The Portland daily press., 1888-02-28
THE SCHOOL BOARD.
Important Meeting of the Commit
teemen Last Evening.
mr.. MCGOWAN Speaks Regarding th'
charge of Drunkenness.
what the Supervisors Say in Theii
Annual Report.


Committee was held last evening. Messrs.
Holden, Dunn, MCGOWAN, Crandall, Ring
and McAlpine were present. The meeting
was called to order by Superintendent Tash,
and, in the absence Of the Mayor, Mr.. Nc
Alpine was appointed chairman.
1t was voted that certain pupils of the diff
ferent schools be allowed to sell tickets for
the Longfellow Statue Association enter
tainment, each pupil selling five tickets to be
given one ticket of admission tos the enter
tainment.
The reports Of supervisors were then
made The resignation of Miss Latham, OF
the North School was read and accepted, and
Miss Kate Connolly appointed permanent
teacher in her place. Miss S. M. Adams was
appointed to a permanent position in the
Brackett street school, and Miss Gertrude
Morse was appointed to take the place OF
Miss Cushing in the High School, whose
leave of absence has been extended. Miss
Minnie A. Files, having passed the required
examination, was granted first-class certifi-
cate.
Mr.. MCGOWAN said that he wished to make
some remarks in regard to certain state
ments which had been made concerning the
Centre street school. He said
"The Centre street school is going on all
right. No scholar of the primary classeyer
went to school drunk, and as to the children
drinking something that stupefied the intel
lect, deny it most emphatically. The ac-
tual state of the school Is sober. Ihere Is
no school in the city that has better order
than the Centre street school, and IL Is IN 10 an an
orderly, sober and progressive state. Ihere
never was but one case OF drunkenness In
the school, and that was one Of the older
Br. Crandall stated that there had been a
great many cases of absence in the High
School, and attributed it to insufficient heat
ing, and illness resulting therefrom.
The Supervisors Report.
The annual report of the Supervisors was
read and accepted. The report says:
The regular meetings of the committee
have been observed. and have been marked
by promptness and care on the part OF the
members. For greater portion OF the year
our fellow-labofer, Col Charles Il. Merrill,
has been laid aside by i'll health, and we
have missed him from our meetings for sew
eral months. His work has been sub-divided
amcng the committee, and as best we could
we have attended to the portion which natu-
rally would have fallen to him. Much time
great interest and Importance to the commu-
nifty. 1t is more than possible that few-ex-
cept those who know by yeXperlence-under-
stand the annoyances and perplexltleS which
attend the joys and satisfactions OF the once.
The last wear has been no exception in Its
demands upon those who have been called
to superintend and supervise our schools;
The question might properly be asked, ana
pressed for an answer, Ought so much
work, consisting of permits. granting
special requests, advice in settlement OF dlf-
ficulties, search for teachers, care Of school
buildings, ETC., etc., to be forced upon those,
who by law are positively forbidden ITO re.
ceiye any compensation for their service?
Ought not the city t0supply proper ones for
attendance to these matters, giving 10 our
superintendent, If need be, assistance which
would allow him to care for all these details +?
The present system-or lack OF h-results
badly for the schools, In that 1t allows eaeh
supervisor to become superintendent OF the
school specially assigned to him. and there IS
a lack Of well defined, uniform manage
ment throughout the city. Each school be-
comes a little monarchy, each supervisor a
little monarch. Such should be the service
of the superintendent that each school, each
teacher, each supervisor, would be forced 10
feel his preseace and the imprint of his hand
would be seen in every department
We may repeat with heartiest approval
the words of one who has done valued SER
y
f. Libby said six years ago, concerning. a
competent superintendent, he ''as executive
officer of the board can do much to shape its
policy and give unity and stability to the
system. To him must practically fail the
work of immediate supervision, whose in
creasing demands cannot be properly met by
members of the board without a large sacri-
fee of personal interests.
"On his fitness to discharge the important
duties Of his position depends in great
q H.. nE flssa
whose management demands practical abili-
ties of high order, combined with large ex-
perience and broad culture" The need of the
schools of the city of Portland today is great
er uniformity OF method. growing out OF a
consistent and we'll considered policy.
The various officers may have been atten-
tive and faithful teachers-than which none
more earnest and consecrated can be found
may have been watchful and cOnslderate OF
their respective duties; but there is lacking
that shaping, moulding, stamping influence
which may be seen and felt in every school
building, in every room.
TEACHER's SALARIES.
To further aid in carrying forward our
work. the attention OF the parents and cltl-
zens should be turned to the subject Of suita-
BILE compensation Of our teachers. The larg-
est salary paid Is $4,000 per annum.and TINS
in a single instance, while the majority re-
ceive $500 or less.
Il seems little less than cruel to ask well
equipped efficient teachers to give the vigor
of manhood and w0manhO0d to tfis work
with the offer of compensation scarcely suffi-
cient to feed and clothe the body. We can
expect no other course to be taken by them
than that when opportunity is offered they
go elsewhere. We cannot afford to thus en-
courage-not to say force -our best teachers
to leave the city, and at the same time pre-
vent the introduction from without Of supe-
~. ,fx.o fnKe Nhnf II,
this matter of teachers salaries, we are be-
hind other cities of the same size. and far
behind some of them. The welfare of the
schools demands generous increase.
SCHOOL EXPENDITURES.
The year just closing has been marked by
generous increase in the amount of the
funds used for school purposes. The school
buildings have had special attention-wholly
merited. During the preceding year land
was purchased and new primary school
building was commenced on Carroll street.
This building was completed during the
past summer and entered for use at the
In this we have building in every way wor-
thy of our city, one admirably adapted
in all of its parts to the work for which 1t
was designed. 1t contains eight large, light,
CHEEKY, well ventilated, and well heated
rooms. So far as it may be safe to base an
opinion in a six months trial, II may be
said that the combination found in the Car
roll street school building Is as near perfect
as can be found aLy where Slight imper-
lection can be detected, but this can be
easily remedied. We have now in this
most valuable school property costing the
city, land included, S35, ,S29 so, and for many
years to come this will meet the demands Of
this important and growing portion OF our
city.
Our oft condemned and continually dis
cussed High School building has once more
been visited by the carpenter, the mason and
the plumber, and, while it is far from per-
feet, it is conceded to be in much improved
condition.
The drainage, heatingand ventilating facil-
tiles were very bad. Apparently the diff
culties in drainage have been removed.
During the last long vacation the COM
mittee on public buildings Of the City Council
introduced the system of heating and ven
tilation known as the 'Williams."
1t appears scientifically correct, but the
highest science fails if conditions are not
favorable. 1t may be possible to heat and
ventilate the building perfectly with its
present construction; but it seems more
probable that such an attempt will fail as
have others.
A general contlagration in that part of the
city would be great calamity but a little
fire in the very interior OF the building
might burn up some difficulties, and make a
way to solve this long disputed question.
Such building as that now occupied by 400
pupils in our High School, and $50 pupils in
the Cumberland aStreet grammar school is