The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1913-08-05
JONES AT HEAD
Elected President Topeka
Board of Education.
New Shops Building Adjoining
Manual Training School.

L. NJ. Jones will head the board o.
education in the ensuing twelve
months
When the second ballot for the pres
ident of the board was cast there was
. tie between Mr.. Jones and L. NJ
Penwell, three votes having been cast
for each man. Ba1loting was contin-
ued for fifteen or twenty minutes with
out a change and eventually 1t was
decided that the four members of the
board not in the contest should retire
to another room in order to come to
a decision. Upon their return Mr..
Penwen stated that he would not &C
cept the presidency under any condi-
ton as he believed that the office
should be passed around. A ballot
was taken and Mr.. Jones was III"
w E. Atchison was chosen as vice
president of the board and NJ c. HoI-
man az clerk.
Decision was made to have erected
q new shops building to cost nine or
ten thousand dollars Immediately west
of the manual training building and
William Conry. the engineer for the
school board. was instructed to pre-
pare plans and specifications for the
structure.
According to a preliminary plan of
the building that has been made it
will be one story in height and will be
provided with basement which could
possibly be used at later date as
lunch rooms for the students.
The building will have a frontage on
West Eighth avenue of 80 feet but
will be rs feet wide at the back. The
length will be 118 feet 1t Will be
constructed of concrete and brick,
and will be provided with saw tooth
roof. The front will be of brick We
neer to harmonic with the other
buildings. The new superintendent of
city schools. H. B. Wilson, recon-
mended that the shops should be
built to relieve congestion and to make
the manual training building less
noisy.
1t was pointed out at the meeting
that it would be matter of but
comparatively short time before it will
be necessary to erect an addition to
the main high school building which
will provide for an adequate assem-
bly, room, a gymnasium and additional
class rooms.
Superintendent Wilson spoke in IA
vor of the lunch room idea which is
In vogue in many of the high schools
of the country. He told of the ad-
vantages that the plan possesses as
was shown in Decatur when the idea
was adopted two years ago 1t was
his contention that under the present
arrangement in Topeka the students
eat their breakfasts hurriedly and
the highest degree of efficiency is not
possible. In case a lunch room is es-
tablished at a later date the hours will
probably be from about $3.50 to 2
O'Clock or $3.50 in the afternoon. There
would be three periods allowed for
luncheon.
A thing that will be of particular
interest to the seven thousand school
children of Topeka is the decision of
the board to change the date for the
he
9 to September 16.
This action was taken in order to
allow the school children to attend the
state fair.
DR.. c. B. Van Horn did not like the
idea of making the schools a secondary
consideration, but after numerous
arguments had been made in favor of
the change in date he made no further
objection.
In speaking Of Of the change Mr.,
something to the business men of the !
city. The fair is of the greatest i'm |
portance to them, and it is q great |
advertisement for the city. I would |
rather pay the teachers for the week
were it necessary without having
schools in operation fair week"
Announcement was made that the |
tower of the Grant school has been
the part of the patrons Of the school |
for the remodeling of the school, but
the board has as yet taken no action
in this direction. In speaking of the |
calls for improvements at the city |
school buildings Mr.. Penwell, the re- |
firing president of the board, said: |
You are going to hear an everlasting !
howl about building an addition to the |
high school and letting the other
buildings go. I've heard it today |
Wen hear from the Taxpayers
league"
A petition was presented the board |
by H. o. Joslin asking the board to |
establish seventh and eighth grades in /
the two vacant rooms in the Quinton |
Heights school building. There were +
seventy-five signatures on the petition |
which was referred to Superintendent |
Wilson and the teachers committee.
A number of colored patrons of the !
Douglass school were present to pro-
test against the proposed abandon
naent of that school. A petition was
presented by the board which was
signed by G. +. Brown and sixty-five /
others. 1t was claimed that it would .
work hardship on the colored chill
dren to make them attend the Buchan-
on school. The board proposed to
vacate the Douglass school on account
of the cost of operation which has
been twice as great per pupil as has
been the case at Clay school. The
question was referred to the teachers
committee and Superintendent Wilson.
CALLS BANKERS I'M.