Newspaper Clippings for
December, 1960
5 December 1960
MILLBURN TO VOTE ON NEW SCHOOL
Bond Issue
MILLBURN - A school building at the northwest corner of
Millburn and Crawford roads a half mile east of this community is
proposed in a $190.000 bond issue referendum Saturday.
The Board of Education of the Millburn Community Consolidated
School Dist. 24, which comprises three members of the former
Browe School Dist. 16, recently annexed to the Millburn district
announced the election will be held from noon to 7 p.m. in the
Millburn School building.
The board has obtained an option to buy 14.1 acres of land
belonging to Mrs. Beatrice Anderson at $1,000 an acre.
On this site the district would build a school with six
classrooms, an office, and an all-purpose room.
The new building would house 89 pupils now attending Millburn
and Browe schools and take care of a reasonable future growth.
The state fire marshal said the two-room Browe school is not
fit for use as a part of new construction and the board believes
it would be more advantageous financially to erect a new building
than to add to the present two-room Millburn school.
A survey made before the consolidation of the Millburn and
Browe districts recommended the consolidation and the abandonment
of buildings with basement classrooms, to be replaced by a new
building on a site between the two small buildings and located on
a "hard road."
The survey drew the conclusions that the population of the two
school districts will be stable five to 10 years, the present
school sites are too small and inadequately developed; the
classrooms are too small and have heating and ventilation
deficiencies and do not have the facilities to provide a modern
elementary program; the students' health is endangered by dirty
and unsafe conditions; the Millburn school is overcrowded,
whereas the Browe school is too small to insure groups of
adequate size at each grade level; the burden of teaching four
separate grades is too great for a teacher; and the cost of
renovating existing physical facilities would be prohibitive.
A letter by the School Board informs residents of the district
that both schools have been issued conditional certificates by
the State.
"In most instances, the issuance of conditional certificates
is the forerunner of removing the schools from accredited
positions and unless some immediate action is taken we will have
no alternative but to allow our schools to be absorbed by other
districts," the letter said.
Chalmers Associates of Grayslake has been hired to draw plans,
a sketch of which was included in the letter.
The Board announced that a savings in the 1961 budget already
has been effected, placing the tax rate at 55 cents on each $100
assessed valuation.
If bonds are sold in the amount of $190,000 on a 15-year
retirement plan, the additional cost to the taxpayer will be
about 28 cents per $100 assessed valuation.
"This will constitute an approximate increase in taxes of 4.9
to 5.9 per $100 assessed valuation based on the old rate for
Millburn for 79.9 and that of Browe which was 78.1," the letter
said. "This means our tax rate for 1961 would run about 56 cents
for operation and 28 cents for the building bonds, or a total of
84 cents on the $100 assessed valuation."
This is in comparison with $1.17 in Lake Villa district;
Gurnee $1.607, and Woodland $1.31 where the district might be
absorbed.
LaVerne A. Dixon, attorney for the School Board, said that
Millburn School District 24 now has a bonding power of
approximately $225,000 and that since neither it nor the former
Browe district had any bonded indebtedness, the proposed bond
issue of $190,000 to finance the purchase of the land and erect
the building is well within the bonding limit.
Members of the Board of Education are William H. Paulsen,
president; Donald Truax, secretary; George DeYoung, Lawrence D.
Snell, Paul M. Neal, former president of the Browe district; Mrs.
Erna N. Vanderspool, former clerk of Browe; and Louis V. Cook,
Browe Member.
Withdrawing to make room for the Browe three-member board,
were Roy and Howard J. Bonner, and John Thain.
Under the new law the board does not need to propose the terms
of the bond issue, but may, if the issue is approved, seek the
best terms.
"The Lake County Civic League will be consulted on this
matter," Dixon said.
12 December 1960
HUGE MAJORITY VOTE FOR MILLBURN SCHOOL
Bond Issue Wins, 149-17
MILLBURN - Millburn School District voters passed by a wide
margin a $190.000 bond issue Saturday for school construction.
The vote was 149 in favor and 17 opposed with five spoiled
ballots.
The number of persons going to the polls was a good
representation considering the size of the district, LaVerne
Dixon, attorney for the Board of Education, said.
The bond issue was sought to purchase 14.1 acres of land at
the northwest intersection of Wadsworth and Crawford roads from
Mrs. Beatrice Anderson and erect a school building with six
classrooms, an all-purpose room, office and storage rooms.
Next step of the board will be to instruct the architect, Hal
Chalmers, Grayslake, to complete plans and specifications on
which bids will be sought.
EARLY BOND SALE
"We will have to sell the bonds soon so that we can purchase the
land," said Dixon. The option calls for a payment of $1,000 an
acre.
Dixon said that the board will seek the advice of the Lake
County Civic League on the sale of the bonds.
"We don't have too much of a problem, because the district has
no bonded indebtedness," he said.
Millburn Consolidated School District 24 comprises the former
Browe School District 16, both with one-room buildings and
basement.
The voters chose to erect their own building rather than annex
to surrounding districts whose tax rates are higher.
It has been estimated that if 15 years are taken for the
retirement of this issue, the increased cost to the taxpayer will
be 28 cents on each $100 assessed valuation.
