School Bond-tax Vote Possible May 13

Possible dates for the nex bonding and millage elections in the Ann Arbor School District were advanced last night during the Board of Education's "post-mortem" on the Jan. 8 bonding election, which was decisively defeated. It appears that May 13 is the most ILkely date for a combined bonding and millage election, though, by state law, the bonding proposal would have to be different from the $15.5 million one submitted to the voters last Monday. The board cannot legally submit the same proposition to the voters for a month period, or until July 8 June 10, the date of the an nual school elections for schoo board trustees, is also a pos sibility. If an election is held on May 13, however, and the proposals are defeated, the June 10 proposals would again, by law, have to be different from the ones submitted in May. The May 13 date was originally rejected because of apparent conflict with the annual Tune elections, according to business Manager George 3alas, but a further check with he bonding attorneys proved :hat the May date is clear. Balas said that elections ouldalso be held on April 1 and Aug. 6, the dates of other elections, but this is unlikely A school election between the dates of Sept. 16 and 30, while also possible, is improbable be cause of the imporsibility of levying any millage approved after Sept. 15, he explained. The amount of the operating millage proposal has not yel Deen determined, but Board of Education President Hazen J. Schumacher said last month hat 912 milis will be needed 'just to maintain our present audget." This includes a 4V2mill operating renewal. The trustees made no final lecisions last night on setting m election date. All of the trustees expressed disappointment at the rejection of the bonding issue Monday by the voters, and three members read prepared statements on the subject. Trustee William C. Godfrey seemed to express the sentiments of the majority of trustees by asking the "nay sayers" (those who opposed the $15.5 m i 1 1 i o n issue) to ". . . spend the time and mental effort required to créate a rational, positive position that will truly aid the board and administration in developing building and operating millage proposals which will pass." Godfrey added that he was 'tired of dry-runs" and wanted hear specific suggestions from the opposition before a 'new program is formulated by the board. "This approach is absolutely necessary," he said, "in order to bridge the confidence gap which exists between the board and majority of voters." Trustee Charles H. Good echoed Godfrey's sentiments, saying that the board s h o u 1 d "actively seek out" those who were opposed to the bond issue to hear their comments, criticisms and suggestions for the future. Trustee Paul H. Johnson, the only member who had opposed the bond election, gave his suggestions to the board, emphasizing that the voter must be included in the planning for the next bonding and millage proposal. Johnson again repeated an earlier suggestion that the propos al be split into parts, such as the elementary school and junior high plus additions, the third senior high, the administration building, "warehouse" facilities and the library expansión program. Johnson said that if all of the voters were invited to attend a series of open hearings on all a s p e c t s of the district's financed, and if ". . . we have done our job properly, with fullest voter participation, the voters will give us their approval." He said that his course of action would ". . . give the voters the control over the major expenditure decisions before we are so committed that there is no choice left and the voter rebels." Trustee Joseph R. Julin, the chairman of the Community Relations Committee who headed the informational program for the bonding election, said that the Ann Arbor dollar commitment to education ". . . exceeds and in some instances far exceeds the hypothetical district average." And, Julin continued, the taxpayer has made known his demands that ". . . we move in the direction of becoming more average." Julin also expressed the opinión that federal funds would necessarily nave to be injected into the local school districts if the public continúes to vote "no" on bonding and millage proposals. Other trastees gave their assessments of the election, with Vice President Robert E. Doerr reminding the voters that "the mechanism of recall" is available if they are "so disenchanted" with the decisions of the school board. But the school children should not be made to suffer, he said. A preliminary plan of the administration's recommended courses of future action will be presented next week by Acting Supt. W. Scott Westerman Jr.