Hide Article Text (OCR)
Bricks And Bouquets For Board Of EducationTHE PRICE HILL NEWSPage 7-A, May 14, 1969aside approximately one percentof its $60' million budget forMembers ..of the Cincinnati Board of Education came in for bricks and bouquets at the first night meeting of the Board in the Western Hills Monday-evening. The meeting, held at Western Hills High School, attracted several hundred people although the public representation appeared to be outweighed by the school personnel.Following a welcome by Principal Arthur Haviovic in which he traced the development of the community and the expansion of the school 'system to meet it over the past 20 years, Charles Staab, chairman of the levy campaign was introduced, and Russell S. Adams., campaign director, gave an optimistic and hopeful report on the progress of the campaign,GOEBEL'SChoice Meats3928 Glenway Ave. Tel. 251-2880-251-2881OPEN FRIDAY EVE 'TIL 9 P.M.FREE DAILY DELIVERY TO PRICE HILL DELHI |PARTRIDGEBREAKFAST LINKS79 eBONELESS ROLLED //PORK ROAST c69LBHOME BOILEDHAM1.09LBwhich will be climaxed by the special election Monday.“Our aim is to make sure every citizen understands the plight of our schools. If we are unsuccessful, it will be because we failed to get the message across,” Mr. Adams said, noting that Cincinnati has done the poorest Job .of— funding _ its schools with, the lowest tax rate of any metropolitan school district in the State and the lowest in Hamilton Country except Norwood, St. Bernard and Lock land with their industrial bases.Bricks Come FastThe bricks came fast after Harry Hopkins., Board president, opened the meeting to theaudience, but were fielded surely by Board members; Dr. Paul A. MSjller, superintendent, and mertibfers of his administrativestaff.Paul Lottman, of Price Hill,raised questions regarding school discipline or the lack of same in the schools, citing various incidents, he had observed, at Woodward High School and Hoffman and Douglas Schools.Noting the school administration shared this concern in discipline problems. Dr. Miller observed that there has been no hesitancy to “cracking down”, even to the point of calling on the police when -occasion justified.. Dr... John W,. S h r eve, a^socia teUniversity On The March In Behalf Of School LevyCitizens in agreement: left to right, Kathy Rawlings, Richard Manning, William Bocklage and Cam Bocklage.Between 50 and 60 tnentbets £Cincinnati to remember thatfaculty, and about 100 students were . out' ringing doorbells, in Price Hill and Cheviot on Monday to distribute literature on the school tax levy and to try to persuade the uncertain that “there is no other way.”Richard Manning, 4444 Carnation Ave., shown second from the left above, was raking his front. lawn when he was appro a c h e d by William Blt;pcklage, 1890 Church wood. Dr., with two pretty co-eds from UC.Mr. Bocklage, an assistant professor of English, and the two sophomore girls, daughter. Cam Bocklage and Kathy Rawlings, found a receptive audience in Mr. Manning who‘the '-Cincinnati public school system, is in a state of decline.” A fact sheet, prepared by the League of Women Voters states “Homes in Cincinnati already are less desirable than in nearby school districts due to the defeats of past tax levies.”Many of the students and professors involved in the campaigning are from the Western Hills area... But Mr. Osterbrock stressed the levy is not just a neighborhood concern, adding that it affects each person in Greater Cincinnati. «.The group chose the two Western Hills neighborhoods because voters in these .areassuperintendent, stated that “new aveuugs of communication (with the students) were being opened and more non-professional adult supervision is being supplied.” He concluded, “I think we are making gains and would like to ■ believe we are ‘over the hump’.” James Sales, of Westwood, questioned the argument that industry wi.ll locate elsewhere if the levy fails, contending that such factors as a favorable tax climate, and adequate and economical power and water supplies and transportation are more important to industry than a good educational system,Mrs. Virginia. Griffin, Board nrffmber, cited a Medical Journal article warning young doctors not to locate in Cincinnati because of its declining educational system. Mr. Hopkins suggested that Mr. Sales check with