The Morris County chronicle. [volume] (Morristown, N.J.) 1877-1915, 1913-12-02
$4,000 CAN BUILD
new HIGH SCHOOL
So Says County Superintendent
j. Howard HulSart.

idea of forcing their particular ideas
upon the town without regard for
others, was the advice handed out by
County Superintendent j. Howard HUI
sart at "a meeting of the board OF edu-
cation Friday evening.
DR.. Hulsart paid one of his semi
annual official visits to the board and
when the routine business had been
concluded he was asked his opinion
in regard to the school situation.
"You have the richest town in Nor
ris county" he said, "yet in some re-
spedts you have the poorest school ar
rangements to be found in the county
The high school management Is gooo
lbut the surroundings are little SNORT
of criminal. If l had daughter VINO
had to study in your artlflclally
lighted study room in the old audi
torium would make a fuss that woul
not stop short of law suit. You are
so crowded that you have six classes
on half time, as many as there are
in all the rest of the county put to-
gether. 1t is a serious situation and
your people ought to get together. II
Is not for me to advise whether you
should have a high school or new
grade school building"
DR.. Hulsart said that the school
board should not force the PROPOSE
tion on the people if they were not
ready to accept. Neither was 1t nee
essary to have 100000 building, ne
said, a building could be built for
$3.50 900. He said that he did not
have in mind a swimming pool, etc.,
but such a building could contain pos
sibly twenty rooms, a gymnasium the
size of three or four classrooms ana
an assembly room. At that rate the
building would cost $1,000 per room
for which a good building could be
erected. OF course if the town wants
ornamentation, why 100000 build
ing would provide it, he said. The
high school building at Madison cost
$6O,000 and multiply that cost by two
and one-half. to allow building of
the size Morristown needs and $780,
600 would not be reached. chatham S
cost, said DIR. Hulsart, $50,O00, mas
ten classrooms and an assembly room
that seats 400 or 500 people.
He advised the board against stand
ing in the way of Improvement by al
lowing factional strife to enter into
the discussion OF the situation and
its remedy. If there was some other
means of giving the children proper
school opportunity it should be con-
sidered and there should be no stand
ing out for some particular project or
none. If classes can be taken from
the Maple avenue building which now
accommodates both grade and high
school classes, and relieve the con-
gestion in the building it was all he
was officially concerned in. But If
he was a taxpayer in Mprristown he
would want something better.
Commissioner w. Parsons Todd
asked DR.. Hulsart If it would be pos
sible to plan a large building and
then build eight or ten rooms for
present use to which DR.. .Hulsart
said there was nothing Objectionable.
Just as soon as a new school building
was erected he prophesied property
valuations would raise and pointed to
Chatham as an example where there
was an increase of fifty per cent.
Commissioner G. Franklin Wilson
took issue with DR.. Hulsart when the
latter said that after a report on
conditions in the Morristown high
school had been made by the state
inspector and the state authorities
had found nothing had been done
there might be something said by the
state authorities regarding the mat
ter. Mr.. Wilson pointed out that the
board had a committee at work on
the problem of how to remedy the
congested conditions of the schools
since March and that something had
been done though it might not be
tangible to the state inspector.
Commissioner Todd made the point
that some small children now atte
ing the Maple avenue building nave
to walk a mile and half to the
school, as the other grade schools In
the town are full. DR.. Hulsart sand
that the lower grades are most i'm
portant but if the town maintains
high school it must maintain 1T right.
He suggested having plans prepared
for a new high school building includ-
ing all that was wanted, then build
the school part of the building ana
let the rest of the things, like a
swimming pool, gymnasium, big audi
torium, ETC., come later. Have a
meeting, he suggested, at whlcn
Kicking should be barred together
with the idea that one particular pro
iect must be adopted or none and
have the situation presented to the
people in a way that would bring
them together. He was asked about
sites for the building, but refused TO
discuss them.
Commissioner Todd reported that in
his opinion the fire hose in the Maple
avenue building was rotten and unfit
for use. He said the hose was at
tached to a standpipe. He asked that
his committee be authorized to re-
place the hose. 1t was stated that
the hose was just for show, anyhow,
and that there was not water pres
sure enough from the town mains to
provide an effective stream in the up
per floors of the building. 1t was de-
cided to ask the fire chief to test the
pressure and If it was worthwhile to
replace the hose and if not remove 1t
altogether. Fifteen additional fire ex-
tinguishers were reported as having
been added to the equipment of the
various buildings. ALI the other ex-
tinguishers had been tested out and
only one found that did not work.
Contract was ordered executed for
installing an electric fire alarm sys-
tenn in the Maple avenue building
and also to install eleven pairs of
fire doors in that building.
Miss Leila H. Barker, of Maplewood,
was engaged as a teacher to sue
ceed Miss Ford, resigned, beginning
January 1st for two years at a salary
of $40 per month.
Christian Thompson, William e..