The Kennewick courier-reporter. [volume] (Kennewick, Wash.) 1914-1938, 1917-08-02
MAY ABANDON HIGH
SCHOOLS in VALLEY
Proposition of Giving Up Higher
Classes in Finley and Hover
Schools Considered

Classes In Finley anu mover
Schools Considered
County Superintendent of Schools,
A. C. Jones was a visitor in Kenne-
wick Wednesday and Thursday in the
interest of the new high school laws
passed by the last legislature and their
applicability to the school situation in
this end of Benton county.
This new law, according to Mr..
Jones, makes a classification of all
school districts in the state into high
school and non-high school districts,
and provides for the reimbursement Of
high school districts for expenses in
Cured thru the attendance in high
schools of pupils who come from dis
tricts where no high school is main
tanned. This law was secured at the
last session thru the insistence of the
sparcely settled counties where boys
and girls finishing the eighth grade
and desiring a high school education
are compelled to look to another dis
trict for such advantages. The old law
provided no way in which the high
school educating such pupils could re-
ceive reimbursement. The new law
levies a tax not to exceed two mills
upon all non-high school districts Of
the county to provide fund where
with to reimburse high schools for
the expense of educating nonresident
pupils. The net cost is returned to
the high school district after subtract
ing from the total cost state and coun-
ty appointments for attendance.
The law is of interest to the Kenne-
wick high school because Of the fact
that each year it receives number
of nonresident high school pupils,
having had seventeen such pupils this
last year.
The efforts of Mr.. Jones in his re-
cent visit here were directed toward
the abandonment of the attempt to do
high school work on the part of Fin
ley and Hover, by notorious transpor-
tation Of high school children from
those two districts to Kennewick. Such
an arrangement, in Mr.. Jones' opinion,
would give Hover and Finley children
better high school facilities than they
now enjoy and would permit a better
quality of grade work to be done in
those districts, where now, he thinks,
an undue proportion of effort and
time is given to an attempt to do high
school work with inadequate teaching
force, or facilities and very few pupils.
enrolled in the high school classes.
These districts, should this expert
ment be tried, would not be bound for
longer than one year by any arrange
ments they might make, and could
easily go back to the present system
if the system Mr.. Jones urges should
not be found acceptable.
In discussing the matter with the To-
cal school board Mr.. Jones encounter
ed no opposition after he had demon
strated that there would not be any
necessary addition to the local teach
ing force because of the comparative
ly few pupils who might come from
Finley and Hover districts, and after
it was made clear that the new law
would permit this district to be reim-
bursed for the cost of providing for
these nonresident pupils. Two MEM
bers of the school board, Mr.. Lynch
and Mr.. Moulton, accompanied Mr..
Jones and Mr.. Lewis to Finley Thurs
day night where members of the How
er and Finley board met to discuss the
matter with Mr.. Jones. The new law
is not understood very clearly in either
the Finley or the Hover district, Mr..
Jones believes, and he is therefore un-
certain as to the final action of those