The Clayton news. (Clayton, N.M.) 19??-1954, 1921-04-23
TO THE CITIZENS OF SCHOOL
DISTRICT NUMBER ONE
4 Heart TO Heart Talk Patrons with
School Patrons About the COndi-
ton of Our Public Schools

Clayton, ~ NJ, April 2l.-As the
present school year draws to a close
the Board OF Education is beginning
to make definite plans ibr next
year. The most serious problem that
confronts the board is how to take
care of the pupils who will enter
the school next September.
Only six hundred fifty children
can he taken care of comfortably
in the three buildings in town. How
ever, during the past year nine hum
dred have been housed and taught
here. While splendid results have
been produced the difficult task of
taking care of SO many pupils in
such limited space has been accom-
plished under the most trying con-
ditiOns.
The enrolment in high school has
been two hundred twenty-five. 1t
has been necessary to make class
rooms out of the auditorium and
physics laboratory. Holding classes
in the auditorium has not been sat
isfactory because of poor ventila-
tion and poor light. Then. too. the
auditorium should be used for a
music room, wher the music classes
could have the use of the piano.
Two classes containing eight pupils
have taken music all the year with
out the piano owing to the fact
that the auditorium had to be used
for geography physiology, and spell
ing classes. The study hall. the
manual training room, and the home
economics room all have been too
crowded
The east ward has had an enroll
ment of four hundred eighteen. This
number was more than could be
packed into The east ward building.
so the frame house in the back yard
was converted into two school
rooms. This frame building is poor
ly lighted and poorly heated fit on
ly for store-rOQfns. Even after this
shift was made. some of the rooms
remained terribly crowded The
two second grades, the third grade
and the fourth grade have had far
too many pupils. the attendance in
each of those rooms frequently eX-
ceedins forty pupils.
Crowded conditions in the west
ward have been worse than in any
other school Of the district. The
west ward has only four regular
class rooms, yet it was necessary to
put six teachers in the building in
order to handle the two hundred
siNty-threc pupils that enrolled. The
hall, scarcely biz enough for one
room, was partitiOned, and two
class rooms made of it, One Of the
rooms thus made has had to be
lighted all day by electric lights
Working under electric lights all
day long, day after day. has been
very injurious to the eyes of the
teacher and pupils. The ventilation
in both of the hall rooms has been
bad 1t was thought better to en-
dure these conditions instead of
moving some of the children to
some place away from The school
building Moving them away would
have robbed them of the associa-
ton with their fellow pupils; also
it would have deprived them of good
water and sewer systems and Of
Well equipped play grounds
Every inch of housing space in
the school system has been used
This year When there was no longer
room for desks, we made tables,
chairs, and benches and placed them
here and there TO accommodate the
incoming children,
All children that have applied for
admission have been taken care of.
Sometimes they had TO be placed on
the waiting list few days until a
place could be provided for them,
but ONE shift was made To receive
and instruct them.
We are certain to have a larger
enrolment next year. We are relia-
bly, informed that people living in
the country have already begun
making arrangements to move 10
town next September. to send their
children to school. This year fully
one third Of the pupils in our school
are from rural districts. The coun-
ty unit of taxation, which we have
in this state makes the school taxes
the same over the entire eOunty.
a certain levy this year twelve
mills is placed on the assessed val
uation of the county to raise a lump
sum 10 maintain the schools of the
county. Under this county unit
system, the people throughout Union
county have q perfect right to pat
ronize the Clayton schools without