New Ulm review., 1900-01-31
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"a correspondsnt Ia Answer to m EditoriaI il
thsNews. tells Why She Favors ! high
School Baild ding q Proposed. ~
The meeting Of voters Of this school
district TO be held at the Opera House
Saturday evening is called fur Tie pur-
pose Of submitting to them the follow
ing proposition
sShall the Board Of Education Be au-
thorized 70 erect High School Building
on Public Square, Block 108, North Of
Center Street at. cost not to exceed
$22, 2,00O. z
This meeting will mark an era in the
history of the schools OF this city and
certainly ought to be we'll attended. The
question Of building, and more particu-
larly the question of what shall We
build, should be decided upon with
an eye not only to the present needs but,
so far as possible, also to future devel-
opments.
While the Board has not yet definitely
settled upon any particular plan, il has,
after much deliberat:on, concluded that
the interests Of tho district will lie best.
served BY the erection II 4 building
which shall accommodate the High School
Of 122 to $50 pupils on its second floor
and contain on its lower floor three or
tour grade rooms. ss ,.s
The News suggestssto double the ca
.pacity of the proposed building in order
to avoid the necessity Of erecting anoth.
er building in very few years. For
this suggestion the present writer is un-.
der obligation to the NEWS as it
gives him an opportunity to answer an
argument which very naturally presents
itself. .s :.
As matter of fact, the Beard at the.
outset almost unanimously favored a
large baildlng such as suggested by the
editor of the NEWS. Upon second
thought, however, 4the idea was aban-
doned for the following reasons.
q Our city has developed in northerly
and southerly direction, whilethe growth
east and west, hemmed IN ON one sfties
by the Minnesota river and the other-by
the slough and the wooded bluffs, has
been quite slow. These Typographical
features are permanent factors which
will permanently Influence the Develop
ment Of our city aud which must there-
fore he taken into account. The great
est distance from north to south Of the
settled portion of the district from which
We must expect to- receive pupils is
something like four miles or more, while:
from east to west is only eight or ten
blocks. The residents of the lower end
Of town have already petitioned the
Board for a four Or six room building
to be erected at some point int vlcin-
ity of the briekyards. r
e. What, now, would be the result if a
large building double the size of the one
proposed were erected? The same. would
probably contain from 12to 16 rooms
and wonld with the buildings now in
use accommodate the school population.
of the district for the next fifteen or
twenty years, and there is no doubt that
long before the expiration Of that time
there will be a crying demand fora four
or six room building at either end Of
town. This would leave the territory.
tributary to the Central school building
50 small that.a large portion would re-
main unused.
II on the other hand q building is
ere :ted in accordance with the sugges-
.tionsso Of the Board the situation will be
as follows: The High School will vacate.
thee rooms In the present building
while the new building besides accom-
modatlng the entire High School will
contain three or four grade e-roonls. An.
other grade room may be secured by
moving i partition IN the present East
Primary building, dividing it into two
rooms. There will be q total gain Of
Eight grad de-rooms available for the
grades, accom- dating from $50 TO- 800
pupils, almost so per cent Of tie en,ire
pre sent enroll lIment As the annual III
crease in tina number of pupils eprolled,
averaged for the last five years, has been
only about 90 10 80 per yearslt will lie
evident That the proposed building will
meet the reg uirene for about eigh or
ten years. that time the present In q,
debled edness OF the district will have bes,,
paid, tie new building will according 10
the intention Of the Board Be erected
cIearsof debts and the district vii see