The daily Gate City and constitution-Democrat. (Keokuk, Iowa) 1916-1922, 1919-09-12
Board Of Education Hears Re-
ports on Congestion in Two
Buildings and Moves to
Alleviate Condition.
MUCH BUSINESS DONE
Miss liza Michel Employed as
Club and Garden Director
Garfield Site Ordered
Cleaned UP.

The board of education in three
hour session last night discussed the
crowded condition Of the schools,
and made temporary plans to aiievl-
ate this state of things; heard re-
ports on the progress OF the part
time school; arranged ror two weeks
Of vacation at Christmas time; en-
pIoyed Miss liza Mitchell for a year
to supervise gardens and home
clubs; considered the report OF tho
committee to secure school nurss
and asked for further investigation
into this matter with the assistance
of the Visiting Nurse association;
approved the contract and liability
policy for the transportation Of pupils
from the Prices Creek neIghborhood
into town, and authorized the Gar
field school committee to notify the
contractor who bought the building
that he has ten days m which to
clean up the corner at Fifth and
Fulton strets, or the board Will do
Il and charge him with the work.
Besides this, the board disposed OF
budget of routine matters and ap-
proved of a music schedule in the
schools that p. c. Hayden, super
visor, outlined.
In making his report on the en-
rollment for the first week of school,
Superintendent Aldrich showed the
board where the greatest congestion
is in both the high school and grade
school buildings. The Wells school
is the most seriously crowded Of all
the elementary schools, and practic-
ally every room has classics IN which
the enrolment far exceeds the re-
quirement CT the state board of edu-
cation. A total of 12l more pupils
is enrolled this year in the first week
of school than last year. The Wells
school is crowded for room and the
board granted an amendment to it's
rules to allow the superintendent to
grant transfers when by SO doing he
can relieve the congestion in one
building. The state board of educa-
ton asks that not more than forty
pupils be allowed in each room.
Practically every schoor in the Wells
is over the quota. The board also
looked to the employment of an add.
tional teacher if the emergency re-
Quires.
High Crowded, Too.
Similar crowded conditions exist in
the high school, the superintendent
showed. The North Central associa-
ton requirements are not more than
thirty pupils to class nor five
classes to a teacher. Three of the
classes have thirty-two pupils, and
one class has thirty-three In it. Two
teachers are handling SIX classes and
in another class there are thirty-five
under direction of one teacher Con-
ditions are serious enough now in
the school, but with the entrance of
mid-year class in January the
building will become more seriously
congested. One big problem is in the
assembly room. There are 503 sea. s
in the assembly room and the en-.
rollment in the high scnool is 421
The board gave the superintendent
power to select an emergency
teacher This teacher probably will
not be added until the second semes-
ter.
The part time school is living up
to the traditions of it's older brother
and is crowded. In order to make
the classes wieldy enough for one
teacher to handle the superintendent
reported that he had, with the sane
ton Of the committee. divided the