The record-union., 1896-01-07

Marshall building. at Twenty
and j. So it will be that until such
time as the location of the park will he
removed without the city limits, these
three buildings will be of sufficient ca
pacity to accommodate all the primary
pupils in the northern half Of the city.
South Of X street, however, more school
room is needed.
The western half of that territory is
populated to about its permanent ex-
tent, and the school buildings are SO To-
Gated as to have brought about a ma
tural adjustment. The extension of
street car lines into the southeastern
portion of the city, and the consequent
rapid settlement of the heretofore COM
paratively unoccupied territory, has
wrought an inadequacy of accommodate
tions there for the primary pupils. In
1894 the colored school building was
moved out and annexed to the Fremont
building, at Twenty and N thus
adding two classrooms there; and this
year two rooms were built on to the
Jefferson building, at Sixteenth and N;
but these additional accommodations
have proven insufficient. Residents in
the extreme southeastern part of the
city have petitioned this board for. the
establishment of a school within their
| territory, to relieve the crowded condi-
tion, particularly of . the Fremont
school. They urge, also, that they
| should be accommodated with school
at a location where their children will
not have to travel so far.
The justice of this request is mani
fest, and I regard the establishment of
~
during the year 1896. Although the
three grammar schools are well filled,
and although the Sutter building, at
Twenty-first and L, was for the first
time this year used exclusively for
grammar school children, the last pri-
mary classes having been removed from
there to the Jefferson building, their
condition is not such as to demand at
tention at this time, so far as the
question of capacity is concerned.
THE HIGH SCHOOL.
The Importance of the High School
cannot be over-estimated. 1t is the only
school that is directly under the con-
troll of the municipal government. It
is the university of the common people
1t is we'll and honorably represented
among the graduates and pupils of
Berkeley and of Stanford.
| OF this school I speak with especial
pride, as a member of this board and
as a citizen, in recognition of the abil-
| ity with which it is being conducted,
and the quality of it's product. Among
its pupils are a number from the county
outside of the city, and from other
counties, flattering recognition of its
standing by discriminating parents.
The unexpected increase of it's pupilage
within the last two years has brought
about the absolute necessity of provid-
ing a larger building within the year
1896. Two rooms were built on to the
present structure in 1894, but the
building is entirely inadequate to ac-
| commodate the classes the present
year. The lot is but so by $50 feet,
and the plan of the building is such
that no further additions are advisa-
BILE. There is no doubt that Sacramento
has the smallest and least satisfactory
high school building of any city of her
size on the coast. Most cities of $4,000
| have high school buildings costing from
$4,000 to $250,000, and in some cases
even more.
The best work by earnest teachers
cannot be performed in rooms contain
| ing sixty pupils. 1t is not wise for us,
either as parents or as directors of the
] education of the young, to rest content
with what we can possibly get along
with-we want and we ask for that
with which the best results can be OBJ
tanned. Two hundred and sixty-six pu-
pills in six rooms, two of which are but
| large enough to seat thirty-fve pupils
each, with any degree of comfort; two
hundred pupils in four rooms, some re-
| citing, and others endeavoring to pre-
| pare lessons while the recitations are
| going on; the Principals Office in the
end of the boys hall, six feet by eight,
| the most prominent piece of furniture
! therein being a washstand. These
| things leave no question as to the need
of a new high school building.
But to add one other reason why /, as
| President of the City Board of Educa-
ton, feel compelled to dwell upon the
urgency of this need, is the fact that
next year there must be two senior
classes, and there will be no place for
one of these classes. There are about
ninety members of the middle classes
who give token of promotion. If 70 per
cent. of these be promoted, another
room must be provided for seniors. The
rooms at present occupied by the mid
die classes are crowded, the rooms oc-
cupied by the junior classes are over
! crowded We endeavored to rent the
i Sunday -schoolroom of the First Bap-
| tist Church, on Ninth street, but were
not successful. We shall simply be
| crowded out next October.
In the estimates that will be submit
ted to the City Board of Trustees for
1896, there will have to be included a
sum to erect a new High School build
! ing. The Perry lot, on I street, is large
enough for the contemplated structure,
though it would look much better if the
building would be placed on a corner
| lot. When the new High School will be
erected 1 sincerely trust it will be of
such character as will be an ornament
| to the city, and that it will be SO de-
signed that it will meet the anticipated
requirements of many years to come.
Perhaps the criticism may not be well
received by some. yet deem it apt
| that this city should be ashamed of its
public buildings. There are none worthy
/ of designation except those that have
been provided by the School Depart
ment The other structures of a public
character that are really ornamental to
the city have been provided by the
bounty of the Federal and State Gov
ernments.
If the Board of Trustees will join with
the Board of Education, Sacramento
| will have a High School building of
such design and construction as will
demonstrate that the city as corpora
tion is imbued with the same spirit of