People's voice. [volume] (Wellington, Sumner County, Kansas) 1890-1917, 1897-05-06
COUNTY HIGH SCHOOL KILLED.
The Board Of Education Refuses a Lease
on the City School Building, aud the
County High School Project Is Dead.

The board OF education killed the
county high school Tuesday night. A
motion to lease the city high school
building TO the trustees OF the county
high school, 10 be used for purposes
designated in House Bill No. 756 was
voted down. This settles the matter,
and unless the board Of county COM
miSsl0ners see hit TO lease some other
Ou'idlng for That puip pose, county
nigh school in Sumner county is be-
yOnd the range OF possibilities.
There had been great deal OF con-
tentiOn between the members Of
The board Of education of this
Guy aud the high school trustees
appointed by the board Of county
commissioners al its last meeting, as
to who should dictate the election of
a faculty for the county school. The
board of education wanted to control
the county nigh school 10 a certain
extent. They wanted sufficient in
luence with the trustees TO control
the faculty at all times in order to
protect and preserve the present eX-
cellency of the city high school. 1t
was generally agreed by the board and
the trustees that il the county high
school was to be established it should
be in conjunction with the city high
school, An attempt TO establish the
new school separate aud apart from
the city high school could result in
nothing but an ignomnOus failure
for the former, and would work to the
detriment Of the latter. The two
boards FLASHED on the question of con-
troll.
The joint session Of the city school
board and county school trustees
which was held in the county super
intendentS Office Tuesday afternoon
lasted until after 4 o'clock and result
ed in nothing but talk. The trustees
II the county high school then went
into executive session and stayed
there until $3.50 o'clock. They agreed
upon an ultimatum to the board of
education, which virtually declared
that they would not submit TO the
dlctaJionS of the school board in the
election Of a faculty for the county
high school. This practically sound
ed the death knell Of the enterprise.
When the board of education met
last night to listen to and consider the
report of the committee that had been
appointed to confer with the high
school trustees, there was nothing left
them to do do but submit TO the ulti-
matum or refuse TO lease the school
building. Curtis moved that lease
of two years on the high school build
ing be made TO them. Campbell
moved an amendment to make il five
years. The thing htched right there.
The idea Of the board was TO make a
short lease as an experiment. They
were afraid to make long one, on ac-
count Of their sOicitude for the well
fare OF the city high school. The bill
authorizing a county high school in
Sumner county does not authorize
the renewal of a lease on school
building for that purpose, but it does
authorize lease being made. Judge
Herrick promulgated the opinion that
after the lease had expired no renewal
could be made without a special iegis-
lative act. The county high school
had a few enemies on the board of
education and they siezed upon this
point Of vantage in order to fight the
project. 1t was clearly apparent that
owing to complications that would
arise over a lease renewal, no short
lease would be made, and it was more
apparent that the board would refuse
to make a lease of ten, fifteen or
twenty years. A viva vOce vote was
taken on the motion to grant, and it
was voted down.
The thing now is dead-gOne-be-
yOnd all hope Of resurrection. Sum-
ner county will never have another
opportunity TO establish acounty high
school. Its death is due to contention
between the board of education of
this city and the county high school
trustees, and nothing else.
This morning the committee from
the board OF education sent to the
board of county commissioners in ses-
sion the following report:
WELLINGTON, Kas., May 5, 1897.
To the Board Of County Commissioners of
Sumner County, Kansas:
We, a committee appointed by the
board Of education Of the city of
Wellington, beg leave to make the
following report:
At meeting Of said board on May
4th inst. it was unanimously agreed
that at the present time said board
was not ready or willing to make a
lease with the board of county COM
missiOners for any rooms or buildings
for the purpose Of a county high
school. W. A. MAXEY,
VIM. H. CARNEs,
CHAs. WoRDEN,
Committee.
The report drew from the board of
county commissioners the following
preamble and resolution:
WHEREAS, The board Of county
commissioners is unanimously in
favor Of making lease with the
board Of education of the city of We'll
lington for the term Of twenty to
twenty-five years for establishing a
county high school, with provision in
said lease such as may be agreed upon