The Birmingham age-herald., 1924-04-02

consideration, we believe, is just. The board has never been unmindful, how. ever, of the fact that there are other pressing needs of our city and would be unwilling to place the schools in the attitude of demanding not only first but exclusive consideration.
 Under these conditions, the board has decided not to ask at this time for an amount which would meet the pres. ent needs, but to petition the city com. mission to call an election at which citi. zens may have an opportunity to vote s, 3,5O0, 900 of bonds now. When ii develops that the finances of the city will justify further bonds the board promises the patrons that the additional amount necessary to remedy conditions will be requested.
 In the expenditure of the $3, 300, ,OOO it is the purpose of the board not to omit in it's entirety any of the prof. ects included in the $5,O00,O 900 program as outlined in the survey. Each com. munity will get portion of what is planned for it under the larger bond is. sue. Necessarily the needs can only be partially met. Instead of building com plete buildings as planned, only first units will be constructed. In n nun. Der of instances this will be done at the price of a continuance of halliday sessions for groups of children, a GUS tom which the board hoped to elimi. nate entirely. Under the reduced pro- gram no buildings can for the present be entirely abandoned. This will as. sist materially in the reduction of the number of halliday sessions.
 Operation Costs
 It should, of course, always be borne in mind that only a part of the facili- ties covered in the $5,0OO,OOO program can be provided by the expenditure of the $3,500,000 now asked for and in addition attention is also called to the fact that the increase of approximate ly 5000 more school children, enroll ing each year, will call for an additional expenditure of well over three-quar- ters of a million dollars annually for housing and equipment.
 The survey with equal clearness out. lines the cost of operating the schools With an average annual increase of school ennrollment of 5000 pupils, re. quiring more than 80 additional teach CTS each year; with a much desired re. duction of from 43, the present nun Der of pupils per teacher, to 35, as pro posed in the survey, 11a mills additional for operation and maintenance is re- quired today. The board desires to i'm press upon the citizens that this ad ditional revenue is an essential part oi the school program. In fact, if there be a difference it is more necessary than the bonds themselves. The board believes that the teacher is of first i'm portance, that it is better to have pooI buildings, meager equipment and good teachers than excellent buildings anC equipment and poor teachers. The rev. enue from the sale of bonds will be used exclusively for buildings and equip. ment and could not be diverted to de. fray the expense of operating the schools.
 The board again wishes to assure the people of it's ambition to have the schools so equipped and organized as to serve the best interests of this pro, gressive community and since the re. sponsibility for the expenditure of all monies voted for educational purposes whether derived from bonds or direct tax, resest solely, under the law, on the board of education and on no other body, we pledge our earnest efforts to administer faithfully and with the ut. most care whatever funds are en. trusted to us.
 Respectfully,
 ERSKINE RAMSAY,
 President,
 R. E. CHADWICK,
 Vice President
 R. R. MOORE.
 F. D. M'ARTHUR,
 MRS. A. W. BELL.
 Board of Education.