The Telegraph-courier. [volume] (Kenosha, Wis.) 1888-1946, 1909-01-14
Board Of Education Decides TO
Erect Twelve-Room Build
ing ID the Third Ward
REFUSET0EMPL0Y ARCHITECT
Board Decisively Turns Down Plan tc
Employ T. Gaastra and Direct
Him to Make Plans for
Proposed Building

new decision in regard to the erection
Of the proposed school in the Third
ward at the meeting on Tuesday even
ing when after a long wrangle it was
decided to erect a twelve room build
ing on the Elizabeth street site and
the plans of Hahn and Lindl and T.
Gaatra, both Kenosha architects, will
be considered by the Board at special
meeting to be held on next Tuesday
evening.
An effort was made to eliminate the
element of competition for the plans
for the building when Commissioner
Williams sought to have T. Gaastra EN-
ployed as architect for the building.
Williams sought to have Gaastra en-
ployed before the Board had decided
what sort Of building should be built
or if any building would be built In
this effort but FIVE of the members of
the Board of Commissioners, Mungen,
Sullivan, Wells, Maurice and Threinen.
voted with Williams. Several of the
members of the Board resented what
they claimed to be an effort of COM
missioner Williams to force the Board
to accept his ideas as to the architect.
Some Of the members of the Board
were not favorable to even the btilda
ing Of a twelve room building, among
this number being Commissioners SAT-
tig and Brockhaus, who held that a
ten room building was plenty big
enough to take care Of the demand at
this time. f.ra peg
At the adjourned meeting of the
Board the two local plans will be taken
up by the Board and tits thought that
one ! Of these plans will be accepted.
The fact that the minority report of
the Building committee in Which GER
tain members of the Board were 4dAarg-s
ed with Partially in regard to the
Gaastra plans was a thorn in the flesh
Of Commissioner Williams and he NOV
led. that the report Of the minority Of
the committee be stricken from the.
minutes, but the Board declined to take
action Williams declared that he
would call the matter UP later as he
would not stand under such charges.
School Commissioner Curtis seems to
be of an inquiring mind and before the
discussion of the employment of Mr..
Gaastra as per the Williams plan, Mr..
Curtis asked for some information
He declared that at former meeting
of the Board Mr.. daastra had offered
to forfeit a thousand dollars if his
plans were not the best presented. Mr..
Curtis asked if Gaastra had seen the
other plans which were supposed to
have been kept secret by the commit
tee. Gaastra declared in a dramatic.
manner that he was willing to take his
solemn oath that he had not seen any
of the plans and Friday" Williams
supplemented the oath with a states
ment that . The Peoria man had shown
Gaastra his ground floor plans" and
that it was the Unborn confidence of
IGaastra that his plans were the best
that had caused him to make the offer
Three times during the evening Will
iams made motion to have Gaastra
employed as architect. Twice the mo-
ton was declared out of order and
the third time it was defeated.
There seems to be some awful secret
in regard to the plans as there was
strenuous objection made to having
blue prints of the plans placed in the
hands of the members between now
and the next meeting of the Board.
just why this fear Of complete examina-
tion should exist is not apparent to
/ the public at large. At any rate it is
expected that the Board will fight the
matter out at the adjourned meeting of
the Board and some plan be adopted.
There was considerable other bust
ness of Importance taken up by the
Board before the discussion Of the new
| building was opened and after the reg
ular business was over an effort was
made to adjourn, but President Threin-
en- made a rather remarkable parliament
| tary ruling by declaring that a motion
to adjourn was not in order SO long
as the members Of the Board had any.
thing to discuss.
The first matter to come up was the
report of the committee of the whole
which recommended that all the plans
be rejected and this was accepted and
adopted with the chairman of the
Board voting in the negative.
complaint on the quality of the
coal being supplied to the schools IN
der the contract of the North Shore
Fuel and Supply company was made to
the Board and referred to the com
mittee on supplies to have the worth
less coal removed from the buildings.
The teachers committee reported that
Miss Allen who had been in charge of
Kindergarten work at the Deming
school had been forced to give up her
work on account Of the fact that her
health would not permit her to teach
in basement room and this work will,