The globe-independent. (Hagerstown, Md.) 1943-19??, 1949-04-28

When we think of our public
school system, we are more prone
to regard the courses taught-the
school stats and students as the first
outward picture in our minds.
But-What do we have to work
buildings, equipment, etc?
Well, to start out with, we have
one school with 40 rooms, 1880 pu
pills and so teachers under one roof
five days a week, nine months a
year. At the other end we have one
school with one room, II pupils and
/ teacher. So, in between the larg
est and smallest unit we find
buildings of various sizes, including
7 high schools, junior high schools
and "a elementary schools, housing
1929 students and 400 teachers.
What is all this worth? A lot of
you readers will be folks who work
with large and small firms and think
of size in terms of dollars invested
in the firm.
First, the land on which schools
are standing is valued at $296,000,
the buildings on this land are val
ued at $4,3O3,20O, and the equip
ment in these buildings valued at
$374,195. A total valuation of our
school system is almost $5,000,000
Second, to operate and maintain
this large investment requires an
operating budget of $2,263,000
year That goes for salaries, books,
coal-3500 tons year-10,000 light
bulbs, $500 for paper towels and
toilet paper, $1,400 for chalk and
colored crayon, faucet washers.
brooms and countless everyday ar.
ticles.
But, enter one of your schools.
You will soon find more than walls,
rooms, desks, a roof and, oh yes, an
office-principals office-where we
all at one time or another wendell
our way, how unwilling at times
and with Remember? Take for
instance at Junior High.
What makes a school tick? A bit
like a human body I'd say. We
have -body-school has a build
ing-we have a blood stream-so a
school, pupils-we have a mind
(good or bad)-school has a staff of
teachers-Get my point? 1t takes
lot of everything to make us and
schools tick. Yes, we have arms and
legs-school has gyms, auditoriums,
classrooms, workshops. Some of us
have a lot of hair and some do not
some schools have lots of this
sort of necessary appendages or ap-
purtenances and some do not have
as many. So schools are like hum
an beings in that both have some
endowed with advantages and some
do not have as many.
Take this junior high-you might
find it in Hagerstown, Hancock,
Clear Spring, Williamsport, or
Boonsboro. In it, besides we'll
lighted classrooms, you will find a
fair to well stocked library working
in cooperation with the Washington
County Free Library assistance;
cafeteria where a good hot lunch at
minimum cost is provided; Indus
trial Arts department, or in farming
areas an Agriculture Shop; and ev-
en- at Boonsboro a school farm of
several acres; and Home Econom-
les department You might not, in
fact will not in most junior highs.
find elaborate Well-graded play
ground areas-good old dust or mud
predominates in many places. But,
our junior high schools are fairly
well equipped as whole, but some
could use more equipment and others
could profit by replacement of pres
ent equipment and provision of
gynnasiums, auditoriums, shops, and
laboratories.
How about the Al elementary
schools strategically located thru
out the County. Now here is a
problem-these schools need many
things-the elementary schools APP
proximate l teacher to 38 pupils; 81
have cefeterias or kitchens (mostly
latter for preparing food and
lunches; in 20 other schools, lunches
are eaten in classrooms, halls, or
outdoors in good weather; sanitary
inside toilets are found in all but II
elementary schools At 2 County