Santa Fe new Mexican. [volume] (Santa Fe, N.M.) 1898-1951, 1899-05-22
FE SCHOOLS
Public Interest Shown by the Board
of Education Upon Choice Of a
Superintendent
AN EDUCATOR WANTED
The Loss Santa.Fe Suffers for Lack of a
Good Public School System and
Suitable Buildings.

The Santa Fe school board met Sat
urday evening at the office of Attorney
B. NJ. Read, for the purpose of electing
a superintendent of public schools. At
7:30 O'Clock, the time set for the meet
ing, a number of citizens, several school
and a committee of ladies ar
at the place of meeting, but found
the door locked, Mr.. Read being out of
town. 1t was shortly after s O'Clock that
Secretary Conway forced an entrance
into the room by breaking a window
and crawling into the office. Inside
there were only four chairs and a short
bench, compelling most of those in at
tendance to stand or sit on window
lodges or tables.
The school directors present were
President Weltmer, Secretary Conway,
Hogle, Johnston, Baca, Garcia and Sc
ma; absent, Rael.
The secretary was ordered to read the
applications for the position of super
intendent. The applicants are: ]. s.
Clifford, of Carlisle; w. B. Givens, of
Las Vegas; G. A. Goggins, of Spearfish,
S. D.; Professor w. M. Callock, of La
Junta; S. Z. Lankard, of Santa Fe, ane
a candidate whose application had beer
mislaid, and whose name was not re.
membered by the secretary. All of the
candidates, except Mr.. Lankard, sub
,~;t+oI oorf;footac ond ronnro nohn61,
lions. AS Mrs. Rivenburg announced
| that Professor Callock would probabl!
| withdraw, the choice for s~uperintend
| ent lay between Professor Givens al
| Mr.. Lankard.
Professor Givens is rs years of age
and is in charge of the preparatory de
Vegas. He is a native of New Mexico
was educated in the territory, ATTENDED
| the Albuquerque university, has beel
| principal of the schools at Antonito
and taught at Boulder, Colo, and othe
| places. He is highly recommended b,
| Superintendent Hewett, of the Las We
gas Normal School; by the school trus
tees of Antonito, and by many peopl
of prominence in New Mexico and Colo
RADIO.
Professor Callock was highly recon
mended by Hon. Amado -Chaves, q
Santa Fe, and by many others.
Mr.. Lankard, in his application, ask
III +l,,+ Ia, ho poiI about Q100 n Month
elected superintendent.
President Weltmer called upon ever
one present to express himself upon tn
choice for superintendent, and abou
twenty addresses, some of them quit
eloquent, were made. The speakers a
agreed that Mr.. Lankard is a good Gil
izen, a perfect, moral gentleman, a goo
insurance agent, but not the man tina
the citizens in attendance at the boar
meeting cared to see in charge of SAINT
Fe schools. The speakers nearly all dc
clared in favor of either MI. Givens c
Mr.. Callock, as both being excellent an
men of the sort that Santa Fe school
need.
The record of Mr.. Lankard, when ST
pe%rintendent Of the schools some veal
ago, was reviewed and commented ur
on very unfavorably. One point wa
that he was engaged in other business
Mr.. Lankard was not present to COZ
rect or refute any statements.
NTo,Joy,o, pixyarh1yrr Criohfn1
Thomas, Kaune and Messrs Schumanl
Boyle, Bischoff, Lutz, Burton, Majc
Muller and Hon. l.. B. Prince spoke in
pressively to the school directors. The
remarks may be summed up as follows
The territorial legislature has estat
lished higher institutions of learning 6
Las Vegas, Silver City, Albuquerqu'
Roswell, Mesilla Park and Socorro, br
none at Santa Fe. Santa Fe is, there
fore, more dependent upon the chal
acter of it's public schools than any {
those towns. Unfortunately, this cit
has had inferior public schools for tn
last five years. Twenty years ago Sar
ia Fe was the center Of education fc
New Mexico, and parents sent the
children here to be educated. To-da
many send their children away to K
educated. Santa Fe is not increasin
in population. The bureau of immigrs
ton receives hundreds of letters frol
people desiring to come to New Mexic
to settle, and the first question that
invariably asked is: What are you
school facilities?" Mechanic, capita
list, healthseeker, all object to SAINT
Fe because of the poor character of tn
public schools. Hundreds of peopl
would have come to Santa Fe if thel
We're better public school facilities her
Family after family has gone away
places where there are better advar
tages of this character. Efforts hay
been made to get private, non-sectaria
schools established here, but withol
avail. Therefore, a thoroughly up-tt
date superintendent snould be electe'
who would devote all of his energy an
every moment during and after scho
hours to the schools. It Is of tremer
dous Importance to elect a good supel
intendent, for Santa Fe schools nee
something to lift them up. Some speal
ers thought the board should take