Twice-a-week plain dealer. (Cresco, Howard County, Iowa) 1895-1913, 1903-03-31
Do We Need liz
The school board will call an ell

Do We Need It?
The school board will call an cleo
tion soon to vote on the proposition to
bond the school district for $4,000 for
the purpose of erecting a school build
ing IN the third ward. The people
before voting to expend that or any
other sum of money should we'll con-
slider both its need and its possible
benefit.
The present school policy of the
state is for fewer, but better public
schools and wherever it has been tried
is highly endorsed by the best edu-
Gators. The plan is to have school
for the township, centrally located as
to roads and the public convenience,
and then have some safe and discreet
person engaged to convey the pupils
to the school, and at its close to take
them home, thus giving them the
best there is and st less cost to the
public than the expense of maintain
ing the half dozen or more district
schools of the township.
We are told of one of the public
schools about two miles out of Cresco
where the entire enrolment has been
for the winter but seven, and often
with but four in attendance. All those
pupils could have been brought to the
Cresco public school every day during
the winter and returned to their
homes after the close of the school at
one half the cost of maintaining the
fire, paying the teacher and keeping
the school house in proper repair.
Besides this the pupils thus brought
together are in line for promotion in
the various grades.
The argument that it will benefit
the people of the ward by enhancing
the value of their property is too
mercenary for serious consideration.
BY what right can a resident of the
third ward ask a person in a remote
part of the dist. let
to tax himself for a property
owner here? To vote such tax upon
himself he should feel that it would
be public benefit primarily, and only
as an incident thereto, a benefit to any
particular locality.
The east line of the third ward is
Elm street. The site for the new
school house could not be obtained in
any place that makes their distance to
the school less, thus located, than to
the school in the second ward.
Then it should not be forgotten
that to maintain the school in the
third ward for fuel and teachers
and insurance would cost fully $4,000
year.
The building of a school house in
the first ward does not afford pre-
cedant for having one in the third.
The first ward being situated on the
south side of the railroad and the fire.
quency of trains at the noon hour,
made it necessary for the safety of
the pupils attending school and their
AHooAAoy w AWoyo NC pIOupU dU tu0
hour Of attendance because of the OBJ
struction of the trains,
When the petition to the school
board for vote on the third ward
proposition was up we signed the APP
plication promptly and cheerfully,
but on more mature reflection we
really question its utility or desirable
ity. We really believe it would be
better and cheaper to have the child
rem, too small to walk to the present
school building, taken there by con-
veyance provided, than to build new
school house in the third ward.
Another disadvantage, whether the
principal of the public school is Prof.
Ling or some one else, will be the i'm
possibility of his overseeing so many
schools and teachers SO widely separ-
ated.