River Falls journal. [volume] (River Falls, Pierce County, Wis.) 1872-2019, 1923-07-05
Dr.. FoWlkeS Gives
Survey Of Local
School Needs

The annual school meeting was
held in the high school assembly room
Monday evening. There were about
one hundred people present. The
meeting was called to order by Mrs
Frank Pomeroy, president of the
board of education and IL. Lusk
was elected chairman. Reports fol
the last year were read and approved
and the school tax for next year was
levied. The amount levied was
$37.85O.00. Mr.. Emil Carisch was
unanimously elected to succeed Mr.
Walter Sutherland as clerk. MI
Sutherland had previously stated that
he would not be candidate to sue
coed himself.
The meeting then remained in
session for approximately two hours
to listen to a report from DIR. John
Guy Fowlkes on a survey OF the
building, organization, and finance OF
the River Falls Public Schools.
DIR. Fowlkes, who is associate
professor in the department. OF
education at the University of Wis
consin, had been employed by the
Board of Education to make the sur
vey and had made his report to the
board last Saturday.
In reaching his conclusions he had
a number of conferences with other
members of the department OF edu-
cation at the University of Wiscon-
sin, and with members o. the State
Department of Education.
Before the final recommendations
of the survey were decided upon,
conferences were held with the rep
resentatives of the Normal School.
If it is not the only CAREFUL study
that has been made of the school
situation in River Falls, it is GER
tainly the most comprehensive.
The recommendations made ap-
peared somewhat radical to many II
not to most of the people in the
audience, but it was very apparent
that the more they thot about them,
and discussed them, the nearer they
came to believing that the basic
recommendations would sooner OF
latter be accepted, and that the
sooner they are accepted the better
for all concerned.
He made it very clear that the de-
tails are yet to be worked out, but
that there are certain premises that
the district as whole lust accept
before any real progress can be
made toward providing more adequate
school facilities for the children OF
River Falls.
His basic conclusions are as fol-
lows:
/. River Falls needs new hign
school building and new grade
building.
2. No program for the improvement
of the River Falls Public Schools
that does not take into consideration
the needs of the Normal Schoo'
would be wise nor desirable.
3. That a definite plan for the CO.
ordination of the two schools be
worked out, and that it be in writing
so that everyone concerned may
know what the plan is.
d. That the city of River Falls
build a new grade building and re-
build all but the latest addition K
the high school.
5. That the District is financially
able to build.
6. That the Board of Education has
ample powers to carry out the recon-
mendations made.
The survey will not be in print
for general distribution for some
time, if it is printed at all. In order
that all persons in the district may
know what it contains, it will be made
the basis of series of articles
which will be run in this paper. The
first of these will appear next weel
and will deal with the findings %
the survey in regard to the present
high school building.
BENWAY-GARDNER