managers and directors of such industries, as Procter Gamble, General Electric and others', which are heavily supporting the levy campaign, to determine the value they place on good education for their people-, who he described as “the most valuable asset of industry”.Harry Franke, president of the Westwood Civic Assn., stated that he resented the implication that all persons voting against the levy are not in’favor of good schools. Proclaiming he had a long kst of criticisms of the -Board’s spending policy, he led off by questioning the wisdom of granting the $5,000 annual salary increased to Dr. Miller last Jan. 13 fin the face of severe fund shortages.In reply to r-the latter s t a t e m e n t, H a r ry Hopk ins, Board president, said that the Board felt that Dr. Miller was. “the best and most competent man available” for the superintendent’s post. Mr. Hopkins added that, despite the many high-budgeted offers for his talents elsewhere, Dr. Miller voluntarily took a salary cut to return to his former Cincinnati home community .and head the school system..Mr. Hopkins further said that Dr. Miller refused salary hikes on four occasions in the past two ytfrs until the Board determined in January that he must accept au n.foresee n e mergenci.es,On Mr. Franke’s charge that the Board spent too much money to buy land and to construct the buildings for High in College$5,000 annual increase—largely because many of his assistants’said that both he and Mrs. *‘‘have consistently voted againstpay brackets, were about td coincide wijth his own. “It was simple justice in a competitive market that we grant him this raise!” he declared.In answer to Mr. Franke’s allegation that the Board does not need as much as $500,000 in a contingency fund; Mr. Hopkins asserted that the administration is following the policy of any large bus,in.ess. corporation, to setAiken Senior Hill and several other Cincinnati schools in recent years, Joseph M. Beckman, assistant superintendent in charge of the depart men t of planning, said that Cincinnati schools .are rated by building authorities in the nation as being very durable and that the school building costs are rated as average”.When Mr. Franke mentioned rumors that carpets were being installed, in some school rooms, Mr. Hopkins said that this has occurred only in some libraries and resource centers, where he declared, “It sometimes is cheaper to install a carpet than a hardwood floor”. Mr. Franke, who is a carpeting firm associate, grinned and exclaimed, “That’s the truth—because that’s my business!” The audience applauded warmly.Some Bouquets, Too Countering the variety of “brickbats” in the earlier portions of the meeting were “bouquets” of praise by several other audience members.One memorable “posie” came from Charles W. Reusing, president of the Cincinnati Federal Savings and Loan Association of 'Price Hill and Mi. Lookout. He declared, “We’re doing everything backwards here, tonight. I congratulate the Board for doing a good job. But 1 never heard of* anybody standing up to applaud the Federal surtax! Our fight should not be against the taxes at the ... local school district level. It should be at the State-house and Congress levels where our taxes are really too high! Those are the places where we can control inflation!”Also complimenting the Board’s administratibn of schools was Westwood’s Robert T. Binhammer, a teacher at the University of Cincinnati.A. H. Huneke, president of The Western Hills Publishing Co., which publishes the Western Hills Press and Price Hill News, told the Board that he and his newspapers would continue to support the members of the Board of Education and their proposed school levy.He also expressed personal, regret at the announcement that Board Members Harry Hopkins, Alice P. Bruckmanh and Frank Davis plan to retire at the close of their terms next Dec. 31, but added that he did not blame them “because the blood-thirsty public demands scapegoats ant frequently drive good publii servants from, office. The audienc stood and annlauded
Newspaper Details
The News
Cincinnati, Ohio, US
Wed, May 14, 1969
Page 7
Full Page
Clipped by
Cincinnati A.
OH, USA 19 Mar 2024
Other Publications Near Cincinnati, Ohio
Cincinnati Kentucky Times Star
Cincinnati Christian Age
Cincinnati Israelite
Cincinnati North Journal
Weekly Cincinnati Times
