it was at the corresponding tune last year, notwithstanding ad- verse conditions resulting from the in- fluenza epidemic.
 The schools are now full; in many of the rooms there are more pupils than there should be. Another circumstance which has further embarrassed the board is an act passed at the last ses- sion of the legislature making compul- sory the establishment of kinder gartens in elementary schools. A sur vey of the district has disclosed that there are about 500 pupils in this dis trict that might be added to the school population under this act, though it Is not probable that there would be such an additional attendance. However.  provision must be made for consider able influx from this source.
 On the financial side, the superin- tendent said that there is now in the building fund Of the district s166, 900: there was received from the sale of the Central school block s210, ,000; there had been expended for the site of the school administration building and the building. s22,ooo; for the purchase of other sites for the erection of tempo rary buildings and for additions to buildings, various sums, leaving the above named balance.
 More than a year ago the need of a building in the northwest part of the town was urgent and a site embracing two blocks in Wentworth addition, bounded by Fifth and Seventh avenues ana Culver and Willetta streets, was | purchased and plans were prepared for