The Seattle post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, Wash. Terr. [Wash.]) 1888-1914, 1893-03-17
NO LAW ALLOWING TT.
Legislative Inaction May Close
the High School.
4 TEST CASE IN THE COURTS.
Legal Opinion Obtained on the Ques.
uoa-DiFectof Prosch AAsweFs
Director spencer.

The abolition Of the Seattle high school
will in all probability be considered by the
board Of education at q special meeting
this afternoon. The legality Of the MAIN
tenance of this school has for some time
been doubted by the members of the
board, but, believing that they were sup
ported Dy public opinion in doing 20, they
decided 70 continue its maintenance until
after the session of the legislature, in
hopes that that body would enact . law
removing all doubt on the subject. The
failure Of the legislature to do this has
brought the board to face . question Of
serious responsibility. It was decided to
obtain legal advice on the question, and it
was submitted to Judge Burke.
Yesterday afternoon ]. B. MacDougall,
ID. A. Spencer and A. p. BurwelI, of the
board Of education, met in the judges Of
fee to hear his opinion, which was rend-
cred orally, for reasons which will appear
later. What the opinion was those pres
ent agreed not to disclose until . full
meeting of the board should be held this
afternoon. At this meeting some action
will be taken in pursuance of this opinion,
and if the opinion be that the msinte-
nance of the high school is illegal. then the
school will probably be abolished at once.
There is reason for believing that Judge
Burke advised testing the question in the
courts at once, and offered the board his
services for that purpose free of charge.
In view of the probability of this being
done, he did not want the full details of
his opinion made public at this time, lest
some portions of it be cited against him in
appearing for the board.
The provision of the constitution in re-
gard to the prohibition of high schools ID
as follows:
The public school system shall include COM
mon schools and such high schools, normal
schools and technical schools AZ may hereafter
be established, but the entire revenue derived
from the common SHOOT fund and the state tax
for common schools shall be exclusively applied
to the support of the common schoolA The
principal Of the common school fund shall re-
main permanent and irreducible. etc.
Section IS of the act Of the legislature es.
tablishing the common schools says:
All common schools shall be taught in the
English language, aud instruction shall be
given in the following braLches, viz: Reading.
penmanship, photography, written arithmetic,
mental arithmetic, geography, English gram
mar, physiology and hygiene, with special refer.
ence to the effects of alcoholic stimulants and
narcotics on the human system, history OF the
United States AMI such other branches Is may
be prescribed by the board Of education.
Director Thomas w. Prosch of the school
board, in an interview yesterday, expressed
himself as follows on the question:
The statement of my position on the high
school question BY Mr.. D. A. Spencer in your
columns the other day does not suit me.
My position 10 based upon the constitution,
upon the law. upon the opinion of number of
the best attorneys in the state, and upon the
facts here and elsewhere. The constitution
clearly and explicitly separates high schools
from common schools. and repeatedly forbids
the application of common school funds to high
school purposes. The intent 10 80 plain - to be
unmistakable. That It was wise and good do
not question. Provision was made for those
communities which might desire higher educa-
ton, the execution Of which provision was left
to the legislature That body has not acted in
the manner contemplated. It has carried out
the constitutional idea Of common schools, but
has gone no further With other citizens sue
ceeded in getting into the two bills introduced
at the late session of the legislature proper
recognition of high schools. and made several
trips to the capital to secure the passage OF one
OF them. Neither bill, however. went through,
and we are today no more favorably situated in
this respect than We were before the session.
SCHOOLS
was not first raised by me, a. asserted, but was
raised in Tacoma. Prosecuting Attorney Smell,
in an opinion concurred in by Attorney General
Jones, informed the Tacoma board of education
two years ago that botany, sociology. Latin, Ger
man, aud studies Of kindred character were not
common school branches, and common school
money could not be taken for their introduction
and maintenance in the common schools. This
opinion 10 shared by the attorney of the Seattle
board OF education. who informs the board
members that BY their violation OF the law they
are liable to get themselves into trouble: that
they can 10 held personally responsible for
every dollar msappropiated in this manner. OF
course, the prohibition extends to the purchase
of high school groundg and TO the erection OF
high school buildings. The members OF the
education board are sworn to obey the consti.
tuition and the laws, aud their deliberate vio-
lation is . serious o6ense At the :ri-city
school conference in Tacoma, two months ago.
1t was called perjury by the Tacoma members
Mr. Spencer said It was nothing more than
malfeasance IN Office. There isn't any particu.
lar difference between the two crimes; disQrace
removal from ONCE, fines and imprisonment
being involved in both. The guilty individual
might be given his choice to hnd the result in
one case the same a. in the other.
Mr.. Spencer says I think the high school
needs no additional room, and that the majority
Of the board and the people OF the city do not
agree with me. DO not make any such aaser.
ton. do positively assert, however, that the
high school, is situated no worse, as far AZ char.
acter OF building, convenience, comforts, locs-
ton and general advantages are concerned. than
the finest school in the city for pupils of the
primary and grammar grades. On the contrary
1t 10 situated in every way better than most of
them. There 10 no comparison with some OF
the primary schools more apt AID pertinent
than that OF the novel compared with the pal.
ace. President Eliot, OF Harvard university.
when here last year. told Principal Hesson.
Superintendent Barnard. Director Spencer aud
me that IL wasn't necessary to apologize for the
Seattle high school: that it was better than that
III the average city of Seattie's class, aud was
good enough. Our only legal duty is TO the
children III the primary and grammar grader
our moral duty is many times greater to them
than TO the pupils of the high school. There
are probably 10000 children OF school age In the
city. IL every school room was occupied by
iorty pupils, which the superintendent SAYS is
too many, we could accommodate less than ha
these children, aud We succeed in ae
commodating 90 many we do only by
exceeding forty children In some rooms and
by using number of wretched storerooma
leased for the purpose. The estimates for a
high school. with grounds, have ranged from
$4,000 10 $Soo,0a The smaller of these suas
would 90 a long way in properly housing the
thousands of little folks Roaming the streets for