Nappanee Advance-News, Volume 88, Number 32, Nappanee, Elkhart County, 4 February 1965 — Page 7

WA-NEE, WE HAVE PROBLEMS!

East Side School Studied From Different Angles Various phases of the Charles Cole Report discuss the present East Side School* They look at it in different aspects, as a high school housing all the students in the district from grades 10-12, as a school housing grades 7-12, and as a junior high school for grades 7 through 9. If it were to house grades 7-12,

one more grade than it now has, East Side School, according to Cole, would require an expenditure of $314,360. This cost would include suc 'h items as 7 more classrooms, an addition of 5,000 square feet to the industrial arts area, and a library addition. This part of the expense, they say, would total $281,160. & j , In addition, Cole discusses costs of adding four acres for a baseball field, sodding of the practice field ($13,420) adding a fence for the practice field ($3,780) four tennis courts for $12,000. This would bring that grand total to $314,360. If East Side were to be the school for grades 10-12, Cole says, the cost would be an additional $136,160 for that school. This figure includes adding on to the industrial arts, library, and hallways.

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At Nappanee, facilities are given so that boys and girls may prepare for college or get the basic training for avvariety of trades.

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The great Nappanee High School gym is shown here divided in half so that two physical education classes can go on at the same time. During g ame time, or for band concerts and many other activities, the bleachers are drawn forth Jo seat over 24 90. The gym is Used every day and most every evening. Many young men take advantage of the intramural program in the evenings.

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Here girls It Nappane High School are making dresses from patterns. In another section of home eclnontics rooms ere teciitfltl for cWfiflfltg and other ediMbtion.

If East Side were to be merely a junior high school for grades 7-9, the Cole Report says that $32,000 would still have to be spent for site improvement (practice field, ete.) East Side now houses 644 ,stui ~ dents from grades 8,9, 10, 11, and 12, plus a special education class. Os those students, 371 live in Nappanee, 59 in Scott Township, and 48 in Jefferson Township. Another' 47 live in Locke Township, and the rest, 112 live in rural Union Township. There are presently 522 students in grades 10, 11, and 12 within the whole Wa-Nee District, or 92 less than are now at East Side. If you were to add the 7th grade from Union Center and from Nappanee?’ to the present East Side School, you would add 178 ihOre to the present total.

What's To Be Done With Central And South Schools? The Charles W. Cole Cos., engineers and architects, have published A report on the cost figures of various plans which could be followed in adding classroom space in this district. In every one of the plans, Cole mentions what can be done to SouthSchool in Nappanee. They say tflA, for $302,885, six rooms coukUbb added to South plus area for nuisic and art rooms, a general purpose room, library, and more food service (cafeteria). South School now has students from Kindergarten through fifth grade. There are presently 252 students at South. Based on a maximum class of 30, sik more elementary classrooms would absorb over 150 children, taking a great deal of load off the older part of Central Elementary School. In all the basic plans, the Cole Cos. offers the same figure of $155,240 each time in estimating what it would cost for Central Elementary. If it were to be Used as a K-6 school, it would need a'new boiler room, more toilets, and a multipurpose room. 'Then 12 classrooms in the newer part of the building would be used, and the older part used only for the boiler room facilities and the multi-purpose room. An alternative to this idea would be to demolish the old part of Central and build new boiler room and multi-purpose room. This is where the cost of $155,240 comes in, including $20,000 as the cost of demolition of the old part of the building. There are at present 786 enrolled in K-7 at Central Elementaryplus 16 in the special education class. WA-NEE ASSESSED VALUATION City of Nappanee $ 6.997,630 Rural Locke & Union 6,497,760 CMty of Wakarusa & Olive 4,294.710 Harrison 4,394,320 Jefferson and Scott . 3,282,551 Total Adjusted $24,028,532

No one in this class for typing knew this taken. Everyone was busy taking a speed test.

Costs Os New High School Covered In Coje Report If the Wa-Nee School Board decides to build anew high school in the district, there is still no definite information as to where It would be placed. According to the Ball State report, the population center of the district now immediately to the North of the city limits of Nappanee, but the Ball State report indicates that Harrison Township, some 15 miles to the

northeast is the area of greatest aotential growth due to the persons who are moving to that area from Goshen and Elkhart. The Cole report says that a new high school for grades 10-12 can be built for $1,978,977. This includes the cost of land figured at $22,500. They say the cost for sewer and wafer would be $15,)00 if it was. necessary to build those facilities within the new school ground, but they estimate hat it would be considerably less for sewer and water if existing ’ity sewer and water facilities could be used. This high school as 'stimated by Cole, would have nine academic classrooms. It would also save facilities for arts and crafts,

Harrison and Union Could Get Vlore Classrooms In the basic pians for new school onstruction or remodeling, the "■ole report does not mention eiher Harrison School or Union ’bwnship School as requiring utention. However, in the back of heir book, suggested costs are iven' for possible future consid>ration at Harrison and Union. At Harrison, Cole says, 5 elemenary classrooms, plus music and art ooms, library, service area and idditional toilets plus improvement if the septic system and disposal ield and anew boiler would cost 176,660. At Union Center, a suggested ddition of 6 elementary rooms >lus a kindergarten room, music nd art room, library, service space, nd hallways would cost $199,980. At the present time, eighth grade tudents from Union are transportid to East Side, and from Harrison 0 Wakarusa.

