School Bond Vote Likely

lt appears likely that a three-part bonding proposal for school, administrative, service and library facilities totaling about $9.4 million will face Ann Arbor School District voters Dec. 18. This is essentially the same proposal that was nearly put on the June 10 ballot. It was postponed, however, to avoid "jeopardizing" the 11.66-mill proposal for school operations offered to the voters on that date. Supt. W. Scott Westerman Jr. recommended to the Ann Arbor Board of Education last night that a three-part proposal and the Dec. 18 date be approved. The date and amount will probably be set at the next regular board meeting, Westerman told The News. There is a "great urgency," Westerman said, to lay the bonding proposal before the public as soon as possible to avoid future "crowded conditions," especially at the junior and senior high school levéis. - The superintendent said some "revisions on the proposal will be made within the next week or two. But it is likely the bonding amount will be in the $9 million range. If the Dec. 18 date is approved, the ballot wiil be shared with a one-mill proposal to finance a proposed county-wide vocational education facility for secondary students. This special charter millage election was set last month by the Washtenaw County Intermedíate School District Board of Education. If both the bonding and vocational facility imllage propositions are on the Dec. 18 ballot, they will be considered separately. The three bonding proposals could also be approved or rejected separately. Westerman said the $9,430,000 proposal, if approved, would mean a tax increase of about 1 mili. Translated into dollar terms, this would mean a tax hike of about $1 per $1,000 of state equalized valuation. The three proposals, as they will probably appear on the ballot, are as follows: Proposal I- School Building, Classroom Additions and Renovations. This item would total $7,485,000, and would include the fifth junior high for $4,989,000; a 12-room elementary school and 10 room additions to existing schools for a total of $1,480,000; planning money for the third senior I high for $380,000 and renovations at Slauson and I Tappan junior highs, Mack School and other 1 cellaneous renovations for $636,000. _ I Proposal II- Service and Administration ] ities. This proposal would include a building and grounds facility for $436,000 and an administration building for $889,000, for a total of $1,325,000. Proposal III- Library Addition and Branch Site. This item would total $620,000, and would include an addition to the main public library for $608,000, lalong with the purchase of a site for the Plymouth iBranch Library for $12,000. One "revisión" in the bonding proposal could be the deletion of the $380,000' for planning money for the third senior high, and the use instead of some of the $600,000 available in the building fund I for the planning. This was suggested last night by I Trustee William C. Godfrey and met with the approval of several other trustees. The probable three-part proposal does not inI elude money for the construction of the third senior Ihigh- an item which was included in the Jan. 8 f $15.5 million bonding proposal which was sound!; defeated at the polls. TrustêazënTHöcrmmachër Jr. and other board members discussed last night whether the district could afford to wait at least another year to approve funds for the school's construction and risk crowded conditions in the near future. j