Lincoln County leader. [volume] (Toledo, Lincoln County, Or.) 1893-1987, 1917-03-23
NEWPORT SCHOOLS

ISuieoi heduer - L nave HeSlIdteu 10
request space in your valuable paper
for further discussion of Newport High
School affairs, but the intelligent class
of our citizens does not desire the i'm
preston to 60 out through the county
that they are to be judged by the ego.
tistical schoolgirl effusion that ap.
peared in your last issue, under the
psepdonym Of Student"
The slur thrown at Toledo's excel
lent High-School system in that article,
-gas fair sample of the liberal at.
titude of this would be censor of the
public press. There are unfortunately
in every community a few narrow
minded and misguided individuals
who think 1t an evidence Of their own
superiority, to belittle the citizens and
institutions of adjoining towns. but
we bespeak for Student" our chari-
table indulgence. She is quite young,
and the very young always are in
fiuenced by surrouding environments.
For two years she has been imbibing
learning at the feet, Of whom to her
unprecedented CD mind, can only be
spoken of as Superintendent and
Principal in Chief of the Newport High
School System"
She reminds us somewhat of little
Yankee Doodle who Mounted his
pony, stuck a feather in his anatomy
and called him 'Macaroni,'" when
she gushingly compares the miserable
condition OF High School affairs of
two years to its present efficient con-
dltion, and gives all the praise to said
Superintendent" We wonder what
her opinion win be two years hence,
for idealistic youth is proverbially
lck,e.
The facts about the present con-
troversy here are simply as follows; -
Newport School has a registered at
tendance of less than $50 pupils. Supt.
Coin is our authority for the state
ment that the State Board of Examin-
ers have ruled that no school with less
than 400 pupils can elect Superin-
tendent.
The official Blue Book for 1916 lists
Prof. Ortman, as Principal e. Newport
High School. Yet Student saws that
he is a superintendent" ami that
Prof. Gem is the Principal.
Either the State Board is wrong,
the Blue Book is wrong, or Student
needs another two years study H.
English before she again airs her er.
udition.
The plant of the taxpayers of this
school district is that our School
Board is paying Principal a Super
intendents salary, when we cannot
legally employ a Superintendent
Plenty OF efficient men can be secured
as Principal, at salary Of 100000
the same as you pay at Toledo. Thi!
alone would be a saving of Sl530.0(
per year. Our Board is now admittinl
that II can dispence with severa
teachers without impairing the ehlc
iency of the schools. 1t is the present
waste of the taxpayers money that We
are complaining Of and student" Is
not the only one who was "astounded'
when the true facts in this Contro
versy became known. For example
Newport High, with 81 pupils, is pay
ing Prof. Ortman, Principal, $l530.0O
Roseburg, with 800 pupils, pays hel
principal $4,000 less. Hood River
222 pupils, pays s4O5.OO less, etc, etc
Dozens of similar comparisons to oui
disadvantage can be seen in the Blu,
Book by those who care to further in
vestigate the matter. Student
quotes a lot Of figures in her article
but her figures compare Prof. Ortman'
salary here as Principal (for he legal!
is nothing else) with that of the salar!
paid Superintendents in other cities
and is therefore about as pertinent 4
the question, as though she were Il
dub her idol as President" and com
pare his salary with that OF Presiden
Kerr, of o. A. c., or President Camp
bell, OF u. of O.
We challenge the School Board
Student. or the so-callod "Superin
tendent' to produce any record In tn
school minutes that mention Ortman'
election as a Superintendent. on TN
other hand am informed by reliabl,
authority that II was specifically stat
cd in such minutes that he was electet
as Principal.
Hence the utter absurdity Of "Stud
cnt's" entire article. and the contcn
lions of the School Board Is patent L
any one. and seems so plain that eyci
a wayfairing student should not er
therein.
The taxpayers of this dlsrtct ar
trusting that when the choice q
teachers and salaries are made 70
the coming year by the Board, the.
will govern themselves by the rule
Of the State Board, and use the SAM
diligence I'm handling our school ai