OCR Text |
Show SCHOOL BOARD MAY GOKLUDEJD BUILD Question of Paying Rent to City Brings Matter to Acute Stage. In case the city commission actually makes a demand upon the board of education edu-cation for payment of rent on the quarters occupied by the board on the city side of the city and county building, build-ing, it is probable that the board will consider seriously the building of a separate administration building for the public school system. Members of the board and school authorities au-thorities have declared themselves in favor of such a course, provided funds could be made available, and if the issue is-sue is precipitated by the city commission commis-sion it is more than likely that steps will be taken in that direction. As yet the city commission has not contemplated asking the board to pay for its quarters, but the breach between the commission and the board of education, educa-tion, started by several differences, has grown wider than ever before recently. The city has refused to make any public improvements on streets on which school property fronts until the board will agree to pay the special assessments, assess-ments, and it also has refused to pay the board's share of the cost of collecting collect-ing general taxes. The board is exempt by law from special taxes, and also from paying its share of the cost of collecting taxes, but the city attorney has ruled that such exemption does not necessarily throw the burden on the city. On several occasions Superintendent D. H. Ohristensen has recommended to the board of education that it buy or build an administration building but a scarcity of funds "has always stood in the way of favorable consideration of the' recommendation. At one time the board was considering the purchase of the Y. M. G. A. building, now the Public Safety building, but the deal fell through. The only action taken with a view to compelling the board to pay for its quarters was that of Heber M. Wells, commissioner of parks and public property, prop-erty, who has asked the city attorney for' an opinion in the matter. The latter lat-ter has said that he knows of nothing in the law whereby the city is bound to furnish quarters for the board free of charge, but as yet Commissioner Wells has not taken up the question with the other commissioners. |