The Hood River glacier. (Hood River, Or.) 1889-1933, 1914-04-23
High School Union
Hood River. April 2l. /

Editor Glacier-O old professor ir
English used to tell US that the import
ant work in debate was TO meet argu
ment with argument, facts with coun.
terfacts and leave mere assertions e
the audience.
First, wish to say that have al.
ways been opposed to conducting the
inadequate high school In the various
districts as they are at present con.
Quoted. Both in and out Of board
meetings the patrons of the school in
Frankton district have known Supt.
Churchill gave us two concrete instanc-
es of the transportation problem in
unionized or consolidated districts of
Oregon. The term "rural" merely
indicates location of the school in the
country instead of in the town or city.
We're the topography of the valley such
as to permit the free access to the CEN
ter from all directions. ! would favor
the location of the Union high school
at some central point, but that is i'm
possible.
Among the many rural high schools
in this and other states / recall a most
successful one near Sunnyside, Wn., far
removed from any town, and this is a
consolidation Of several districts for all
purposes.
Accusing me of trying to tear down
our high school, let me explain. /
never would have exposed the meager-
ness of our high school curriculum had
not Mr.. Austen made the assertion that
we were teaching most everything.
Many Of our patrons believed the same
thing and even said we had better
high school than Hood River We have
done as much as is possible with the
limited amount of cash, one room and
one teacher.
Most of us recall that the blockade
at Viento for q days was the first and
last in the past 80 years, and that get
ting to and from Ruthton and farther
west is most laborious journey at any
time of year. We would remind our
neighbors in that locality also that the
rest of the people on X. F. d. 3 have
voluntarily assessed themselves from
one to ten dollars annually that mail
facilities might be continued, though
we can not see the justice of doing so.
If my financial statements in previ-
Gus letters have been 'juggled and
misleading, no one has as yet given
facts to disprove them. So far the
facts and figures" by Mr.. johnson
have proven everything but such. AS
we'll say reputable contractors fig
ures are ficticious. or the financial rec
ords of this and other schools districts
are of no value as to say that we can
not give an approximate estimate of
the cost OF unionization and transporta.
tion. If unionization will cost US so
much more than the individual high
schools now carried on let them prove
it with other than mere assertions. II
70 years from now means greatly added
cost to the union plan, what about the
cost of the present plan if continued?
Our opponents should not forget that
we are urging a union of six districts
for high school purposes only and that
the subject of transportation is sep
arate one.
Mr.. johnson convicts him self Of in
sincerity in his recent letter. He was
explicitly told that the unionization
would not mean incurring the indebted
ness of the various districts. Supt.
Thompson explained this matter to him
at the Frankton Parent Teacher meet
ing March and he acknowledged his
error, vet he comes out in a letter
making the same assertion. Even his
statements as to the county's indebted
ness were not correct.
So much has been guessd at regard
ing the cost of education in coHsolidat-
ed schools mot for high school purposes
only that ! quote from the u. S. De.
partment of Agriculture, bulletin 232,
Oct. ]. 1910: Average cost of pupil
per year in as typical consolidated
schools in Florida, Illinois, Indiana,
lows, Massachusetts, Minnesota, North
Dakota, and Ohio in 1907 was S33. .S3;
average daily attendance, 1891. Same
for Is different districts of the first
grade in Olmstead county. Minnesota,
$32. .85; average daily attendance, l6.l.
OF the second grade, $27. &c; average
daily attendance, l4.4.
Cost of transportation from the same
bulletin are as follows: The largest
item of cost of consolidated schools is
for transportation. This, in the case
of the Trumbull county schools cited,
(Ohio) amounts to daily average of
lib cents per pupil, and is justitiable
on the ground that it secures numerous
advantages unobtainable in the district
schools. The expenditure for trans
portation adds to the total cost of con-
Quoting the school without greatly add
ing to the cost of schooling per individ-
ual pupil, as compared with the district
schools. This is explained by the larg-
er attendance which public conveyance
secures. A community which expends
on schooling $50 and upward annually
per pull, and opposes consolidation,
cannot consistently do so on the score
of increased cost.
The facility and regularity with
which pupils are brought to the consol. |
idated school has the same effect as
shortening the distance between the
farm home and the school. The child |
in its most important task attending !
schools assisted by an agency which |
leaves nothing to chance and little to |
choice. The wagon service does away
with the hit-andmiss method of going
to school on foot, and establishes a sys-
tenn differing 10 no essential respect
from that illustrated by the nicely
timed schedules of railroad trains. Free
public conveyance and other features
peculiar to consolidation are conducive
to greatly improved school patronage.
The stream Of school children which
the school wagon starts schoolward is
80 strong and steady that the educa-
tional affairs OF the community assume
totally different complexion"
Note-lt is doubtful whether our op-
oonents would belive anything based
lpon exact computation since Prof.
Mclaughlin, Supt. Thompson and my
ielf have computed the costs of high
chool education in Hood River and
Frankton without consulting each other
'efore publishing our figures. So far
Is my computation is concerned | did