Vermont phÅ“nix. [volume] (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1834-1955, 1907-03-01
DlsAeREEs WITH SUPERINTENDENT
Claim That the Rooms at 5rattleboro
Academy Have Not Been Comfortable
Cold Days This Winter.

Cold Days This Winter.
Editor of The Phoenix.
Dear Sir:-In the town report Of Brat
tleboro the superintendent of schools
does the scholars of the West Brattle-
boro academy an injustice, as in his re-
port he states that the building has been
one Of the warmest places i'm the village.
What are the facts as borne out by
the scholars of the school? There has
not been one cold morning this winter
when all Of the rooms have been COM
Portable, and many times some Of them
have been decidedly uncomfortable.
The superintendent is fully cognizant of
the fact that on several mornings and
up until noon the scholars have been
obliged to wear their overcoats and
gloves to keep warm in the higher grades
and in me lower grades to march around
the room to get warm, and on one oc-
casion at least part Of the scholars
left their seats to go home to get warm.
Strange that they should do so when the
academy Is one of the warmest places in
the village. Now those were not scholars
who were glad of a chance to play truant
frozen into them.
again, the superintendent reports that
he has received three complaints Of cold.
To the first he traces direct to a closed
register II the superintendent will look
close he will find that in one Of the cold
est rooms i'm the house the register can
not be closed. To the second he traced
to a closed damper. on this we are at
sea as it would seem that the hampers
at least some of them, have been closed
all winter. The third complaint has not
evidently been traced out as yet Let
us do so. We find that when the fur
naces were placed in the basement that
they were improperly piped, that the
question Of ventilators was neglected, and
that we believe that the superintendent
had a pet theory that he was and is
bound to have right but is decidedly
wrong and he ought to admit IL rather
than make the erroneous report that II
has been one Of the warmest places in the
village. Now we have heard just such
talk as we find in the town report all
winter and have simply groaned and let
il pass. But when it came out in the
town report to be circulated all over
town and some outside, IL just raised the
ire. and why should 1t not as on the
very day the report was received the
scholar comes home with the complaint
that his feet have been cold all the fore
noon ar school. How is that for one of
the warmest places in the village?
| suppose that now you want to know
what the people Of West Brattleboro
want and as l understand it is this: We
want men in charge Of our schools that
will try to make IL comfortable for the
scholars, and employ good teachers, try
20 convince the people, and not try 70
work out pet theories and hobbies that
| will endanger the health OF our children.
as mas certainly been the case in the
management OF the West Bratteboro
academy during the past winter. Could
| anything be more reasonable? Could any
/ one blame any parent OF taxpayer around
/ West Brattleboro for asking so much
| They in turn would ask any one to in
! terview the scholars especially in the
! higher grades, look the matter up and
| satisfy themselves that we are in the
/ right and II. they find that we are in the
wrong We will simply OFFER up our chill
! dren as a sacrifice to lack Of proper heat
/ and ventilation.
There is one thing more we would like
/ to have granted and that Is the meas
ureabe success that the directors have
met with in keeping the schoolhouses
| warm and clean. The parents Of the
! scholars a the West Brattleboro academy
| could be allowed n peep into the measur,
and see how much it lacked OF being full
S. C. BROWN.