The Oakes times. [volume] (Oakes, N.D.) 1906-current, 1919-09-18
HIGH SCHOOL NOTES
By Supt. ]. C. Gould

" S0pt. j. u. Gould
The city schools opened Monday
according to announcements made
previously, with record enrolment
for the first day Of school. The high
school teachers were buried under
the avalanche Of registrants, and
were forced to send out an =. s,
call, to which the Board Of Education
responded by meeting in special ses
sion Monday evening to consider
ways and means Of succor.
Standing room was at a premium
in the inadequate Assembly room" ol
the high school during enrolment
Monday, and those who came early
enough to get half or third OF a
single seat to cling to considered
themselves lucky. 1t is.reported .nat
in the crush Warren orber's pompa
dour was dislocated, and that Roy
.Roney suffered = fracture of the
heart, but these rumors could not be
verified. Captain Bert Hazel and his
doughty eighth graders formed a sar.
dine squad in the rear of the room
They were packed in SO tight that
they were unable to move their arms
to sign up their registration cards un-
til after part of the mob hau dis
persed,
An even 100 enrolled in the high
school the first day, and 26 eighth
graders managed to keep themselves
from being crowded out through the
windows or the walls, =, least for
long enough time to sign their cards.
While the Total enrolment last
year reached the number Oh 40 pu.
pills in the high school, never before
in history have as many pupils been
in attendance on any one day as
there were ON the opening day this
year. Our school buildings have been
pitifully inadequate in the past, but
with the record enrolment of this
year, conditions were impossible.
At their meeting Monday evening
the board decided that the only pos
sible makeshift for this year is to
move one Of the grades % the city
hall. and thus put one more room al
the disposal OF the bursting high
school body.
It is time, however. that the citi
zens Of Cakes looked the situation
squarely in the face and realised that
the time Of makeshi1ts is past. The
state high school inspector last
spring notified. Superintendent Gould
that this year will be the last fol
Cakes ON the accredited list OF the
North Central Association until q
new building Is erected. He also
added that directly following that &C
ton we could expect to lose our clas
sification az a state high school, fol
with our present buildings we can
only be classified as a "row Of
shacks" and nothing more.
The inspector was Of course con
versant with the financial situation in
our district, and the legal limitations
to bond issue for the erection Of
new school building. He took the
ground that the state has been very
lenient with US in the past in letting
US get by with our Inadequate build
ings, simply because Of these limita'
tions. But IL the city of Oakes can
afford to. erect Community Halls and
churches, It can afford to erect an
adequate school building for its youth
even IL the money has to be raised
by popular subscription instead Of
through the usual avenues of taxation
and bond issues.
: The new TAX law will probably
triple the valuation Of our district,
and render possible bond issue next
summer that will go far toward
building a new school. I'D If it is
necessary, the citizens of oakes will
dig into their jeans for the rest of
the funds. There is too much Of the
"go-get.'em" spirit hereabouts to per-
nit our school system to be relegated
to the ash heap educatiopally.
The enrolment by grades of the