Twin-City herald. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn.) 1927-1940, 1937-05-29
School Amendment
No. IS
Citizens Committee on School
Amendment No. Is
Tom Buxton

Determined to bring to Minneapolis
voters attention the Board of Edu-
cations pressing financial crisis, the
Citizens Committee on School
Amendment No. 13 has launched
city-wide campaign of public informa-
ton.
Volunteer workers, serving without
pay and in the interests of the chill
dren and their adequate education,
are presenting facts on the schools
inadequate finances and consequent
shortage of services.
The essential issue the committee
seeks to bring home to parents and
other friends of the schools is that
Minneapolis school tax revenues have
decreased more than 20 per cent
in the past six years, with a re-
sulting enforced curtailment of money
spent for maintenance of public
school education in the city.
Adoption of the proposed School
Amendment No. ID at the June Ia
city election is being urged on the
basis that it will help provide for
adequate maintenance of buildings
and equipment, eliminate present
serious shortage in textbooks, refer
ence books and greatly needed visual
education equipment, and permit the
Board of Education to halt the con-
tinuous pay cuts enforced on board
employees for the past five years.
Board of Education members, who
proposed the amendment in the in
terest of the public schools, receive
no salary or other remuneration for
their services.
The Citizens Committee for School
Amendment No. ID is headed by DR..
E. T. w. Boquist as general chairman.
He is former commander of the
Fifth Minnesota district of the Ameri-
can Legion. For two years, he was
chairman of the Legion districts edu-
cation committee and he has been a
member of the Citizens Committee on
Public School Finance since its or
ganzation four years ago.
Others on the executive committee
of the Citizens Committee on School
Amendment No. 13 are Vernon E.
Mikkelson, president of the Fidelity
State Bank, who is finance chairman
and treasurer; A. H. Urtubees, presi-
dent of the Minneapolis Central La
Dor Union; Mrs. H. K. Painter, presi-
dent of the Minneapolis Council of
Associations, who is
speakers chairman, Lynn Thompson,
Board of Education representative;
Superintendent Carroll r. Reed; A.
E. MacQuarrie, contact committee
chairman, and Tom Buxton, secre-
tary.
With the Citizens committee cam
paign just getting under way, several
organizations have Endorsed the pro-
posed School Amendment No. 13.
These include the influential Henepin
County Farmer-Labor Association;
the Civil Service Association; the
Marhall High School Parent-Teacher
Association; Roosevelt district organ
ization of parent-teacher associations;
the Howe, Northrop, Cooper and
Holmes parent-teacher associations
and various other organizations.
The amendment also has been in
dorsed by Holy Trinity English Luth-
eran church and many prominent in
dividualS.
The proposed School Amendment
No. Is would authorize the Board of
Education to levy up to five mills
above the present legal maximum of
% mills for school taxes. At present,
the owner of a $1,000 market value
home pays about $3.50 per month for
school taxes. If he lives in his own
house, the proposed maximum in
crease would be about As cents per
month; if a renter is in the house.
the increase would be about IS cents
per month.