The Birmingham age-herald., 1910-09-07

to provide each with a modern equip ment in the way of plumbing, heating and ventilation. The expense in the improvement of these two schools amounted to $17.s39.40.
 Early in the year the board found it necessary to employ consulting en- gineer to take general charge of the heating and ventilating equipment in
 the several school buildings under con struction. The board, accordingly, se- lected an expert mechanical engineer
 to design and supervise the eonstruc-
 tion of the heating and ventilating
 equipment in all the sch ools to be
 erected and to supervise the repairing
 of the heating plants in all the old
 buildings. This has proven to be
 wise and timely step and insures econ
 omy and efficiency in a branch of school
 building construction that has been too
 much neglected in the past
 Another step necessitated by the ex-
 tensive building operations of the
 board was the erection of the position
 of foreman of buildings, a step which has proven to be wise and has given
 entire satisfaction
 East Birmingham Delays
 "The work on the new building
 planned by the board for the East Bir- mirgham district was delayed, owing to various causes for which the boaTu WAS not responsible. After this section had voted to become a part of the city, legal
 proceedings were instituted for the pur-
 pose of testing the validity of the law undert which the election for annexation had been held. This case continued in the courts until the territory became ] part of the city under the operation of
 another law on January l, 1910. In the meantime the board was not authorized to proceed with the erection of a school
 building in territory that might be legal ly declared outside of the city Since the first of January the board has proceeded as rapidly as conditions would admit with the plans for this building, which will be completed by December 1910. "The new building for the Avondale
 school has been planned, but the con- tracts have not yet been given for the construction of the same. because of the
 desire of the board to secure additional
 ground for the site.
 ''1'he rapidly increasing population of the northern section of the city in Nor
 wood and vicinity had rendered the Bar
 ker school, corner of Twenty-third street and Fourteenth avenue, entirely too small to accommodate the needs of that section, and the demand for the en- largement of the building was imper- ative It was therefore decided to con struct an addition of eight class rooms to this building together with the nee essary rooms for officers, library, emer- gency and recitation rooms, and base
 ment rooms for manual training, cook ing and kindergarten purposes. The base
 ment of this school will also contain a spacious room for auditorium purposes; on account of the decivity of the site, this room will be practically all above ground level and is admirably suited for school entertainments or lectures. The entire building will be equipped with modern facilities in the way of heating and plumbing and the improvement will cost when completed about $S5,0o0 This | building win be completed and ready for | occupancy by the opening of the session | in September.