| Show THE BOARD OF EDUCATION the board of education met in regular session last night vice preel dent nelson in the chair the members present were alft young baldwin pike newman Bay bould and dooly the mont monthly fily statement tat ement 0 of f receipts and disbursements were as follows balance on hand band july let 61 Repe received ived d from B B EL clute Ol ute id 00 sale of coal hone house on lincoln site 5 00 total M 1 61 51 paid clerks 48 balance on hand july slat 08 preferred Ae forred to finance committee the report of the committee on sites and buildings bull dinga approved tho b additional work done by the contractors on the lincoln school building adopted the committee on sites aidee and buildings recommended that a school site en cu the east bench should not be pur abased adopted it 11 was recommended that a school be established shed in the presbyterian church on second west and ninth south adopted the same committee recommended that jew leases be executed for the follow ing buil buildings dinge african M E church at W 30 per month from september 1892 igaac hunter buil building dinv same as usel used last year at 70 per mouth month the twentieth ward church at 30 per month and that the salt lake build ing and manufacturing company be allowed twenty one days additional time for the completion of the gwei building on account of the delay occa atoned in the delivery of the premises to the contractor adi adapted apted superintendent millspaugh Mille paugh presented a statement endorsed by the committee OU on sites ald aid buildings recommending that cheh icks school buil building d I 1 ng be retained for the use of the primary children and that kal ao mining and repairs be done on the second third ninth tenth eleventh reventh tb twelfth thirteenth armstrong building sixteenth seventeenth entee nth eighteenth Eighteen tb nineteenth NIneteen tb whitney cone and twenty chiru abir a schools school and that george forester le be employed to make needed minor repairs on the buildings Luil dings the report was adopted and the committee empowered to get the work done at the lowest possible poe sible figure the committee on school work reported that it had considered the time for opening the schools for the ensuing year and recommended that they open on monday sept 12 adopted the committee on teachers presented superintendent millspaugh s recommendation men dation far salaries of teachers tor for the coming year and also a further list of candidates which he recommended to be employed as tea chert rc total the average salary of teachers and ana principals is the last months payroll pay roll amounted to being at f L the annual rate of the estimate for teachers two leas lea than the total of last year less the night school is being at the rate ol of less than that of last year the salaries range irom from to 1250 per year THE HIGH SCHOOL only two members of the committee having signed the report on the high school and the rule of the board being that a majority three being necessary the ru rule to was suspended and the report was read as follows follow salary salary teachers last r this year W B R malone principal 1800 1800 P F M 1400 1400 IG 16 G LOO boo 1400 miss LM I 1 M frye 1000 miss ni nf I 1 davis Da viB 1000 baldwin and young signed the report and recommended the schedule be adopted vice president nelson vacated the chair in favor of mr dooly and read a minority report of the committee on teachers with respect to the schedule of pay for high school teachers SPECIAL SCHOOL TAX REFUND in the matter of the refunding of the special school taxes the finance corn cittee made its promised special report as fol follows lowe when this board of education was brat organized in july 1890 the most troublesome question was that of the finati finances cep the board was given no means but inferentially under the law it was supposed to succeed to the possession of the anticipated revenue from the special taxation levied in the twenty one former school districts of the city but this taxation was very unequal ui equal rang ing from one eighth of one por cent to one and a quarter per cent in those districts abich bich had bad made tax levi levies two districts bad made no levies at all besides the evident inequality of pooling for general benefit the revenue derived in this manner a further inequality existed in the feet fact that some dome of the old districts had bad valuable pro properties pertie paid for by the people under the old b leal cal district system while others of such nuch districts not only had bad littleox litt little leor or nothing too to turn into the common property account but were on the contrary in debt yet the law maule maie this board the recipient of the old district debits as well as their assets and the buc question stion was what could be done in the way of adjust ment m nt from the very first the board saw the inequalities involved in this consolidation realized them in much greater degree than did the general public it also proved its earnestness earnestne ab in ID seeking a remedy the record being as fol follose follo lowe wc august 21 1891 on motion of mr williams the nuance finance committee was authorized zed to employ counsel in order that an equitable settlement or adjustment may be had in the collection of