The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1948-10-07
GROUP PRESENTS
PETITIONS TO
END MASTER PLAN
Special Hearing Held Before
County Commissioners Tuesday
By Those Opposed to Two High
School Program

Petitions with total of / 1888
names attached to them, asking the
County Commissioners abandon the
master plan of two-high school
system in the county, were presented
to the Commissioners Tuesday after
noon at a special hearing in the Court
room. Approximately 50 persons at
tended.
The petition declares that the
signers are opposed to the "Maste-
Plan" believing that the plan TO
build two large high schools, one at
Keyser Ridge and one at Oakland, to
the place of the present five high
schools, is "impractical and unsound."
The petitioners object because Of
the severe winter climate, making the
roads unfit and unsafe for travel due
to icy conditions and drifting snow"
would "work great hardships upon
many children and patrons" and that
many would not be able to regularly
endure the great amount of additional
exposure to the clements that the
program would require" They
further declared their belief that the
severe winter time conditions on
Keyser Ridge would be likely to
render any school plant there prac-
tically useless for many days eacn
year" Efficiency of teachers and stu
dents would be impaired and schools
would be seriously handicapped, they
further declare.
They asked that consideration be
given to improving the present school
buildings in such manner and Gin such
amounts as we can reasonably af-
ford"
The petition advocates more I'M
provements by better teaching and a
closer adherence to the ''principlcs Of
hard work and straight thinking"
Clifford Friend, Friendsvillc,
spokesman for the group, charged
that the schools had not made proper
use of facilities already available and
asked for more thorough instruction
in basic subjects.
Almost 800 of the names on the pc
titions came from the Kitzmiller area,
Friend said. f. f. Guard, w. W.
Savage, and John Herman, of the Ac-
cident- Friendsville area, and Russell
Fichtner and Mrs. Earl Shank, of the
Kitzmiller section, voiced their OPP
position to the master plan.
Emeric Dusic, Oakland, asked that
the people not sacrifice better edu-
cation, which parents had been seek
ing for many years, just because of
one man or a few. R. Bowen Har-
desty, acting superintendent Of
schools, who attended the hearing, de-
clared it was his intention to give
Garrett county the best system of
education possible with the eXpendi-
ture of the least amount of money
possible.
Neil c. Fraley, attorney to the
Board of County Commissioners,
pointed out that most of those op-
posed to the master plan were labor
ing under the impression that an eX-
penditure of $3,5OO,000 from the sale
of bonds, was to be spent for schools.
He asked that it be plainly under
stood that the bond issue was for ST.
100000, which had already been
passed by the state legislature, thai
the Commissioners were attempting
to arrive at some conclusion as to the
best way to spend this amount of
money to improve the school building
facilities of the county, and that they
had no intention Of launching a pro-
gram to the extent of $3,500,O00.
He said the Commissioners planned
to continue to study the problem.
Mr. Friend told the Commissioners
that he intended that only those who
opposed that master plan be at the
hearing, but that a number of Others
had filtered in"