Barton County democrat. [volume] (Great Bend, Kan.) 1885-1915, 1904-12-30

not be far better to strive for it than
to spend money for city high school
building, which. in the event of the
establishment of Co. High School,
would make such AL expenditure un.
necessary?
The law:provides that in all coun-
ties having population of over. 600
a county highrschool s,may be estab
liseed through thess Board of County
Commissioners. to be paid for, as well
as the expense of maintaining the
school after it is once established, by
a system of taxation of all the taxable
properly of the county. In such a
school all the children of the county
are eligible without tuition. Such
school will be under the management
of board of trustees, who are first
appointed by the county commission
ers, with the Co. Superintendent of
Schools as chairman, and after the
first board has been appointed, the
law provides for the election of such
board at the first regular election.
1 have talked with number o. the
members of the coming legislature,
who tell me that there will be bill
introduced early in the session, pro-
viding that all counties of more than
| 10000 inhabitants shall establish Co.
High Schools, placing the power of
locating and providing for the expense
of the necessary buildings and the
maintaining of such schools in the
hands of the county commissioners
and county superintendent of the
various counties, until after the next
election; and have the first one OF
the members to talk to who is not in
favor of the measure. The argument
made is, that in nearly all of our city
high schools as now conducted We IA
obliged to send our children away to
some of the numerous colleges in
order to enable. them to round out
and complete an ordinary good high
school education; and This is mark
edly true of the Great Bend high
school, for are we not now sending
number of young people away for the
very purpose, after they have received
diploma here? Besides, county
high school, such is contemplated
by law, is a far better Institution of
learning than half of the many colleg-
es to which We are compelled to
resort.
We could establish such a school
in this county, with building that
would cost the people of the county
anywhere say from S50,600.00 to
S75,00O.OO, and we could not only
pay for such building within twenty
years at an annual levy of two mills
on the dollar; but we could also, with
The same levy, maintain and equip the
school, paying all expenses.
This can be done this winter in two
ways; one is to amend the law of
1897 so as to empower the county
commissioners to establish such high
schools, or by passing new statute
outright, amending some features of
the old law that needs alteration in
some respects.
In the proposition submitted to the
voters by the Board of Education of
this city, it is proposed to destroy the
old brick building now used for high
school purposes. l have not been in
the building and l do not know its
present condition, but [ am told by
those who have recently seen it chat
it is in good condition. If this is true
it would be criminal to destroy it, and
it might be we'll for the voters who
have not seen the building to go and
examine it before thev cast a vote for
a thirty thousand dollar issue of bonds
to build a new building on the site of
the old brick.
L seems to me that we ought not
TO be-so hasty about voting large
bonded indebtedness on the city until
we know what the Legislature does
this winter, and if they empower US
to build a county high school, the
voting of these bonds 20 build a city
high school would be foolishness, to
say nothing of the xtlavagancc of
the proposition.
The Board of Education first de-
manded 10000, then they offer the
people who created the Board COM
promise proposition. and say they are
WILLING to accept $4,000, and along
with this demand is proposition to
throw away several thousands of dol
lars by destroying the old building,
and, ] am, told by reliable authority,
that some members of the Board have
said that if We, the people, did not
give them what they wanted in this