Gilpin observer., 1908-03-19
THE PUBLIC SCHOOL

A preliminary contest to select repre-
sentatives for the declamatory contests
at Idaho Springs will be held in the high
school assembly room, Friday evening,
March 27, at $3.50 o'clock. This applies
to both high school and grade contest
ants. The teachers will choose the rep
resentatives at special meeting to be
held after the preliminary.
The school boards of the districts ad-
joining Central City will hold their sec
ond meeting for the discussion of the
Union High School question next week.
The boards are taking up this matter in
a careful, conservative manner and are
examining in detail every factor in the
organization and management of such
school. 1t is reasonable to suppose that
if these eighteen men, experienced as
they are in the management of school
affairs, agree upon plan to provide
high school facilities for all the children
of the camp who are or may become
qualified to enter such school, that the
plan adopted will be the most economi-
cal and the most effective way of pro-
viding high school advantages for all
these districts. The plan under consid
GRAFTON provides that all these districts
cooperate in supporting one central
high school. The expense to the dis
tricts as estimated at the last meeting,
with the present high school attendance
would be, Central City, 1886 per month;
Black Hawk, $40 per month; Russell,
81 per month; Nevadaville, s2S per
month; Lake gulch, nothing; Quartz
Valley, nothing. This is economical
because the cost to Black Hawk, for
instance, is about half the cost of one
high school teacher, not to speak of cost
of building, school supplies, janitor hire,
laboratory equipment, library equip
ment, etc. All these are included in
the S49 per month under the union high
school arrangement 1t costs several hun
dred dollars month to run the city high
school and the union high school propo-
sition offers precisely the same service
to Black Hawk at the present time for
$40 per month, varying more or less in
accordance with the attendance. A cost
of $42O per month for 60 pupils is at the
rate of 81 per month per pupil. An en-
rollment of 80 pupils would reduce the
cost per pupil to little more than S.
per month. This is the estimated cost
under the proposed arrangement, and
is just double the tuition now charged
by Central City. This means that at
the present time the parents of high
school pupils living outside the district
pay half their expense and the Central
City district pays the other half, while
the districts from which they come are
giving them no financial encouragement
whatever to attend high school. 1t is
fair proposition that each district pay
the actual expense of the education of
its own young people and that it en-
courage them in every possible way to
avail themselves of every opportunity
to secure an education. The purpose of
the union high school is to substitute for
this embargo that has for years been
levied upon every school child from
these districts ambitious enough to de-
sire the same advantages that are ac-
corded in other communities, the 'privi-
lege of free entrance into the high
school and with it an encouraging word
to go on and equip themselves for a
course in life that will be credit to
themselves and to the community in
which they live.
The opring vacation will begin March
2Sth and will extend to the opening of
school on Monday, April 9Th.
The invitation by Supt. Matthews to
attend the exercises of the Black Hawk
schools on Thursday afternoon, March
26.h, has been accepted by the teachers
and by the eighth grade pupils, and
this acceptance has been permitted by
the school board, hence there will be no
school on that afternoon and the entire
teaching force of the Central schools
will answer present" at Black Hawk.
The sewing class girls of the seventh
and eighth grades enjoyed social hour
at the high school building last Friday
evening. A short program was given
in the assembly room in which num-
ber of the girls acquitted themselves
creditably. After the program all ad-
journed to the reception room where
they played games directed by Mr.. Nc
Grath. Refreshments prepared by the
girls and tempting punch made by Miss
Miller were served in liberal quantities.