Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1892-08-05
GROWTH THAT TELLS.
The improvements Made in the Vari-
GUS School Districts.
SUPT. LUCKY TALKS OF THEM.
Many New School Buildings Being Erected
This Season.
NUMBFR OF TEACHERS AND PUPILS

the way of accommodations for pupils will
be made before the opening of the Septem-
Der term of the city schools. A great many
| of the boards have been making additions to
| their buildings, so that there need be no
fear about not having sufficient room. Su-
| perintendent j. ]. Luckey, of the Central
Board of Education, when asked about the
| Improvements and prospects for the coming
school term yesterday, said that Pittsburg
and Allegheny were the best-equipped cities
with schools in the country.
"You read great deal about the number
of children in New York and other cities, I"
Superintendent Luckey continued, "who
are deprived of a common school education
on account of the lack of room. 1t is sell
dom, if ever, you hear such report in
Pittsburg. This fact is readily accounted
for by our system of school government.
We have here what no other city outside Of
Pittsburg and Allegheny is favored with,
and that is what we call the local board
system of government. The schools of
Pittsburg are governed by 81 sub-district
boards, each one being empowered to borrow
money, levy taxes and issue bonds to build
other improvements they see fit In this
way each school is under the direct super
vision of people on the ground who are not
hampered by the red tape of city govern
ment, but can act promptly for themselves.
Every other city, with the two exceptions,
has the school direction under the city
government"
The East End Demuudinr Attention.
"We are doing our best to keep up with
the rapid growth Of the city's population in
providing room for pupils, but the East
End is keeping us humping. The improve
ments which have been made in the various
districts surprise me, when I consider
| them. The Allen district has added q
new building of 20 rooms The Colfox dis
| trict, Twenty-second ward, is one at the larg-
est districts in the city, comprising great
unimproved territory. 1t was established
in '6s, but does not increase much in popu-
1ation on account of there being no rapid
transit lines through it. 1t, however, in
creased its accommodations this year by the
addition of a new two-room house. The
Highland district, Nineteenth ward, is
growing very rapidly, but has made no i'm
provements this year. Homewood, Twenty
first ward, will occupy their new 16-room
house September 1. The Howard district,
Sixteenth ward, is putting an addi-
tional eight rooms on the Bloomfield school
building. Liberty, Twentieth ward, is about
completing an elegant house on the lot for
merly occupied by the old Shakespeare Ho-
tel. think it is 16-room house. Lin
| coin, Twenty-frst ward, is now discussing
the purchase of lot on Larimer avenue,
near the bridge, on which to erect large
building. MinersvilIe, Thirteenth ward, is
adding another story on its Thirty-third
street building. Oakland, Fourteenth
ward, is erecting a new school building near
what was formerly Linden Grove. 1t will
be 16-room house. The Sterrit has new
two-room house about completed. St. Clair,
Twenth-seventh ward, is making an eight
room addition to its upper schoolhouse.
The Thad. Stevens district is at work on q
six-room addition"
More Than Enough Room.
'These are the improvements being made
and will give the city the increased seating
capacity of some 70 rooms. This would
give room for about 5000 pupils. Our
yearly increase has been from 300 to 1000,
so even if the increase this year is phenom-
email, we will have more than enough room.
OF course I am speaking only of the
districts in which these additions have been
made.
Now take the Nineteenth ward for in
stance. 1t will soon be requiring increased
facilities tor it is rapidly growing district.
The district which is the most difficult to
keep pace with is the Fourteenth ward.
This district was established in 1869 with
but eight rooms and when the board under
took to build the Soho and Bellefed houses,
making an addition of 80 rooms, they were
vigorously opposed by one of the city's
most prominent citizens. He said that
it was useless expense to erect such
buildings, claiming they could not be filled
in 40 years. The 40 years have not gone by
yet, aud besides filling the buildings named
to overfowing, the directors have been
obliged to divide the audience halls of the
schools into rooms, and have added house
on Sylvan avenue and are now erecting
16-room house near Linden Grove. With
all the increased capacity we will not have
any rooms to spare in the suburban districts
before the year is out
'There is another interesting thing about
this matter. As the suburban district
rooms fill the city rooms empty. People
are leaving the city for country homes. As
schools have very poor attendance. Take
the city was consolidated this school oc-
cupied IA rooms, now two are all that is re-
quired. The number of unused rooms
in the schoolhouses of the city
Is quite interesting. as it. shows the
decrease in the attendance. One thing
must he said, however, and that is that
many of the vacant rooms have been unoc-
cupied for ten years. but the increase of