Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1954-02-28
Voters 10 Rule
This Weekon
School Bonds
Falls Church Poll
Wednesday Decide:
$500, 900 Issue
Bv WiIIiom J, Elvin

struction bond issue, debated
with rising intensity for more
than year. will be decided by
city voters Wednesday.
In order to pass, the bond
issue must be approved by a
majority of all persons voting
and also by a majority of all
property owners voting.
Three polling places-City
Hall, Madison School and Broad
Street Motors-will be open
from 6 am. to 6 pm.
The referendum campaign has
been bitter. There have been
charges of Misrepresentation,
psychological warfare and half
truths and untruthS. Because
the 1954-55 budget has not yet
been approved by the city coun-
Gil and because no one can pre-
dict with certainty what future
school boards will be able to do
or will want to do, there is
some room for argument.
Overcrowding is Cited.
The $780, 900 would be divided
between George Mason Junior
Senior High School ana Mount
Daniel Elementary School. The
School Board says the money is
needed to prevent overcrowding
expected to result from rising en-
rollment. Present enrolment of
about 1850 is expected to in
crease to about 1000 by 1856. OF
the present 1850, about 500 at
tend classes in 79-year- old JEFF
ferson School and in temporary
annexes at Madison.
These facilities would not be
replaced with funds from the
100000 bond issue. The boards
1ong-range plan. however, calls
for single junior-senior high
school. three elementary schools,
and abandonment of Jefferson
and the anneXeS. The third
school. in addition to Madison
Jefferson and Mount Daniel,
would be either Fairfax County's
Oak Street School or a new
school in the southwest area,
according to board plans.
If the bond issue fails, Supt.
Irwin H. Schmitt says, high
school students will face stag
gered schedules, more elementary
pupils will be on halliday SEES
sionS. and some students will be
denied the opportunity to take
certain subjects.
Facilities Called Unneeded.
Opponents say the School
Board is planning to spend too
much money in the wrong places
for unneeded facilities.
Former City Councilman
Samuel E. McCrary said that
approval of the proposed school
budget and the bond issue would
increase the $2.75 per 500 real
estate tax rate by nearly ST..
Some School Board members, on
the other hand, believe that suf-
fcient revenue will be available
at budget time to avoid any in
crease in the rate.
In it's official statement, the
board said that a tax of 30 cents
would produce the $4,000 an
nual payment needed to meet
cost of the bond. The board
added that other factors might
enable the City Council to carry
the bond issue with a lower tax
increase.
Unless reserve utility funds
are tapped and unless the City
Council cuts the school and gen.
eral budgets drastically, the
council apparently is going to
have to approve some method of
increasing revenue.
Increased Assessment.
Increased total assessment
will bring in about $4,000 more
in 1954-55 than in the current
year. city officials estimate. Some
lesser rise may be Forthcoming
from personal property, State
liquor profits and other sources.
The budget increase approved
by the School Board would take
all of the $4,000 increase from
assessments, if given final ap-
proval by the City Council.
In addition to the higher
budget, council members would
be faced with the need for about
$4,000 to retire the 100000
bond issue. Also, a 100000
street-and-Sewer bond issue APP
proved last year must be paid off
and final payment of other bonds
was insufficient to prevent an
increase for this purpose.
Some city officials estimate
that the school budget, proposed
school bonds and the general
bonds outstanding will require
additional revenue equivalent to
about so cents on the property
tax rate. Rising costs for city
services may require an addi-
tional 5 to 10 cents.
The increased assessment
could absorb about IA cents of
this estimated rise, leaving the
council to ponder a real estate
tax hike of 40 or IS cents. The
council will. of course, have a
number of alternatives and
could revise revenues estimates
as being too conservative.
The City Council, which has
called the bond issue "necessarv
for the good of the city," had
this to say about taxes:
Payments of interest and
principal on bond issues in
evitably appear in the city's flu
ture expenditures; the degree
to which they require higher
tax rates or are met out of
steadily increasing revenues can
be determined only after ap-
proval of the annual budget. :"
School Board Member Francis