The people's voice. [volume] (Helena, Mont.) 1939-1969, 1952-08-08
SMALL SCHOOLS, FACING SERIOUS PROBLEMS, ARE Of
vital WORTH III

Inverness, from Rudyard and from
bingham are maintained north and
south for the schools, but only for
short hauls and with great difficulty.
Longer hauls would not only be far
more expensive, but probably would
keep the children on each bus beyond
the limit of one hour. One should
bear in mind that there is now
round trip of thirty miles to the north,
without adding mileage east or west.
Parents who reside in these small
towns resent the effort that is being
made to re-district and thus deprive
them of their local high schools. Es-
pecially so, if the attempt includes
establishment of single, centrally
located high school. Parents in
Kremlin community say that if such
a consolidation is forced, they will
send their children to the Havre high
school instead, because the peril for
their children on long bus hauls west
ward through billiards. is too great.
A bus into Havre, however, is far
from desirable
One point made by the parents of
all these small towns deserves seri-
ious consideration. They declare it
is fact that among all the children
who have been educated in their
schools, none has ever been commit
ted to the State Industrial School or
sentenced to the penitentiary. The
numerous commitments that flow like
a steady stream from Hill county into
the State Industrial School and the
penitentiary are chiefly from the
over-crowded schools of Havre.
When the cost of dealing with the
delinquent children from Havre
schools and the cost of criminal pro-
cedure against adults trained in the
Havre schools has been reckoned, the
direction and control maintained in
their own small schools is being ac-
1leved at less expense. The schools
IT these small communities maintain
education above the crime level; the
of Havre do not Thoughtful
taxpayers will do we'll to weigh this
)oint carefully.
A representative from each of the
TX small communities, along with a
representative from Havre, got to-
'ether last year as planning board
or the redistricting of high schools.
hey came to an agreement that a
Ugh school should be maintained in
ach community, as soon as an aver
ge daily attendance of twenty-five
I'LL permit. They are willing to con-
EIDE cooperation between two or
hree communities to maintain the
eeded attendance level, but insist
nat each community shall run it's
wn school if it so desires, as soon as
has enough children to do so.
A very few persons propose a diff
erent solution for the problem of
nall high schools in Hill county, but
ley do so furtively, fearing public
ldignation. One of these men, I'M
honest but appreciably in
uenced by corporation contacts, was
'ked for his opinion about these
hools. He replied, "Give them the
Ie. Give all of them the axe''.
He elaborated his position. Rud-
lrd high school, although it is meet
g all requirements for a good high
hool can, so he believes, be put in
e position of being overcrowded, if
e school at nearby bingham is fore
to close and the pupils transfer
Rudyard. In this way, a pretext
giving Rudyard the axe" can be
Gated.
This man wishes to abolish all the
isting high schools along the High
e, and to put the entire area in one
IN school district. Then he wants
bond the district and build lust
big consolidated high school on
open prairie, taking pains that it
all not be erected near any COM
nifty which now has high school.
Men acquainted with construction
SITS say that to erect the high school
lldlng as suggested, on the open
alrle, and equip it, will entail the
penditure of somewhere between