the taxes at as early a date as possible august 28 1890 mr nelson moved that it be the sense of this board that the burdens of the school maintenance as regards property rights be equalized and that the committee on audit audil be requested to report the proper form in which the adjustment shall take place same date it was moved by mr pike that it is the dense of this board that the taxes assessed in any any local school district so far as practicable and necessary shall be expended in such district until their actual necessities for school buildings are supplied sept september ember 24 1890 the auditing committee in response to the above order of the board reported as foll follows resolved first that we request all the outgoing trustees to furnish a full inventory of the school property in their districts and affix thereto a reasonable and fair cash valuation for the same and that the county collector be to furnish the net amount of t tax to bs be collected from each district in 1890 for the purpose of ascertaining the total amount of school property in the city and the taxes to be collected collected in order that a uniform rate of tax can be computed which it would be necessary to assess if desired to pay for this his property and that this committee be a authorized to procure from the city assessor the total asbe assessed aged valuation of property in the cit city showing the amount in each of the ol 01 old TV school districts from which to determine the proper proportion each district should have fied under a uniform tax rate as s above suggested second that ach ch district be then charged or credited as the case came may be with the difference between the amount amoun t actually turned over and what its proportion would be on the basis of said uniform tax third that the next session of the legislature be petitioned by this board to frame such a law as an will enable us to correct the inequalities found to exist between the various districts and that the clerk of this board be requested to furnish a copy of these resolutions to the outgoing trustees and to the press signed JOHN N PIKE committee T C on GEORGE W SNOW J audit subsequently at a meeting of the finance committe date not cause rao LO record was made but prior to the litigation as an to these taxes the chairman of that committee submitted the proposition to cover the in equalities of those taxes by the josue issue of bonds and refund to the people pay ing the tax as was subsequently done but at bret fi ret the supposition was wall that all would pay the taxes and all would be repaid without contention or wasteful struggles struggle after the litigation was practically practical completed this suggestion was te re dewed to the board direct and was as adopted adopt eo but those who were victorious r to in uie he suits declined to meet the boards overtures 0 apparently oblivious of the facts 0 of f this board or doubtful to its ability t to 0 procure relief the victorious suits in r resistance si to the sol collection lection of th these special school district taxes of 1890 began there were several af them an and n they varied in form but all ail tended tedde led to the one purpose of having oe taxes declared void this board w was obliged to defend or see the cases go b by y default it therefore appeared in sup 3 D I 1 port of the validity of the school taxes when these were finally declared to be valid the court declaring that the percentages levied have been collected on the roll of 1889 the question was whether we should ask aek a mandate for such collection or quiet the mandate proposition was wa deemed utterly impracticable i though the court declared that the taxes should be collected on the assessment nt roll of 1889 there was no practicable way to make such collection therefore BO as further steps were taken A portion of those who had ought fought the tax resisted coi collection lection from the beginning adf them the result was clear they hod hid nothing to recover but a large amodid had been paid under protest to W te collector and the payers claimed their due the sum of bad been paid over by the collector to the treasurer of ti alis is board bm of taxes collected without protest in asmuth as some of the taxpayers had paid nothing on their taxes and othen were about to receive back the amolato they had paid the board of educates considered it but fair to also repay and the legislature was asked to give ghe authority so to do this was readily re corded recorded and the board repaid to every applicant on its lists in fun full i a the applicant api aal lied but here arose an injustice and im position it was wag found that on SM ing up the list on which the wood refund was to be made to protesters under ft he order of the court an arbitrary date had been selected by whom does docs bot ad appear and that all who as app appeared in the collectors books had pala be fore that given date were assumed to 6 have paid the money that was top over to the boards board po treasurer wb all who had paid after that date wen mm assumed to have paid the money mobelia litigation or under protest the lists were made up aco ordis by the collector all who paid th taxes december 1890 and bafo 4 were put in the list who should decolli their money back from the bola boenk those who paid