The Indianapolis times. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1922-1965, 1929-03-06
SCHOOL BOARD
|. IN OPEN BREAK
ON BUILDINGS
Whiteman Swings Over
From Kern Vonnegut
Majority Faction.
0. K. ON PLANS BLOCKED
Mrs. SedWick Takes Issue
With Colleagues Over
Construction.

An open break between majority
and minority school factions,
smoldering since election of board
officers Jan. /, burst into flame
Tuesday night, resulting tempor-
arily at least, in formation of
new majority faction.
The break, from the ranks of the
majority faction, marked the first
open detection of Lewis E. Whites
man since his election as vice-presi-
dent Jan. /. Until Tuesday he had
aligned himself consistently with
Charles w. Kern and Theodore
Vonnegut.
He returned to the side of Mrs.
Lillian " Sedwick and Fred KEEP
ner, giving them the balance OF
power.
Significance is attached to the
break at this time, because five
major appointive positions are to be
filled April ID. These include jobs
of Charles F. Miller, superintendent:
Albert F. WalSman, business direc-
tor; Carl w. Eurton, buildings and
grounds superintendent; Frank L.
Reissner. secretary, and Luther i.
Dickerson, librarian. Only three
votes are necessary to GUST any Of
these appointees.
Break on Motion
The flare resulted over motion Of
Vonnegut to accept an order of the
state tax board authorizing the
school board to advertise for bids for
100000 Irvington high school, two
new grade buildings and two grade
school additions, the latter to cost
1895 900.
Vonnegut's motion was lost for
want of a second.
Mrs. Sedwick remarked that the
engineering plans for the two new
buildings, Schools 81 and 81, were
not legal, because they did not bear
the seal of a licensed engineer, add
| ing that they had been rejected by
the state engineering board.
who would be responsible fer
faulty construction in such cases?"
she asked.
Who would be responsible If
they bore a seal? the engineer?"
Kern asked.
mo, but he would see that there
was no faulty construction" Mrs.
Sedwick retorted.
Verbal Clash Follows
Mrs. Sedwick moved that the tax
board report be held in allegiance
until building programs for these
schools could be looked into farther
by the entire board
Il don't propose to go into them
any farther" Vonnegut said. Mrs.
Sedwick and sat here together and
went over the plans and she made
no objection"
ut would not have done any good
to object she countered.
Kern's remark that to delay the
matter would require readvertising,
bringing the contract into the build
ing season. when bids probably
would be $4,000 or $4,000 higher,
was answered by Mrs. Sedwick:
"If construction is faulty, it might
cost more"
Plans Called Good
"All of which is a fallacy, be-
cause the plans are practically
the same as those for School IS,
which were drawn by architects and
engineers" Kern asserted.
1t was explained that architec-
tural plans for the. two schools had
been copied exactly from School IS,
but that engineers had been en-
gagged to make slight alterations in
engineering plans for heating and
Hentilating, which had proven I'M
satisfactory.
| Mrs. SedWick's motion was passed.
with Mrs. Sedwick, Kepner and
Whiteman voting for it.
Whiteman declared, following the
meeting, that he had not aligned
himself with the former minority
faction.
Il am not aligned with any fac
tion," he asserted. II always just
vote my convictions"
pPEHINrT CHANGES Tn