Alma record. (Alma, Mich.) 1878-1928, 1918-04-18
ALMA WILL GET
A NEW SCHOOL
Voters Are Four to One in Favor
of Building New $4,000
School Here.
79 TO II WAS THE VOTE
While Voting Was Light the Majority
Leaves No Doubt as To Feeling
of Tax Payers.

The voters Of the fractional school
district Pine River and Arcadia, as the
Alma school district is known, voted
Monday evening to bond the district
for $40, 200 for the construction OF Il
new ward school TO be built On the
Elmwood school site east of Grover
avenue.
In some respectes the special cleo
tion of the school district was a dis
appointing affair, as very few of the
voters of the district turned out to
vote on the matter. The proposition
carried by better than four to one
vote, as it was 10 votes being for the
measure and only II against it. This
plainly indicates the feeling of the
district, and shows that the people Of
Alma realize the great need that the
city has for new school, to relieve
the conditions which have been exist
ing here for the past year, and which
have been growing worse during the
course Of the school year, necessltat-
ing the use of the. assembly room ar
the city hall as school room and the
use Of basement rooms in one of the
ward schools as school rooms. In
addition to this two temporary schools
We're constructed, which it had been
believed would be adequate, but even
these failed to supply the needed
room, so that in some grades half
day sessions had to be used
L
endeavor to put the new structure in
An available place, where it would
supply the demands of the greatest
need to the school going children of
the city. In selecting the Elmwood
site east Of Grover avenue, the board
has done this, it believes, because of
the great number of youngsters, who
reside east Of Bridge and Grover ave
nues, and who are compelled at pres
ent OF go much farther to school than
the children in any other part of the
city.
The board will construct the school
building after the plans submitted by
,. ID. Butterworth of Lansing, which
call for ward school of two stories
and basement, the structure TO be
fire-proof. 1t will have concrete floors
and be constructed of brick. The
building is to be 10 feet in length by
y feet wide.
On the first floor is to be a large
kindergarten room, on three sides of
which will extend large corridor
twelve feet wide. On the opposite
sic of the corridors, will be found
three class rooms, % by 30 feet, to-
gether with two large toilets. the
principal's.room and room for the
instructors.
On the second floor will be located
large auditorium, 35 by 63 feet.
which will be used also for class
room. A large corridor ~ feet wide
also extends around three sides of the
auditorium. On the opposite sides OF
the corridors will be located five class
rooms which will be % by 30 feet in
length.
1t is expected that work will be
started just as soon as possible on the
new structure, which is authorized
now by the vote of the taxpayers of
the district. There is every desire to
have the new structure ready for use
by the time that the public schools
open IN the fall. because of the crowd
ed conditions of the public schools.
which will be still worse by fall. at
the present rate of increase in Alma.