Evening star., 1939-12-03
Toledo Drive Begun
To Reopen Schools
As Charges Fly
Voters Refusal Of New
Tax Levy Gives Board
Added Problems

TOLEDO, Ohio, Dec. 2 (NA.N.A).
DO not open until January g."
That sign has been plastered over
Toledo public schools by this city's
board of education to avoid December
salary and wage commitments of
100000 and keep the existing $780,
600 deficit from hitting the $1,0O0,-
900 mark.
Already movements are being or
ganized to lift that sign from the
schools and get Toledo's $4,000 schools
children back into the classrooms be-
fore another week has gone by. But
first such movements must answer
the 100000 deficit question, and,
before an adequate answer to that
question is found, it appears that
January 2 will have arrived.
The Toledo public schools were
closed for six-Week deficit" vaca-
ton November o. The decision was
reached by the Board of Education
November 13, six days after Toledo
voters refused by vote of 54,7O9 to
26,774 to renew tWo-mill levy which
expires December 81, 1910, plus an
other tWo-mill levy. The four mill
levy was to be used for operating
expenses, and, of course, could be
borrowed against to eliminate deficit
financing.
Voters Want No More Taxes.
Analyzing the defeat of the school
levy, experts agree that it was merely
a continuation of Toledo voters
policy, spawned during the .depres-
sion, to turn down appeals for taxes
on real estate outside the l0-mill
limitation fixed by State statute in
Ohio. Only short time before, the
voters had refused by a substantial
margin to pass three-mill levy to
finance relief here.
Between now and January 2 the
Board of Education must concern
itself with the remaining possibilities
for economy-elimination of "frills"
in the educational program and
modification" of salaries.
John c. Taylor, school board men,
ber defeated for reelection for a
new term starting January l, offered
this explanation: For the last three
years the Toledo schools have been
kept running through the expedient
Of deficit financing.
Actually, drastic retrenchments
should have been made long ago.
Instead. the Board of Education took
a broad view of the issues of pub
lie welfare that were involved. Moved
by concern for the city and the
children in the schools, it resort
ed to every possible avenue of def
icit financing and meanwhile it
repeatedly called the pubhc's at
tention to the growing gravity of
the situation"
Citizens Warned Long Ago.
Mr.. Taylor said the citizens have
had three years to stop the slow
deterioration of the school sys-
tenn Of Toledo. Even after two levy
had been defeated at the
polls, he said, the board still tried
to provide school service on a scale
commensurate with Toledo's self
respect as major city and sought
by pleading, begging and warning
to call the Toledo's public's atten-
ton to the fact that the wolf" was
at the door of the schools.
If revenues during the early
months of 1910 permit, it may be
possible to keep the schools going
through the usual week-long spring
vacation and to add another week
to the school term in June.
Chief and loudest opponent of the
four-mill levy is the chief and one
OF the loudest opponents of the
school closing. He is Walter
Baertschi, president of Friends and
Nelghbors, Inc, an organization
which makes itself heard at least
locally, if not throughout the State,
in matters of public policy, espe-
cially relating to taxes He lashed
out against the school board for its
prof1igacy and condemned it espe-
cially for adopting the single wage
standard for school teachers. (The
single wage standard, in brief, pro-
vides identical salaries for grade and
high school teachers, basing the
amount of salary on education, ex-
perience and position) This salary
schedule, he declared, raised teach
er salaries above even their 1929
scales.
"Spite Inspired"
There were others who also op-
posed the levy. These included the
realtors. but, for the most part, ex-
perts agree, they constituted the
silent home owners, who have sue
cessfully weathered the depression
and have managed to keep up pay
ments on their dwellings.
At the meeting at which the board
voted to close the schools, a woman
rose to suggest that the teachers
might be willing to take broad view
of the situation and give their serv-
ices. She was roundly booed. And
spokesmen for teacher groups that
attended the meeting quickly denied
the boos came from their delega-
tions
A. L. Keller, executive secretary of
the Allied Taxpayers of Lucas
County, another local tax-watching
group, broadly told the school board,
Your action CLOSING the schools is
regarded by many taxpayers as spite
He also charged school
board members with squandering
taxpayers money and accused the
Toledo public school teachers of
staging a sit-doWn strike.