Walla Walla School Board Admits to Illegal Spending
After building a high school without public vote, the school board confesses to issuing over $63,000 in unauthorized warrants.
The story, cleaned up
A cleaned-up reading of the newspaper page: spelling and layout repaired, one story lifted off a crowded page. It follows the original closely but it is not a transcription. The original page is below; read it if a detail matters.
The board of education of School District No. 1 has confessed that it has issued illegal warrants to the amount of $63,729.69, calling a special election for June 30th to validate the indebtedness and authorize bonds in lieu thereof. This is a complete vindication of the Statesman's contention that the Washington school was illegally built and that the directors were exceeding their authority in attempting to pay for a high school site and building without a vote of the people. The board had no right to proceed without authority from two-thirds of the voters. Furthermore, the board should address Senator Ankeny, president of the First National Bank, and induce him to waive his bank's lawsuit challenging the school tax, which threatens the district's financial stability.
“The board had no right to purchase the site for the building without authority from two-thirds of the voters expressed at a special election.”
Public school funding battles and the friction between school district expansion and local taxpayers remain a perennial issue in Washington. This 1903 conflict over unauthorized debt reflects a long tradition of civic tension regarding how Walla Walla manages its educational infrastructure and property taxes.
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