Indiana daily times. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1914-1922, 1921-06-30
FIGHT TO BOND
CITY FOR GOOD
SCHOOLS is ON
Many Citizens Appear at Hear
ing Before Board of Tax
Commissioners.
LEAGUE OPPOSES ISSUE

Whether permanent buildings
should be erected to house the
school children of Indianapolis, de-
spite present high building costs, or
whether the building program,
adopted by the majority faction Of
the board of school commissioners
Of Indianapolis, should be aban-
doned until costs fall to a lower
level, was the issue that is being
fought out today before the State
board of tax commissioners.
The particular question that is the
subject Of the public hearing is the
remonstrance filed by ten members
of the Taxpayers League of IndI-
ana against the approval of bond
issue of sS47.0OO, authorized by the
school board recently for the build
ing of additions and remodelling of
old buildings at schools Nos. 16, Sc,
3S and 81. But upon this decision
rests the fate of the entire build
ing program.
When the hearing opened the House OF
Representatives was comfortably filed
with members Of the Taxpayers League
and delegations Of parents of school
children and citizens from the neighbor-
hoods In which the four schools affected
by the proposed bond issue are located
Members Of the East Side Civic League
about sixty strong, turned out wearing
big green badges IN support OF the bond
issue as affecting School No. S. C. e.
Bacon, president Of the league. and E.
VI. Voser, vice president, acted as spokes,
men.
The morning hearing was devoted large
ly to the introduction Of formal evil
dence, such az figures relating to the to-
tai amount Of taxables ia indianapolis,
the limit Of bonded indebtedness Of the
school board. etc.
100 PoRTABLEs
WOULD BE NEEDED.
That It would take about one hundred
additional pOrtables, representing an in
vestment Of approximately i've hundred
thousand dollars to enable the board
to DO away with half day classes next
year. was the statement made by
Ralph W. Douglass, business director Of
the board. The board now owns about
seventy portables. This statement was
made in answer TO questions OF Frederick
f. Matson. attorney for the school board
Apparently Mr.. Matson was attempting
to show that the proposition Of che Tax
pagers League that the building program
De abandoned for the time being and that
all children now on half day time be
housed in portables would be very ex-
pensive makeshif
HALF DAY SCHOOLS
TWENTY FIVE YEARS AGO.
Mr. Douglass also testified as to the
necessity Of the erection Of new build
lngs at the schools in question and point
ed out that at No IS parents Of some of
the children now in school on a half
day basis themselves attended half day
classes almost twenty-five years ago.
In reply to the criticism that last year
the board had been forced to discount
a bond issue heavily in order to sell its
bonds for the erection Of number of
buildings. Mr. Douglas testified that
during the four years In which the In
dlanapolis school board has been selling
bonds for school improvements it saved
total Of S3f0.840 in interest because
an average rate OF 40 per cent was paid
instead OF 6 per cent as paid by other
cities
ALLOW DISCOUNT
ON THE BONDS.
In order to sell these bonds a discount
Of S29S,S ,S67 25 was allowed. Mr. Douglas
said that If per cent had been paid
they could have been sold at par, but
that the low rate OF interest made up
more than the amount of the discount
He testified that the board had sold
total Of S6,211,000 In bonds for So
9l2, 1920
Considerable stress was laid on the
amount of space that portables would
Continued on Page FOur.)