The Bluffton news. [volume] (Bluffton, Ohio) 1875-current, 1946-03-21
TWO SCHOOLS TO
OPERATE farm
COURSES JOINTLY
BlufftOn and Beaverdam Boards
to Hold Meeting for Final
Arrangements
Harry Barnes, Head of Depart
ment Here to Teach Half
Time at Both Places

Bluffton and Beaverdam boards of
education will meet in joint session
at Bluffton high school this Wednes-
day night to make final arrangements
for vocational agriculture depart
ments in the two schools for the
coming year under instructorship of
Harry f.. Barnes, head of that
department in the Bluffton school.
In announcing the meeting, it was
disclosed that negotiations have been
under way for some time between
the two boards and an agreement
reached on all major points,
At the meeting here this Wednes-
day night joint committee consist
ing of members of the two boards
will be chosen to administer affairs
of the joint vocational agriculture
setup.
HaIf-time al Eacn School
Under the proposed arrangement
which will become effective next fall,
Barnes will teach half time at each
school.
This will make possible continual
tion of vocational agriculture in
Bluffton high school which was faced
with closing of this department be-
cause of decreased enrolment and
also add new department in this
field to the Beaverdam schools.
Bluffton will have an enrolment
of approximately IL boys in this
department while Beaverdam has a
prospective enrolment of 20.
Retain Federal Aid
With Bluffton's enrolment for
farm courses less than half of what
it was at one time, the federal
government which pays half of the
instructors salary has demurred on
continuing the arrangement.
Consequently the consolidation
move was necessary so far as Bluff
ton was concerned, if vocational
agriculture was to be continued here
with the assistance of federal funds
provided under the vocational pro.
gram.
BY combining the agricultural
departments of the two schools, the
federal government will continue te
pay one-half of the instructors
salary. The other half will be shared
equally by Bluffton and Beaverdam
schools.
With each school, therefore, paying
only ,one-fourth of the total salary
continued operation of the vocationa
agriculture department in Blufftor
actually will cost less money thar
this year when the local board pait
half of the instructors salary.
Decreasing enrolment in the agri
culture department at Bluffton is il
direct proportion to sharp drop il
school attendance that has been tn,
trend for more than a decade.
When a section of Orange town
ship, bordering Richland, was trans
ferred some 10 years ago to th'
Union township school district at Mt
Cory, Bluffton lost a rural section
that provided many agricultur'
students.
Since that time, total enrolment a
the local school also has shown
steady decline, and this decrease ha
been greater among students from
farms than it has been in towr
Farm families in previous years hav
been considerably larger than tn
average city family, but now the
are more nearly equal in size, an
boys interested in agriculture studie
consequently are fewer in the locs
school.
Barnes present salary, paid hal
by the Bluffton board of educatio
and half by the state department @
vocational education, is s2,576, wit
$500 travel allowance.