after that date berend were tig in the list who were to receive their fund from the clerk of the court tk had been made receiver for that 1 pter pose those th ose on the latter lafter list had bm AWA taxed about 3 8 per cent of the NL AIR am for court costs and in addition 10 percent per cent tor for attorney fees ifft cent in all had been levy of 18 per who appeared as liti simply imply on those to be said mid need would kantel t nothing but in fact the lists on which this levy was made included many persons persona who had not in any way appeared as ae litigants and who had no desire to appear as such Bu chand and increased mure more than double the a I 1 involved n v alved in the tee claims of tj t ll 11 0 desired to be represented i intire n suite s and consequently the ireen fees involved in the we are informed oder allowing the fame that the total alfou amount nt actually la in controversy I 1 in the suits suite that on en tailed this court refunding was leas than and that the gross amount carried in the claims Claim of all who finally contented consented that appearance might bt in court was about made for them even by the astorr attorneys claims olai yet the basis of the taxing of costs bud anil and attorneys fees was waa acme from because it was this tab was waa reckoned the total sum at issue whether litigants appeared or not we are informed and believe that the representatives of much more than halt half of the amount would have mul much ob preferred that no been taken of them should have in ta the court procedure preferring to rely lj on this boar board I 1 to do them justice without waste or contention but another unjust feature in this matter remains t to 0 be stated by rea son conof of the taking of an arbitrary date 48 above noted doted tor for the line of division between those who protested against toe the payment of these special school who did not some taxes and those ings the reverse of those above referred to took place for whereas in the cats of on the court many were there who did not wish to so 0 o appear and for whose dragging into court no authority whatever appears app earp in the case of th the e boards list some appear who were in fact among the litigants that is to say my some who so ac dually and willingly joined in the suite were by reason of the taking of an arbitrary date instead of the fact in making up the libas put on oil the boards lica and were paid in full with on oat rebate or taxing of costs that they themselves had been instrumental in the result 01 this comille complication atio n was briefly that many who did not want to litigate w we f forced 0 rood to do so go and court costs coats an and IT attorneys fees feea were taxa taxed bd against them teem while others who did want to litigate and who actually did so were turned over to the board to be paid in full without any rebate whatever for an exact statement of those who litigated we refer to collector hardys statement as referee appended hereto and marked exhibit A in addition to the above recital we report that some cost coat bills ba have been presented to this committee and pay ment asked thereon our recommendation in view of the foots facts above cited are that the practical workings of this whole matter be presented to the court by the attorney of this ward board with a view to uch inequities as an it may still be possible to to reach and that the court be asked to apply the large sum nearly four thousand dollars taxed as aa court and attorney cost coats in these suite to ID liquidation of all fees that may have accrued 9 acquitting this board of all liability for the tame or any part thereof or for any ADY cost coat in any way growing out of the suit euit reporting further your com comaites comm mites itee adds adda that under its dire direction ution the sum ou ra of 76 has been to Auguet refunded to the taxpayers of the 85 paid on school taxes of 1890 EXHIBIT A title of court and cause to the honorable the said court the undersigned undersigner under signed was by order of the court dated september appointed referee in this cause to determine what parties had paid to the collector of taxes of salt lake county the fund of which is the subject of this suit being a part of the special school taxes ordered levied in the month of december 1889 by various school districts formerly ex existing tating included within the corporate limits of salt lake city and which has been extended upon the tax assessment roll of salt lake county of the year 1890 and at various times paid into the hands of the collector of said county and to report the amount of such inch fund novion the custody of the court which each of such parties have paid your referee has tor for fifty five days been continuously engaged in the taking 0 of f evidence upon the questions submitted in said order of reference and upon said evidence now reports to the court that thai of the funds now in the custody of the court in this case came the parties whose names are alphabetically set forth in two books or lists hereto attached and made part of this report marked by exhibits paid to the said collector the sums set 0 opposite their respective names the ai said sums being the amounts of said district school taxes assessed respectively against said parties and borne upon sald said |
