Daily capital journal. (Salem, Oregon) 1903-1919, 1914-11-28
WILL HAVE TO BUILD
ANOTHER HIGH SCHOOL
Present Building Crowded to Capacity
with 277 Pupils in Eighth Grade
Building viii Be Utterly Inadequate,

That the population of the city and
Salem school district is growing by
leaps and bounds and that some very
material engagements and improve
ments will have TO be made to the Salem
High school in the very near future is
the consensus of opinion of some of the
most substantial and progressive tax
payers and business men of the city,
which developed at an informal discus
sion of school matters following the
meeting of the taxpayers last evening
when the report of the board of
directors was adopted.
City Superintendent Elliott stated
that the present attendance at the High
school was 6SS students, a considerable
increase over last year and this would
he further increased by from 100 to
ll5 new pupils during second semester.
Furthermore, there are 277 pupils in the
eighth grades Of the city schools this
year who will enter High school next
year. If the attendance increases at
the present rate for the next four years,
Mr. Elliott thinks, the High school at
tendance will easily reach 100 stu
dents and the present facilities are abb
solutely inadequate to take care Of such
an attendance.
"When the district purchased the
half block upon which the high school
now stands several years ago. said
William Brown, 7 felt that it would
be a good stroke of business to purchase
the entire block and am more strongly
convinced Of the wisdom of that idea
now than ever. The school population
of the city is growing so rapidly and
the attendance of the high school pro.
portionately so that we will eventually
have to buy the other half of the block
aud it could have been secured at a
much cheaper figure then than now.
The time will come, and that very soon,
when we will have to erect another
building like this one and the proper
place to build it is, in my opinion, in
this same block.
During the progress Of the taxpayers
meeting A. N. Moores brought up 1.-THE
question of outside attendance in the
high school and asked, as a matter of
information if it were not true that
much Of the increase in High school at
tendance was due to this cause, Mr..
Lee explained that the attendance from
outside the district was quite large and
gradually increasing and also stated
that the board had increased the rate Of
tuition for outside students from $40
to $40 per term.
lie said that he did not believe that
the district should permit outside at
tendance at the high school but he did
not see how it could be refused, because
the board did not like to deny the right
Of a higher education to any child,
That the board had recommended to the
outside school districts the lecying of
special tax, as provided under the
present state law, to pay the high school
tuition Of children from those districts
instead of having the burden Of ex'
pense fall upon the individual parent
as it now does,
At any rate It was pointed out that
the district would either have to shut
out outside pupils from attending the
High school altogether in the very near
future or to build another High school
in the course Of the next year or two.
and the erection Of another High school
building will come as matter of course
anyhow eventually.
-s-o-~-
The more q man knows the less he
thinks he knows,