The Savannah morning news., 1900-06-28
JEALOUS OF THEIR AUTHORITY
WHY ACADEMY TRUSTEES AND
SCHOOL BOARD COULDN'T AGREE.


Committee Recommends That no
Further Effort to Reach an Agree
ment Be Made and That the Trus-
tees BE Left Free to Select Their
own Plans and to Reconstruct the
Building According 10 Their Own
Ideas.
At special meeting OF the Board Of Ed
ucation held yesterday afternoon the COM
mittee appointed several months ago to
confer with a similar committee from the
trustees of Chatham Academy submitted
its report. II was read and received as
information. Owing to the fact that there
was barely a quorum of the board pres
ent it was decided 10 postpone consider
alton of the report until tomorrow af-
ternoon at o'clock, to which time the
meeting adjourned.
The report makes decidedly interesting
reading. AS already foreshadowed in the
Morning News, the joint committees have
failed to reach any agreement, chiefly,
it would seem from the committees re-
port, because of the unwillingness of the
committee of the trustees to waive their
prerogatives suciffienty TO admit the com
mittee from the Board of Education to
full and free consultation upon the sub
ject of a new building The history of
the conference and its failure to achieve
any results is outlined in the report,
which is as follows:
I'VE regret to report that we are unable
10 he
from the Trustees Of Chatham Academy
touching the plan for the restoration of
that portion of the academy which was
royed by fire in December last-now
nearly seven months ago.
AT the joint meeting of the trustees of
Chatham Academy and the Board of Ed
ucation held on the 10Th day of February,
1900, at which meeting was submitted a
plan that had been previously favorably
passed on by the trustees or by com
mittee from that honorable body. and
which plan, in the opinion of the Board
Of Education, confirmed by the superin-
tendent. principal of the High School ana
other teachers, was unsuited to the needs
of our schools. IL was agreed after
thorough d scusson Of tie question by
the TWO boards, that committees repre-
senting each of the two bodies should be
appointed whose duty it should be to con-
fer together and agree upon some plan
that would be satisfactory 10 both bodies.
The idea then was, as we understood It,
that the trustee of Chatham Academy
would use all or so much of its funds
as may be necessary in the erection of
modern school building suited to the needs
of the day, and, in architectural style,
in keeping with the beauty of our city,
in
whatever amount should be thus expend-
ed by the trustees over and above the
insurance collected on the destroyed
building would in he nature of rents. not
to exceed $500 per annum, be refunded
10 the trustees by the Board of Educa-
ton.
ITO the end that satisfactory result
should be OBJ aimed and that this result
should be speedily obtained, we under
stood the sense of the joint meeting 10
be that there should be full and free
interchanges of views between the mem
bers of the two committees Without any
conference between the two commit
tees the committee from the trustees ad-
vertised for plans to be submitted TO
them on the 25th day of April, 1900. Some
weeks after the day named for the sub
mission of the plans, we were called TO
meet with the committee from the trus-
tees, and were presented with a plan,
which. we understood from the members
of said committee. they had adopted and
presented for our consideration. No OPP
portunity had previously been given to
us 20 inspect large number of plans
which had been submitted. nor were we
invited to any conference or discussion
concerning these plans. The plan sub
mitted by the committee from the trustees
did not meet with our approval AT that
meeting, which lasted less than an hour,
we were told there were many other
plans which the Committee of the Trus
tees had discussed and studied. and that
the plan submitted was the result of their
judgment. Some of these plans, other
than the one submitted, were. at our re-
quest, submitted TO us and two or more
of the plans rejected by the Trustees
Committee, were preferred by us to the
one which they had previously adopted
Indeed two or more of these plans we
thought, with some notifications, would
meet with the approval of the Board of
Education. AS herenbefore intimated, We
then felt that we should have been con-
ferred with in the inspection and discus
sion of the various plans which had been
submitted in pursuance of the advertise
ment. Though. perhaps, not distinctly
stated and agreed upon between the two
committees we left that conference with
the distinct impression that the two COM
mittees would be again called ogether
al an early dey. 20 discuss the plans then
before the Trustees Committee Some of
us were not a little surprised. a few DAYS
thereafter when we learnd that the Trus-
tees Committee had rejected all of the
plans, and had employed an architect to
submit others.
ION the 18th of June, we were again In
vited by the Trustees Committee to meet
with them, and a that time plan was
submitted to us, which we were
informed had been adopted by the
Committee of the Trustees and We un-
derstood that this only could be con-
sdered by US; that the style of the archi-
lecture was not matter of concern to
us; that If the plan submitted was ac-
upon rental, the trustees would erect
the building. We do not approve of the
plan. 1t is distinctly different from any
that we had before considered or had
heard discussed.
I'VE recognized fully that the honorable
trustees had the right to exclude this
body. or a committee from this body
from their deliberations in the discussion
of plans through which discussion the
Trustees Committee came to a conclusion
satisfactory TO themselves 1t seems to
us, however, that the purpose in appoint
ing the two committees as representing
the two bodies has miscarried ard as we
are unwilling to accept the conclusions Of
the honorable gentlemen who have the
authority In the premises, and feeling thai
M eatisfactOr gattlarnapf Cap ba raachaI