Waterbury evening Democrat., 1893-09-28
CENTER SCHOOL DISTRICT.
Annual Report of the Board of Educat on and Finance
 Committee.

Condition of the School.
 The Center school district of the town of Waterbury was organized under a special charter. granted by the state legislature in May, 1s49. Ia 1880, the legislature repealed the first charter and gran'ei a new one which is now in force.
 h this respect the public school system Of this district differs materially from the sYs- tenn prevailing in other towns and cities of the state.
 Its ff4irs are managed under the pro visions of the charter and il comes only in- directly under the common school laws of the state.
 The territorial limits Of the Center school district are much larger than those of the city of Waterbury, but are some what less than those of the town.
 In the latest published report Uf the state board of education. Ihe total number of chill dren of school age in the town Of Waterbury is given as 9.056; and of these $. .22I belong to the Center school district, leaving only sS5 for the other small districts of the town.
 Un the first Monday of October of every year tht legal voters of the Center school district choose, by ballot, board of educa- ton, consisting of seven members. and a dis trict committee, consisting of five members i; also treasurer, two auditors and clerk. No person can vote for more than tour members of the board of education or more than three members of the district committee. This allows q minority representation on each board. The board of education has control and management of the educational affairs of the district, and the district committee of the | dnancial matters.
 In preparing this report the object has 1 been 10 present a statement of matters, com i ing within the province of the board of edu- | cation, which shall correctly represent the condition of affairs. which shall not gloss l over nor txtenuate imPerfections and defects | nor refuse praise where praise Is due. IL is | difi cult to treat of a large number of sub Jects, nor of any one subject in .tUllness of l detail, within the limits which custom has | prescribed for the annual report.
 Thos, deeply interested in education | should study the last report of the state board of education, making a book of more than one thousand pages. which gives very i complete view of the common school system Of the state, of which Waterbury forms an | important part.
 | SCHOOL BUILDINGS.
 All the school buildings, fourteen In num- 1 Der, now in use in the district have been | erected within the last twenty-two years They contain eighty-f four school rooms and some have recitation rooms in addition. l They are substantially built, are good re- l air and afford ready egress in case or Are. Two Of them, namely the Bank street. and the Clay street buildings, are excellent in de- l sign and will compare favorably with any | other sctool buildings of the state of the same grade.
 "The climate of q school room" is a con- | venient expression to denote the condition of the room regards light. .temp perature. mois- 1 ture, purity of the air. Most of our school l buildings are well and properly lighted, with i the light coming from the left and rear of 1 the pupil when sitting at the desk. Most of 1 our school buildings are we'll heated. Tie 1 new system of heating in the High school and Elm street buildings proved quite satis- ! factory last winter.
 i VENTILATION.
 ! The Clay street and Bank street buildings are well ventilated by an approved system of heating and ventilation which formed d part ] of their original plan of construction. This 1 system Is very successful in cold weather 1 when tue furnaces give their full supply of heat. In mild weather it Is not SO efficient. 1 In all other school buildings of the district with the exception of a few rooms in the Elm street building and perhaps one or two in the ! High school building, and part of the East { Gaylord school, the ventilation is quite insult fcient and the air becomes foul and very un- ! healthful soon after the opening of each ses-
  called ventilating registers must be supple mented by q current through open windows Fresh air may be thus obtained, but with great loss of heat and a dangerous exposure to draughts. No natural or gravity system of ventilation is at all times successful in well-filsd churches, public halls and school rooms. The best ventilation calls for a com pit ts change of the ar in the room every fifteen minutes. This can be accomplished only by an inlet driving-fan or an outlet ex- haust-fan. or better, by both. Ventilating ex- haust wheels or fans could be placed. at little expense, in many Of our school buildings. They could be run by small water or electric motors. This would improve the ventilation ID such buildings from 60 to 70 per cent.
 The ventilation of a school room ought 10 be automatic, requiring noattsution on the part Of a teacher. In most of our schools, however, it is very irksome task, calling for much thought, time and attention away from the duties of instruction. Waterbury is not behind the rest Of the state in thi2 respect. There are but few well-ventilHted school buildings. Ths same is tCus of churches and of public halls.
 We shrink from using water in which another has washed his hands. How much more should we shrink from bathing the sur faces oi the air passages. the nosrils, throat and lungs) with the eXhalations of another. The breath of person. even in perfect health is poisonous. Fifty pupils in a school room will throw of ir the form Of cutaneous and pulmonary calculations. in one month Of five hours each day, 75O pounds, which contains much putrescible matter and in rooms deficient in ventilation Is precipitated and gives in its decay the peculiar odor oi badly ventilated roome. These respiratory impurities furnish the best possible condi- tions for the growth and dissemination oi disease-pIoducing microbes"
 People do not sufficiently realize the hurtful nature of impure air; how it vitiates the blood, interieres with the circulation, ac. cumulatinG in the right heart and lung and produces asphyxia in some degree; under mines the constitution; lays the foundation for serious organic disease, as pre-eminently consumption. It is estimated by competent observers that fully forty per cent. of all fata diseases are due indirectly to impure air."
 OTHER SANITATION.
 The improved system of water-cIosets lately introduced into the Washington school, Sper " street school, Bishop street school anC Welton street school, has proved entirely sat isfactory. The dry-air closets in the Banl street, Clay street and East Gaylord schooli are also entirely satisfactory. Most of tht outbuildings connected with the other sehooli are ineonvenient, offensive and unhealthful CROWDED CONDITION OF SCHOOL BUILDINGS
 Several Of the school buildings are mort than full and do not furnish sufficient accom- modations for the pupils in attendance Rooms intended for fifty children have to b. crowded with more than douLle that number
 The subject Of ventilation has been treated ] of fully because of the act passed by the las legislature, ITO secure proper sanitary pro visions and proper ventilation in schoo houses" See page 150 Of public acts, passeC