The Jersey City news. (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1889-1906, 1891-02-19
AWFUL SCHOOL NO. 10.
The Board Of Health Orders
it Closed Conflicting Au-
thority and Red Tape.

At meeting held by the County Board
Of Health yesterday. this notification was
unanimously approved:-
TO he Honorable the Board Of Education Of
JERSEY City,
The board Of Health of Hudson county in a
communication 10 your Honorable body bearing
date February 1881, called your attention to the
unsanitary condition OF School No. 10, loc ated
corner of Pierce avenue and Paterson street.
Nothing having yet been done 10 remedy the
condition complained Of the Board again cal Is
your attention to the dangerous sanitary condl-
tion OF the school building, which is a standing
menace to public health, and direct that the
school be forthwith closed until such time as
the existing evils shall be remedied.
PRESIDENT VOORHEES, IMPRESSION
Today called on President Voorhees,
of the Board Of Education and asked him
what he thought Of the action Of the
Board of Health.
He replied:-"My impression Is that II
the Board of Health would spend more
time looking after abbatoir nuisances the
Board would be of more value TO the pub
lie. If the health authorities have the
power to close School No. 10 we shall
obey the mandate, out we will investi-
gate that question before obeying. 1t
IS very serious matter to turn several
hundred children on the streets when we
are unable TO find accommodation for
them in any other quarter. IL is not the
fault of the Board Of Education that there
are no more or better school facilities
furnished. We have peen urging for
years the construction of new school
buildings and proper repairs to other
buildings. The new license law supplies
the funds for the erection of new
school buildings and there is and has
been ample money on hand for that pur-
pose, but the school houses are not built.
''The Board of Education designated
where it desired to have school buildings
erected and passed a resolution to that
effect over two years ago. 1t was
submitted to the Street and Water
Commissioners and they were
requested to erect school in the Fourth
district. Notwithstanding the fact that
our Board has done all that it could to
forward the construction of school build
ings and the public at large has supple
mented the Board, there has been practi-
cally nothing done except the purchase of
sites in the Fifth and Sixth districts"
'In regard TO the order Of the Board of
Health TO close rhe schools, susOose you
will consult counselP
"By all means we will ask the opinion
of Corporation Counsel Edwards, and be
guided by his advice. II he decides that
the Health Board has right to close the
school it will be shut uD. IL for any rea-
son. technical or otherwise, Mr.. Edwards
advises that the Board of Health cannot
compel us to close the school, we will not
close il. If the school
must be closed we will
be acting nder two laws that conflict.
One provides that we shall furnish all
school children between the ages of i've
and eighteen years with school accommo-
dation and the other compels us TO close
the schools and violate the first law. The
trouble is that the school money should
be in the hands of the School Board and
then there would be no trouble. Why,
look at the matter. We are asked to be
responsible for the sanitary condition of
the school buildings and receive no ap-
proDriation to act with. We are
aware that there are many class rooms
in the city that are not what they should
be, that they are overcrowded and in u
bad sanitary condition, but we are power
less to remedy the evil. and notwith-
standing these facts we are obliged TO
turn hundreds Of applicants for admis-
sion to the schools away each month"
''If School No. 10 is closed, will you ask
the Board of Finance for money to repair
the schoolT'
Certainly: just as soon as possible"
THE STREET BOARDS VIEW.
President Charles Somers OF the Board
of Street and Water Commissioners told
me later that the Board of Education had
at its last meeting adopted a resolution
asking his Board 10 put School No. 10 in
a proper condition.
understand me now, l have heard
this" said President Somers. "for
this Board has not yet received
any official communication from the
Board of Education concerning the school.
II the Board informs us officially of what
it wants, the Street and Water Commis-
siohers will send an engineer to the school
to find out what work should be done to
remedy the evil OF course we cannot do
this until we are asked TO do so by the
Board of Education"
Chief Engin eer Ruggles said he thought
that all that would be needed was sewer
connection and that would not cost more
than $3.50.