Vermont phÅ“nix. [volume] (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1834-1955, 1912-04-19
SCHOOL BUILDING TO COST $4,000
Will Be Erected Oak Grove Avenue by Pellet
Issue Of $l6 900 Voted in Special Meeting District No.

Opposition to the plan to erect a 3d. |
900 school building on Oak Grove enten-
sion manifested itself in the special |
meeting of the Incorporated school dis
trict in the high schol room TUESDAY |
night, but it availed nothing and the |
voters finally voted unanimously to carry |
out a recommendation OF the speclal |
committee appointed last December TO |
secure plans for a suitable building in |
that part of the town. A bond issue of
$4,000 was voted, to cover the cost of
building site, equipment and other eN-
penses. Pellet Skinner, Brattleboro
contractors, will have the contract The
excellence of the committees report,
read by Chairman Il. @. s. Osgood,
doubtless had much to do with convinc-
ing those present of the wisdom of erect
ing a substantial structure and of the
poor economy of building a school house
Inadequate for the needs of the future.
When DR.. II. ID. Holton, moderator
called the meeting to order at O'Clock
about 80 voters were present. A few came
in later After the warrant had been
read by Clerk w. B. Smith the chairman
asked him to read the resolution adopted
in a special meeting Dec &C. 1911, which
was as follows: Resolved: That e. Q.
s. Osgood, James l.. Martin, A. |. Miller,
e. L. Hildreth, E. B. Smith and Martin
Austin be and hereby elected a
special committee to make plans for a
school house to be erected on the land
provided for in the preceding resolutions
just adopted by this meeting and that
said committee present the same to
special meeting of the voters of the dis
trict at its earliest convenience" The
preceding resolutions" referred to au-
thorized buying plot of land comprising
about $4,000 square feet between More
land avenue and Parksde avenue on
Oak Grove extension, which the commit
tee subsequently bought for $4,000.
When this resolution had been read
Chairman Osgood submitted the COM
mittees report, which read:
The committee appointed Dec 90, 1911,
to provide plans for a school building
to be erected in the Oak Grove avenue
extension, begs leave to present the
following report:
Naturally our first duty, as your rep
resentatives, was to find out as far as
possible the size of the building needed
for school purposes in this part of the
town and the number of rooms it should
contain. Statistics were at our disposal,
carefully prepared by the supervisor of
grades showing the number of pupils
attending school in the Washington street
and Esteyvile primary buildings, as well
as the six rooms in the Canal street
grades These figures revealed a very
slight margin of room for new pupils,
especially in the lower grades; also
pointed to the fact that the attendance
was gradually increasing from year to
year. Thus, in certain of the rooms the
entire number of seats available were in
constant use.
But, added to this normal growth, there
was likewise to be reckoned with the
establishment of the cotton mill, destined
to give work to 800 employees, and conse-
quent increase in the number of children
requiring instruction in our public
schools in this locality; also the likely
hood that in the near future other indus
tries might be induced to settle in the
same neighborhood.
The conclusion, based upon our inves-
legations, was that a building ought to
be erected upon the plot of land already
purchased by the district large enough
not only to provide for the immediate
needs of the pupils in the vicinity, but
capacious enough to meet the demands
of an indefinite future. We decided there
fore, upon a building of four rooms, two
on each floor, and so constructed as to
allow a wing containing two more rooms
to be added whenever the necessity
should arise. The building, we believed,
ought to be a substantial one well pro-
portioned, adapted to the requirements
of teachers and scholars in the light of
these modern days, and bearing the same
relation to the community about it as
does the Canal street building in the
centre of the district and the high school
building at the northern extremity.
To Wilder & White, New York ar
chitects, was given the task of preparing
a set of plans and specifications in ac-
cordance with the ideas entertained by
your committee. Mr.. White, the junior
member of the firm, was born in Brattle-
boro and educated for the Massachusetts
Institute of Technology in the schools OF
this town. Hence he was particularly
interested in obtaining the best results
possible and the plans in their finished
form, as well as the specifications with
their wealth of detail, bear testimony
to desire to have a building erected OF
the commodious lot awaiting it that
should be credit to the community.
1t is not necessary in this report tc
speak at any length of this building
since it has been described from time to
time in the columns of our local papers
Walls of brick, with slated roof; of a
present capacity of four rooms, two be-
low and two above, the design allowing
the addition of two more rooms when
imperatively needed; a commodous base
ment allowing play rooms for the pupils
in stormy weather; steam heat with the
best of ventilation and electric lighting
throughout the building, with modern
plumbing and sanitary conveniences may
be regarded as a brief summary of the
case. The rooms have about the same
capacity as those in the Canal street
building, and when the entire six are
completed pupils of the first seven grades
can be provided for as at Canal street
Duplicate copies of these plans ant
specifications were placed in the hand!
of five contractors, following adver
tsement for bids. When the bids wer,
opened, March Is. it was found that the!
all exceeded quite materially the sun
estimated by the architects and you
committee. that sum being placed a
$4,000. Consequently all those bids wer
rejected and two among the lowest bid
ders, viz. Thomas Dunn of Saratoga
Springs, n. Y, and Pellet & Sknne
of this town, were asked to meet will
the committee and the architects to Sc
what notifications might be made il
the original design, with a view to less
ening the cost
AS finally agreed upon, the building
was to remain practically the same wit
respect to It's exterior, but the two uppe
rooms were not to be finished at present
while in place of the blower system o
ventilation the gravity system was Z
be substituted. Minor changes were ais
made in the finish of the rooms, the kin