School Board Debt Scandal

On the last day of this month the electors of School District No. 1 will vote upon the question of refunding a warrant indebtedness of over $63,000 by issuing bonds. By calling the election to validate those warrants as well as to substitute bonds, the school board admits they were illegally issued, but asks the people to cure the defect by ratifying the indebtedness. So far as the Statesman knows, no considerable number of the taxpayers advocate the repudiation of this debt. The district has unquestionably received the benefit of the money in the construction of buildings and teachers' services. However, the validation of the present illegal indebtedness will not give the board any authority to make another issue of illegal warrants for the completion of the high school building. As the one-and-a-half-percent constitutional limit of indebtedness in this district is less than $60,000, and the present debt is nearly $118,000, it is plain the warrants being issued for the high school building are not authorized by law. The board recently induced business men to take warrants regardless of their illegality to expedite construction, but now those men are inclined to repudiate their agreement, alleging it was secured under misrepresentation. The only plausible explanation for the board's failure to seek bond authority for the high school completion is that warrants draw five percent interest while bonds could be issued at 3.5 percent, and certain parties are very desirous of handling the warrants at the higher rate.