The Indianapolis times. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1922-1965, 1932-10-11
LEVY SLASH
MAY SHORTEN
SCHOOL Term
County Adjustment BoarG'S
Action May Cut Two
Months OF Year.
TRIM RATE TO S2.82
Educational System Bears
Brunt of Compromise
on lakes.

Necessity Of shortening the school
year two months, today confronted
school officials as result of the
county adjustment boards action
Monday night in reducing the total
tax levy in Center township from
1912 to 1892.
This action, which now seems al
most inevitable. will result in Civ
ing Indianapolis an education sys-
tenn comparable with the old-fash-
Toned country schools. officials said.
The school city received the brunt
OF the budget reduction when the
adjustment group agreed. late
Monday night, to cut 1867 cents
from the school city tax rate. 4
cents from the civil city and a
quarter of a cent from the county.
Compromising their differences,
after a seven-day deadlock. the
board sliced the Center rate from
S3.12 to S2.82. and reduced rates of
other governmental units according
ly.
New Rates to Be Appealed
The 1892 Center levy includes:
Civil city. SIPS. compared with S1.3O
proposed by city officials; school city.
90 cents compared to S1.087 fixed
by the school board; township. .OS
cent; county, Al cents, compared to
ALPS proposed by the county council.
and state. IS cents. The state levy
is fixed by law.
The new rates probably will be
appealed to the state tax board by
taX-reduction association, it was
said.
Action of the adjustment board
leaves the school board with the
problem of where to prune 1877
cents from the levy. or another
$880,000 from the budget. The
school board already had cut
S8570O0 from the budget. making a
total budget cut of s1,737,OOO.
The adjustment board has no au-
thority, under the law, to make
specific budget cuts, but only to re-
duce the total of the levy and to
make suggestions as to where the
cut may be allocated in the budget.
Face Impossible Situation"
Thus, the suggestion that 10 cents
of the 1877 cents cut be accounted
for by wiplng out the sinking fund
payment, is not binding on the
school board.
Russell Wilson. school board
president, said the county boards
action leaves the school city facing
an impossible situation" the brunt
Of which must be borne by the
school children of the city.
Wilson said school officials have
not had time thoroughly to 90 into
the situation created by the heavy
school levy slash.
To cut $88O0OO from the budget
already heavily reduced" he said.
simply means either reducing the
school term two months or more. or
else lowering the standards.
Personally, I feel it would be
better to operate only eight months
on higher standard.
Sullivan to Call Farley
Either way. the INDIANAPOLIS
schools will be far less efficient and
indianapolis childre nwill suffer.
Certain adjustment board mem
bers could appreciate problems of
their own budget, that of the county.
and they cut it only a quarter of
cent. The city administration also
is Democratic, and was cut only 4
cents, whereas the nonpartisan
school city received the brunt."
Action to reduce departmental
appropriations of the civil CITY the
necessary 4 cents will not be taken
until after conference of city Of
ficials
Mayor Reginald H. Sullivan was
expected to call a general confer
ence Of department heads late this
afternoon or Wednesday.
Emergency Is Declared
The tax adjustment boards COM
promise came when Nicholas H
Moves, Eli Lilly g. Co. treasurer.
who had insisted on $3.50 rate.
agreed to 2-cent increase to meet
demands Of four other board mem
bers.
This gave Charles A. Grossart
county auditor, and Councilmen
Walter G. Boetcher, Edward A.
Resener and John Newhouse the
fifth vote necessary to declare an
emergency and raise the rate above
the $50 tax limit.
Leo K. Fesler and Albert E. Uhl,
who sought enforcement of the sL5O
levy, voted against the S2S2 rate.