Godfrey Sees Need For More Funds
Godfrey Sees Need For More Funds
It was an old story with a new twist at last night's school board meeting—the school district's original $18 million, five year building program is in need of more money.
Members of the Public Library Advisory Council came to the Board of Education with questions about the priorities assigned to building projects.
Three library projects were planned in the five-year construction program that was to be financed by last November's $18 million bond issue. Those projects have been dropped from the building program because of the higher-than-expected cost of other construction, particularly Huron High School.
The planned projects included expansion of the central library and the Loving Branch Library, and the construction of another branch library on the west side.
Trustee William C. Godfrey told the council’s representatives that he recognized the dis rict’s need for more library facilities and that the only way to meet those needs was to get more bond money.
“The sooner we do, the better,” Godfrey said.
One of the council members, John McKevitt, told the school board that in the 10 years since the central library was opened book circulation has increased from 250,000 per year to 500,000. Readers, he said have increased from 18,000 to 40,000.
“As you know, we have run into a problem of construction cost," President Stephen Withey told the council members. He said that the priority of library building needs hasn’t been reduced, projects with higher priorities have just cost more.
“It always seems that the library is at the break point and gets pushed down,” council member Mrs. J. A. VandenBroek told the board,
"I think you are much more a victim of that (high costs) than a lack of concern on the part of the school board,” Vice President Hazen J. Schumacher Jr. told the group.
He noted that from this year’s operating budget the board had purchased a new bookmobile ;and improved librarians’ pay. ‘‘The library is always very present in our minds,” Schumacher noted.