The San Francisco call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913, 1895-07-01
A MILLION FOR SCHOOLS,
Proposition Advanced to Rad
icaIIy Improve the Pub
lie Schools.
VILE SANITARY CONDITIONS
Startling Report by Director We
Elroy-ss3e, 900 Needed at ohce.
The Schools Concerned.

The fever of progress and development
along large lines of local Improvements
has nuickened the pulses OF the gentle
men of the Board of Education, anu
they want something like Sl,lZo,ooo
for the permanent improvement OF tEe
seventv-three school buildings OF san
Francisco over and above the demand Tor
maintaining them. OF this sum $500 ooo Is
REQUIRED Immediately for the repair ana
sanitary alteration of sixty-three schools.
And in this connection School Director
McEIrov has submitted for the first time
in the history of the department report
which is startling demonstration OF the
wretched, unclean and rlckety condltloh
of the public schools.
1t seems that after nearly fifty years OF
corporate existence, after fifty years OF
municipal legislation, after fifty years OF
appropriating millions of money to secure
durable schools, nearly half million dol
lars is needed for immediate repairs and
over one million for their permanent I'm
provement.
But startling as these facts and flgures
are, they are not counter to the statement
Director MeElroy made yesterday while
port.
"There isn't school building in San
Francisco said McElroy, that is in true
sanitary condition, except the few new
buildings in course of erection. Some are
actually not connected with the street
sewers others are not fit to be inhabited
and are positively dangerous to health and
limb"
Now School Director McElroy is me-
chanic as we'll as School Director, and
what he says is entitled to respectful con-
sideration therefore.
For six months past he, School Director
Henry T. Scott and Head Carpenter Kin
caid have been making thorough examina-
tions into the condition OF every school IN
the City-a task never before attempted on
so large and productive scale.
Director McElroy filed his report with
the Board of Education last Wednesday
evening, and his associates have been doing
lots of hard thinking ever since.
The board has already asked the Super
visors to appropriate 81 ,237, 900 for the
schools, but when the sum OF $903, 900 steps
down and out as the total for salaries, and
| a few other amounts follow after, little will
be left for school improvements-and it is
not certain, even, that the Supervisors will
grant the amount asked. Then the sum
| of $40 900 is expected from the State, but
| here again the amount will be distributed
| into as many ''funds" as there are star
clusters in big skyrocket.
The Directors have reached the conclu-
! sion that some heroic measures must be
| taken to meet the urgent demand for big
money to improve the school buildings,
and while they have not formulated plan
| to meet the emergency they are deter
mined to leave no stone unturned to try to
secure the money needed in the amount
required.
Meanwhile listen to School Director A.
! McElroy:
"Six months ago." he said yesterday,
| 'the committee in charge of school inn
provements decided on nay suggestion to
] thoroughly look into the needs of the vari-
/ Gus buildings. Our work is Just COM
| pleted. We visited sixty-one schools. Not
one of them is in perfect sanitary condi-
| ton; and, in fact, not any of the schools
have proper sanitary conditions. Many
of them are crowded to suffocation. The
ventilation in several is wretchedly INSULT
| cient. Several others are uninhabitable
and an offense to every sense but that OF
| hearing. There are districts where, alto
gether, over 1000 children live for whom
there are actually no school facilities. The
Bernal Heights School needs so per cent
more room. The Irving School on Broad
way is an old, unsafe building. Half of
| the schools have not been whitened for
years. The walls are grimy.
THE Lincoln School on Fifth street is a
| disgrace from garnet to basement. The
| roof is ready to fall in. The sanitary con-
| dition is too shocking to describe in detail.
| and more room is needed for pupils.
| ''In The Sunnyside and Sunny Valley
| districts there are no school facilities at
] all.
! 1.-THE Marshall Primary School, in the
| rear of the Mission Grammar, is not fit to
| be inhabited. 1t contains twelve misera-
| bly, ventilated rooms, where 600 children
| sit all day. and the sanitary conditions
| are sufficiently bad to cause healthy de-
| velopment of typhus.
"To remedy this horrible condition of
affairs we shall try our best to secure
enough money from the Supervisors and
from the State. Over 81 900, 900 is required
| to make any radical improvements, but
our first effort will be to meet the necessi-
| ties indicated in my report"
| The following table shows the character
of the repairs and improvements needed,
| the number of schools requiring them and
| the estimated cost as prepared by School
| Directors A. McElroy and Henry T. Scott
and i kipcaid thp head carnauter Of th a