Supt. Westerman Defends Proposed School Budget

School Supt. W. Scott Westerman Jr. last night vigorously defended his controversial 196970 budget proposal of $21.2 million, saying he is hopeful it will be supportëd b;v the Ann Arbor voters. At the same time, he announced a s.light downward revisión of the millage proposal that would be raecessary June. 9 if his budget is adopted - from 7.05 milis to 6.88 milis. Westerman said the decrease of .17 of a mili is the result of revised estímate s of expected property valua1;ion increases and state funds. The new millage' package wíiuld include a 3.37-mill renewal and 3.51 additional milis. I The superintendent told the Ann Arbor Board of Education last night at its fourth budget session that he "understands the burdens of today's taxpayers." But he said the "realities" of growing pupil populations, 1 demands for higher teaching wages and the "urgient need" to help "unresponsive ." youth today must be realiaed. "I can't imagine a better investment than education," Westerman remark:d. "I view this budget as a .compromise and I believe it shauld be 1 ported by the (school) board I and the community in much the I way it has been preisented. Butl I am your agent and will do asi you say." It was the superintendent's I first chance to respond to thel criticism of the proposed budg-l et and millage levelle d by sev-l eral trustees. Most have 1 ly expressed doubts the 1 mili package wou ld bel approved June 9 because of the I growing taxpayers' rebellion. Trustees William C. Godfrey and Ted Heusel, and last night Trustee Paul H. Johnson, urged that only the 3.37-milI. renewal ' be scheduled. Westerman wawied that approval of only the 3.37-mill renewal would have "d'ramatic effects" on the district'.'; educational program. He said he was "reluctant" to define specific program cuts at this time, but added there would be: three alternatives if only the .renewal is approved or if the renewal itself is defeated. These alternatives, ht3 said, are: reducing education al programs; increasing class sizes (which Westerman said would be "breaking faith" wi'th the Ann Arbor Ed u c a t i o n Association's 1968-70 contract), or the employment of a greater number of less experiienced teachers. After three hours of cliscussion, the board was no closer to resolving the thorny budget issue than it was a few weeks ago, but the trustees must make a millage decisioüi by April 23. This is the final day a millage proposal can legally be set. The board is nearly evenly split on the issue at present. Godfrey, Johnson and Heusel favor only the 3.37-mill renewal. Wood has urged a 4-mill proposal. Hazen J. Shcumacher Jï., Joseph T. A. Lee, Harold J. Lockett, Charles H. Good and President Joseph R. Julin have indicated they will support the 6.88-mill package. Julin said last night he favors submitting the entire package this June to the voters. If it loses, he said, the board should return to the voters later in the summer for only the 3.37-mill renewal, spelling out program cuts in advance. Good said last night the school district's present educational program "can't survive" next year with only the renewal. A minimum of 5.5 milis would be needed in 1969-70, he said, to "stand still." Godí'rey disagrees with this evaluation, and has said several times he believes that the excellence of the Ann Arbor School System can be maintained with only the 3.37-mill renewal. Johnson again urged the board to learn to live within its means. "Any mush-head, any morón can find brilliant ways to spend money . . . but it takes a pretty brilliant man to find ways to live within our means." Wood again voiced his concern about more tax-exempt student housing being built by the University of Michigan, and was appointed head of a committee to investígate launching negotiations with the U-M to increase the rent for this housing and hand over this increase to the school district. Wood urged that if these negotiations are not successful, a lawsuit be brought against the University, challenging whether such student housing should be tax-exempt. (Presently, 224 children who live in the U-M tax-exempt housing areas attend the public schools.)