Evening Republican, Volume 20, Number 4, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 5 January 1916 — Wants to Force Trustee To Build a High School. [ARTICLE]

Wants to Force Trustee To Build a High School.

County Superintendent of Schools Lamson is very anxious to build a high school or two during the time he is in office. Last year’s attempt to erect an expensive high school in Barkley township failed, but the taxpayers were placed to; some expense i because an architect had been hired and a law suit was instituted and there was a lot of expense in trying to locate some contractor who would erect 'the proposed building for any way near the figure of the architect. Very few taxpayers in Barkley township wanted the building and could the proposition have been placed to a vote it is probable that 80 per cent of the voters would have opposed it, but Superintendent Lamson made a strenuous effort to build it any way., Now his attention has again been turned to Union township and with Rudolph L. Budd as an instrument, suit has been started in that township to compel Trustee Hammerton to erect a high school building. Mr. Budd lives some distance north of the Rose Bud church. There is nothing to indicate that he hopes to have the high school built on or near his farm, but lie has no children of any ways near high school age and possibly his interest is purely a public-spirited one, but if the citizens of the township are generally in favor of a high school, as we are informed they are not, the matter should 'be brought up to the trustee in the form of a petition and v not started as a legal conflict that means expense to all taxpayers and annoyance to all who would .be called to testify. —-i

1. Union township is large, containing 66 square miles. The Monon railroad running north from this city traverses the west side of the township. The towns of Parr and Fair Oaks, with considerable populations, are on the railroad. They are so situated that a township high school could not be located so as to be agreeable to both or to receive the patronage of both and at the same time be accessible to the other parts of the township. Fair jQaks and Parr are both in need of good, modem school buildings and plans are on foot to erect them, probably four-room buildings

at each place. Plans can be made at either one or both places to give first year high school work. That plan will meet every need and a superintendent deeply interested in the welfare of the school facilities of that township could see it at a glance. During the past dozen years many . students from Fair Oaks, Parr, Rose- , lawn and other towns to the north and from other points in Union township aave been educated in the Rensselaer high school. With automobiles as an agency of travel and with a railroad with excellent facilities running along the west side of the township there is every reason to .believe that Rensselaer with its fine high school and Its vastly better facilities will continue to draw largely from the high school scholars of that township. Trustee Hammerton knows this and believes he is representing the educational interests and the business interests of the township in making a fight against the erection of a township high school, which would cost from SIO,OOO to $15,000 to build and J>e a big expense to maintain. The law provides that where the taxpayers of a township can not agree on the location of a high school the superintendent has the power to locate it and that from his decision there is no appeal. This makes graft an easy possibility, for a superintendent could very easily locate the building at some point where there was a financial consideration for so doing, f W. L. Wood has been retained by Trustee Hammerton to fight the suit instituted by Mr. Budd. It is said that the people of Fair Oaks and Parr are united in opposition to the plan of Budd and the superintendent. ■ It is expected the coming year to erect a new school" at Fair Oaks and the following year at Parr and this will meet every school need of the township at this time.