The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1909-06-29
STAMFORD
Hearing on School Question-Various OpiniOnS-New School Needed for HOIlister Heights-The Local High SchOol-Prize Winners - Musical I0eISOnaI I

School-Prize Winners - Musical and Personal.
 | The joint committee composed of
 representative citizens and the School | board held their first public hearing | last night at the Town hall, on the school question. There was a large | audience present, and many speeches | were made by gentlemen from Hol-
 lister Heights, Huntington Road, the Beaver Dam district, and other parts
 of the town. Hon. Stiles Judson called
 the meeting to order and stated the purpose for which it had been called. ! The crux of the whole matter is where and how to provide schools for the | rapidly increasing children of the | town, and whether to abolish the present. High school, or go on with 1t.
 MT. Judson said the cost is the press | ing question and that the whole field l is open for discussion William Blam- | ey led off. He asked if the center school is not large enough, and said
 one is wanted in Buck Swamp. He thought that in three or four years 1t will take several omnibuses to fetch the scholars to the center school. | house built near Barnum avenue. A gentleman from Huntington road ob- | jected to the carrying of children to | school in all sorts of weather. He | wanted a good school house up that | way, and said houses are going up all the time, and there is a constant in crease of children. MT. Hendrickson
 had a good word to say for the Hol-
 new school is needed the present | one is inadequate and unsanitary.
 Even the well water has been con
 demned. He estimated the value of property in the Hollister Heights dis
 trict at half a million of dollars, and
 from the taxes raised on that amount i the district gets about $1,S00 for its
 school, or only about 30 per cent He of
 land for about s1.0OO and put up an S-room building. He thought the pres 1 ent school house should fetch $2,5OO If put up for sale. A number of gentle
 men spoke for Hollister Heights, and
 all wanted a better school house, city | water, etc. Several men said they
 wanted a school above Paradise Green. Very little was said about enlarging | the center school.
 Supt Andrews said the question Is | a financial one and that Stratford is trying to get along on as little money as possible; the town wants 100 cents on the dollar. If all the children who wish to attend the High school can be put in one building, they can be ham, died by three teachers; this will save one teacher. It was stated that next | year there will be S3 pupils in the high
 school. Dr. Lewis made a long speech | in which he said no one at the center would wish to send his children to the
 Hollister Heights school, under the WHICH 6AiSt lilcIc. T hC
 water is unfit to drink. Huntington | road is in the same category. He would put his children in a wheelbar- | row before they should ride in the cart which brings children from the Bea- yer Dam district to the center. He proposed that the grade school take the place of the High school. and in | that case said there would be three rooms available at the center. He | wanted all the children to have all the | education they can get. He read ex- tracts from Supt. Hoods last report, | and pointed out the places where the 1 it would cose some s3,OOO to send 100 pupils to the Bridgeport High schoo'. | The town has 1,204 children, and for
 the past eight years only an average | of five each year have graduated from | the High school. In the commercial course there were 10 the first year. l this year but two. He thought it would be good thing to find out why
 school and fail to graduate. He re- | garded the Bridgeport school as vastly
 superior to the Stratford. Frank Blakeman showed from statistics. that
 even the school in Bridgeport did not graduate larger per cent of its pu- pills, according to the population, than does Stratford. MT. Beardsley said
 he had been informed that there could be no new High school house in Bridgeport under four years,- and that as soon as the seats in the present
 school building are filled with Bridge port boys and girls, the towns of Fair
 asked to keep their children at home.
 letter was read from Dea- P. F. | Haven, in which he spoke very highly of the local High school. and would
 regret seeing it abolished. F. E. Co.,
 nine was glad to have the chance to
 address such a distinguished looking set of men," and presented his plan for | the situation which exists. which con- 4,,so
 schools, that the center school might be relieved. great many incidental questions were touched upon and at | a. late hour the meeting adjourned, | with the thanks of its presiding officer.
 The fact that so many of our young men have won prizes at Yale. is very
 gratifying to the pride of the town, and reflects much credit upon home institutions. for some of them. received
 their primary education at the center i school. This is a good argument for | the continuance of a High school in | our midst even if just now the burden | of taxation falls heavily upon the. old | time residents and property owners. | Every young man and woman who wishes for the higher education, should have the opportunity for getting it. | In future years it may well be that
 some of our college educated citizens i will become famous and able to repay | the town for the education they have
 received, if not in dollars and cents. at l | It was announced on Sunday from the pulpit of the Methodist church, that | hereafter Robert Brandt will have
 charge of the singing. He proposes to l organize a first class choir, and will give his personal attention to the mat | ter.
 Saturday Miss Mary c. Fairchild | gave a musicale in which her pupils | took a prominent part, playing selec- tions from Wagner, Mendelssohn, | Beethoven, Mason Lange, Schoebel, and many other composers. The young ladies participating included Eliza
 beth Brewster. Mabel Casey, Julia | Powers, Evelyn Batchelor, Gladys
 Merrill Elsie Assum, Marion Sparmer,
 Grace Murphy. Evelyn Smith, Merle | Wilcox. Marjorie Terrill, Helen Beach | Tillie Assum. Louise Barnum, Marion | London, Eleanor Kinsella, Beatrice Clarkson. Ruby Way, Marguerite | Thompson, Viola Zigenfus and Jennie | Brett. The young gentlemen who took | part were Warren Jagoe, Miles | la rd Ia Dnn Irving