The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1916-1920, 1919-09-13
$S7,147,561 SCHOOL
BUDGET is RECORD
Board of Education Almost
Doubles 1918 Demand
for Funds.
SALARY RAISES SOUGHT
Board of Estimate Is Expected
to Swat Requests for APP
preparations.

The Board OF Education prepared yes
terday a tasty dish for the Board Of Es-
innate and Apportlonment to make hash
of later. The tentative budget It adopted
TOR this year, sS7.147,5e1, is considerable
Of q change from the tentative budget
Of 1918, which was only s49,599,S34.
And in addition to the item OF $2,53S,315
made necessary In the current budget
because the board went short of building
funds last year and had to borrow, and
must now take up its notes. and to other
Items of similar size which naturally had
to be talked about, the Capitalization was
Constantly being delayed by things such
rs Board Member Mrs Emma Murray
demanding 50 a week more for her sec
rotary, and everybody from the Prcsi-
dent down instantly following her lead
and demanding appropriations for their
secretaries and stenographers and office
boys and so on.
Guesses were freely made by those
outside the conference room that there
was no hope or expectation that the
comfortable budget prepared by the ex-
perts OF Fifty-ninth street would be rec
cgnized by Its progenitors when II came
on the operating table at city Hall.
The item of $42,oo0,000 for salaries. for
instance, was expected to be questioned,
Mayor Hylsn being known to object
Enormously to the increase in teachers
salaries granted by the Legislature, an
increase, he declares. that will cost the
city $40. 900 a year, whereas school
authorities say that estimate is much too
much An increase Of $4,000,00 Is what
they allow for.
The budget as presented for discus
eion yesterday was divided into a gen.
eral school fund Of S47,904,692 and a
special school fund of Ss,273.7S9. In ad-
dition there is the item of $2,5S3,315
which will be needed to take up short
term notes that were issued TO make
good deficiencies in the 1918 building
programme. and for new buildings in
1919 $26,sSe,497 is asked.
Repairs to old buildings are provided
FOR In 1920 by an item of $3,2s2,S99, an
increase of S2,355,S99 over last year.
The board is starting three year pro-
gramme of urgent repairs. some of the
older schools being really UNIT for use
without being fixed up. The sum of
S1.sS0,641, 100000 more than was ap-
propriated in 1918, is requested for books
and supplies Fuel next year will cost
31.347.07S, an increase of s627.499 over
this year. and even the janitors will cost
considerably more. Last year they were
placated with $2,1s5,970. and this year
they must have s3.S19.s70. There are
500 of them.
The continuation schools required by
the new law, demanding that all boys
md girls under 16 who have not grad
uated from high school must attend a
school at least four hours week, Will
take $4,000. According to the law they
need not be opened until September 1.
1920, but the Board of Education is
planning to start them in January with
10000 pupils.
when the members of the board
finally filed out of the presidents room
after their long and weary conclave 1t
was announced that they had added a
matter of almost two millions to the
te5,e00.000 tentative budget they began
with in the morning. They had unan-
.mously adopted a budget of $87,147.561,
and they sternly said that this was
final and the one that would be laid
down before the Board of Estimate ard
Apportionment The increase was said
TO be due chiefly to an item Of S1,50G,000
for a proposed Board of Education
building to replace the present one,
which has never been repaired since a
disastrous fire in 1918. 1t would take
100000 to repair 1t now.
Officials said that not in twenty years
rad budget given as much concern as
the present one, and Mr.. Prall declared
that the board had labored diligently to
cut II to the bone.