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Why The Bonds Are Needed

Why The Bonds Are Needed image
Parent Issue
Day
22
Month
May
Year
1903
Copyright
Public Domain
OCR Text

President Mills, of the Ann Arbor School Board

 

Gives Facts and Figures

 

To Show Why the School Board Needs $20,000 More Bonds - The Statement is a Very Clear One

 

To the Editor of the Daily Argus:

 

In view of the fact that the board of education is about to ask the citizens of Aim Arbor for authority to issue $20,000 in bonds, a full and explicit statement of the reasons therefore are due to them.

 

At the annual meeting in September, 1901, the board was authorized to purchase a site and take the preliminary steps toward the erection of a new W. S. Perry School building, to be so situated as to serve the growing population of the 7th ward while readily accessible to the children of the 1st.

 

It was felt that this would render unnecessary the erection of a separate building for the 7th ward, which but for this could not have been much longer delayed.

 

A site having been selected, the citizens were asked to vote at a regularly called special meeting held on Jan. 20, 1902, whether the district should be bonded for $25,000 to erect such a building. 153 votes were cast, of which 129 were for and 24 against the proposition.

 

When arrangements were being made for the issuing of the bonds thus voted, it was found that the charter of the district contained a clause limiting the bond issue of the district to $30,000 and, as the amount already outstanding was $16,000, we could not legally issue but $14,000 of the $25,000 voted us.

 

Former boards had issued the bonds of the district to an amount nearly double the legal limit, but the present board did not want to take the responsibility of such a transaction. Consequently the matter was fully explained to the annual meeting of September, 1902, and that meeting passed a resolution requesting the board of education to have the charter revised so as to raise the bonding limit.

 

This was done and last week the governor signed the bill granting us a revised charter which admits of a bonded indebtedness not to exceed 3/4 of one per cent of the assessed valuation of the school district. The legality of the issue being now assured, we request the district to again grant us the right to issue bonds in payment of the balance on the Perry school.

 

As before stated, we asked at first for $25,000 bonds for this purpose, of which we only issued $14,000, and the query naturally arises, "Why do you ask for $20,000 when the unissued amount of $11,000 was supposed to be sufficient then?"

 

The following figures, which were the basis for our estimate at the time will explain the case:

 

Estimate of Expenditures for Perry School.

 

Site: $10,000.00

Building: $32,300.00

Heating & Incidentals: $6,000.00

Total: $48,900.00

 

Estimated Receipts to Cover Above Estimate.

 

Sale of old Perry school: $16,000.00

Sale of bonds: $25,000 00

Sale of lots on corner of Hill and Forest: $6,000.00

Sale of house and lot on west side of new site: $2,000.00

Total: $49,000.00

 

The Actual Cost Has Been

 

Site: $10,600.00

Building: $32,305.95

Heating and incidentals: $7,290.64

Total: $50,196.59

 

Actual Receipts Have Been

Old Perry School: $16,000.00

Sale of old buildings on the new site: $933.00

Premium on bonds: $303.80

Sale of bonds: $14,000.00

Balance to be provided for by new bonds $20,000.00

Total: $51,236.80

 

We have not yet been able to sell the lots on Hill and Forest avenue at what well informed real estate men think they are worth; and we do not deem it advisable to sell them for less than value.

 

The house and lot at the west side of the new Perry school site has not yet been disposed of, as a number of the board feel that the ground will be needed in the immediate future for a play ground for the pupils. Had these two pieces of property been disposed of as originally Intended, there would have been no necessity of asking the district for more than the $11,000 left unissued of the amount originally voted us.

 

The sanitary condition of the old outhouses at the Philip Bach and the Elisha Jones schools call for modern closets and sewer connection at the earliest possible moment. The balance of this bond issue after paying the amount due on the Perry school will be sufficient, we trust, with what we have saved from the appropriation voted us last September for running expenses to take care of this needed improvement.

 

In conclusion allow me to say that the board of education desires to be absolutely frank with the tax payers of the district and to have them feel at all times that it is their privilege to know every detail of the board's transactions. Should any tax payer wish any further or more detailed information than I have given above, it will be most cheerfully furnished him and we shall welcome such interest on the part of any citizen.

 

Respectfully,

 

Eugene F. Mills, President Board of Education.