Perth Amboy evening news. [volume] (Perth Amboy, N.J.) 1903-1959, 1924-12-22
BUILDING PROGRAM
FOR SCHOOLS IS
URGED IN REPORT
Conditions in Different School
Buildings of City Given
Out by Superintendent
REC0MME MENDATI0NS MADE
Enlargement of High and
Grammar Schools Urged
Following Survey

At special meeting of the local
Board of Education held on Friday
afternoon Superintendent Samuel +.
Shull submitted a report relative to
the present oyercrowded conditions
in the local schools. In the report
he takes each school separately and
points out in detail the conditions.
The following is the report as sub
mitted:
High School
Within this building are incorpor-
ated thirty-one classrooms. In the
cellar there are three court rooms
which in times of stress have been
used to help out the overflow of
pupils. These latter rooms are about
half way below the outside surface,
have no provisions for ventilation,
are damp during the major portion
of the year, and provide less than
half the amount of light legally re-
quired. 1t is a sin against humanity
to consign either teachers or pupils
in such quarters as these cellar
rooms.
At the present writing all the
classrooms and two of the three cell
lar rooms are occupied by pupils.
In February eighteen pupils will be
graduated from the high school and
one hundred and forty-nine grad
yates from the grammar school will
apply for high school admission. In
other words, this means that high
school enrolment on February 1 will
b increased to the extent of one
hundred and thirty-one pupils. This
fact becomes alarmingly striking
when confronted with the additional
fact that there will be put one va
cant classroom to care for them. To
this room may be added the one re-
naming dark chamber in the cellar.
II these one hundred and thirty-one
pupils could be equally divided be-
tween the two rooms referred to
above, it would mean sixty-five
pupils for each room-an impossi-
bility, since there can be but thirty
four seats in one room and not over
forty seats in the other. OF course,
these pupils must be cared for, but
to do so there are involved three ex-
tremely serious expedients: First.
disregard of the state law relative to
the amour. of pune air, floor and
lighting surface, and cubical con-
tents of the room per pupil; second,
a disregard of the physical (health)
welfare of the pupils incident to
overcrowding by seating two pupils
at a desk built to accommodate but
one, and. third. inability on the part
of teachers to properly instruct
classes that are numerically excess
sive.
AS difficult as our conditions are
going to be IN February. they will be
much more so after this coming
<JuAe. At that time there will be
graduated approximately one hun
dred and five high school pupils,
while the grammar school will send
one hundred and ninety-five Cap
proximately) to the high school de-
partment. This increased enrolment
of June added to the one hundred
and thirty increase of February
sums up a total increase of two hun
dred and twenty pupils. The seri-
BUSINESS of this becomes apparent
when it Is realized that even without
this June increase all of our rooms,
including cellar rooms, will be more
than filled. am wondering whether
this city Is going to be forced to
portion out halliday educational ra-
tions to her high school pupils next
September.
CONTINUED on page 81