Page:Oregon Historical Quarterly volume 25.djvu/140

 122 CHARLES E. LEWIS 'ill called upon the church people to support the church schools and emphasized their importance to the church and to the community. The schools failed to grow, how- ever, and the majority of the students came from outside the church. The financial administration of the two schools was taken out of the hands of the Bishop in 1890 and placed under a Board of School Trustees, consisting of the Bishop as chairman and two lay and two clerical members. In 1893 the vestry of the Church of the Redeemer at Pendle- ton submitted a memorial, suggesting a reorganization and enlarging of the board. This was adopted in a modi- fied form and the board was increased to seven members. The supervision of Bishop Scott Academy remained under Dr. Hill during this period, until his resignation in 1901. In 1888 the Academy was leased to him for five years, upon condition that he assume all indebtedness then exist- ing, and pay thereafter for all fire insurance, taxes, and street improvements, as well as for any new buildings required for the school. It was further agreed that at the expiration of the lease, Dr. Hill was to receive a cash payment of not exceeding $2,000.00 for the value of the buildings added. The first year he expended $9,560 for repairs and improvements alone. The lease was then extended for three years, and by 1895, Dr. Hill had spent about $23,000 on improvements, assessments, etc. Con- trary to the conditions of the lease, the board paid him a considerable amount of this and had to borrow money to do so. Furthermore, the building of the new St. Helen's Hall on Vista Avenue had necessitated the borrowing of $16,000. The payment of interest on these loans, com- bined with the hard times and other factors, rapidly placed the board in a critical financial condition, with the result that by 1899 they were beginning to sell some of their real estate to pay the interest on the debts. The report of the board in 1895 shows the property of the Bishop Scott Academy to be worth $166,102, with in- cumbrances amounting to $12,500. The property of St.