Citizen Sharpens His Pencil With Math Problem One of the citizens living within he Wa-Nee School District has >een disturbed over the rising costs >f the transportation of the stulents in the District. Why, he wonlered, wouldn’t the cost of this transportation rise if a high school was built ‘outside of either Nappalee or Wakarusa. He did some arithmetic based on figures he was able to obtain. He reasoned that, if a centrally located high school vte re built, some 369 students from the City of Nappane.e would have to be transported in addition to those ho# being transported. Based on the cost estimate Os $57:b4 per ) , etudent, he figilred that the cost to haul Nappanee students to anew school Would be JfiJl,379*o per year or, for a period of 16 years, an expenditure of $338,607.90. In looking at the Wakarusa situation, he estimated th%t there -dould be 100 students from town tySio would have to be transported Again based on the cost of $54.94 * yifcr -per student*, ttos would • be am-additional $5794.00 for one

mlisic, science rooms, library, homemaking, a language lab, a gym with 3.000 seals, a cafeterium, industrial arts, vocational agriculI Hire, plus administrative offices. ! Basically it would contain much the same facilities as the present East Side School, built about ten years ago .for ab o u t $1 million. Lacking at the outset would fre football field and field hoitse, and pre sumably the facilities at East Side School could be used. The plan for East Side School calls for tennis courts (4) and baseball fields, neith er of which are mentioned for the new high school. At the present time, there are two'tennis courts used by the school at Stauffer Park in Nappanee plus a baseball diamond and field. year, and $86,910.00 for 15 years. In Qther words, the additional transportation eosts for 15 years, if students from both Nappanee and Wakarusa had to be transported put of town, would amount to $407,607.90 over what is now spent. If Nappanee were used for the eontral high .school, he says, there would be only the additional cost of hauling the Wakarusa students of the $85,910.00 for 15 years. In other words, by eliminating the transportation costs of hauling the Nappanee children out of town would result in a 15 year saving of $233,787.90. There’ll be much more arithmetical figuring before this whole problem is resolved.

Transportation Is A Big Item In Wa-Nee District According to figures released ,by the Wa-Nee School officials, transportation is a big item within the district. For the school year 196364, the cost for transportation for corporation owned equipment was $37,240.73, and with driver owned equipment $72,281.00. Under both these systems, 9 buses now transport 610 students daily to Nappanee, 8 buses take 458 students daily to, Harrison, 8 buses transport 465 to Wakarusa, and 6 buses take 377 students to Union Center. , There are now 31 buses transporting 1890 children within the Wa-Nee District. DATES The original part of Wakarusa School was built in 1924 with additions to it in 1952, 1955, and 1963. East Side School was built in 1956 with an addition in 1964. ill ■ ' The old part of Central Elementary was built in 1916 and the second in 1937. South Side School was built in 1953 with an addition in 1955, * Harrison Township School was built in 1955 with an addition in 1960. Union Center School was built IP 1953 with additions in 1955 and 1960.

COLE REPORT Copies of the Cole report, having to do with costs of various alternative plans, are available in the school libraries for anyone who wishes to study them. We are told that, when the School Board has had more time for study, public meetings will be conducted so that everyone in the Wa-Nee District will have a chance so hear what is being planned and to voice his opinions and suggestions.

The all-purpose room at Nappanee High School is lust that. It is used for study hall, for the cafeteria, for all assemblies. It has a equipped stage on one end, and the kitchen on the other. It is the center of much of the City's various activities as well.

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In a well equipped shop wing, Nappanee High School offers rtiOtil and woodworking, auto mechanics, mechanical drawing, basic electricity, and an over-all building trades course.

Wa-Nee School Enrollment v r ■ I- ' SP ED K 1 234567 8 9 10 11 12 Total Harrison * S3 61 60 74 68 59 68 37 462 Central 16 53 103 106 92 81 108 99 128 , , 786 last Side 16 148 South 57 31 30 31 37 35 252 Uhlon confer 19 58 47 50 39 52 37 50 352 Wokarusa 43 51 49 44 49 44 St 67 90 92 83 69 54 788 Total AH Orade 3,284 frnfri lull Vi Bfliu l~ ifi

Wakarusa Schools Will Need Extensive Rebuilding One of the major problems in the Wa-Nee District is the Wakarusa School and what to do to provide adequate facilities there. This problem is discussed at length in the Cole report. To remodel to orovide such facilities at the present building could be done, according to Cole. The remodeling to in-

elude improvement for home economics, more storage, library, new cafeteria, renovation of the old gym, addition to the wood shop, new locker space and four new classrooms and 'toilets would, they estimate, he $368,500. To provide athletic laundry facilities ($9,000). canvass and net to divide the gym ($3,000), new studyhall ($33,000), new floor in the old gym ($5,500), new administrative suite ($30,900), obtain an additional 20 acres for football and baseball fields and bleachers for 3,000 spectators ($60,000), new furniture for the administrative suite and seven classrooms ($10,800), and new industrial arts equipmtent and tools ($15,000), would add $172,320 more. This remodeling (a total of $736,373) plus an addition of nine more classrooms for elementary use ($214,500) would bring the grand total for Wakarusa to $950,873.

Another suggestion is anew elementary school in Wakarusa. It would have 12 classrooms, kindergarten room, kitchen, all-purpose room, music and art room, and administrative offices. Adding the cost of land ($15,000), sewer and water ($15,000), and equipment; would bring the total cost for this elementary school to $614,240, In the City of Wakarusa, there are now 234 students from grades 1-12. Presumably then, over 500 children attending school in Wakarusa' come from other parts of the District, mostly from Olive Township and from Harrison. Living in Wakarusa are 59 students in grades 10, 11, and 12. Another 45 students, many of whom are nowbeing transported to Wakarusa, live in Olive Township and are enrolled in grades 10, 11, and 12. Living within the City of Nap--10, 11, and 12. None of these 208 are now being transported to school by bus.