A proposed plan of reorganization of the schools of Sevier County, Arkansas

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A PROPOSED PLAN OP REORGANIZATION OF THE SCHOOLS 2N SEVIER COHNTT, ARKANSAS

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,

A KtOKSiSD ?LAH OF HSCIKMNIZATXGN OF WM 3CII00IB o r a m s t t c o t n t y a mmm

A tfaoaia s u b a itto c l to p a r t i a l f u l f l l l a a a t o f tfe« nacpiiraraanta f o r th e d ag rae o f l a s t o r o f S o lo m o

%

clsxe m m m , s . s . s . (Arkansas S ta te Teachers C o llsg e, 1933}

1942 Ths U n iv e rs ity o f Arkansas

1

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UMI Number: EP15457

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t h i s t h e s i s i s h e re b y approved f o r reeommendat io n t o th e G raduate C o u n cil

j o r P r o fe s s o r: /

T h e sis Committee:

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TABLE OP c o n t e s t s

I,

I n t r o d u c t i o n ............. ♦..............., . .............................

* ...........

O rig in and H is to r y o f S e v ie r County S c h o o l s . . . ...................

4

...............

P re s e n t S ta tu s o f S c h o o ls*

6

S ta te m e n t o f th e Problem . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . II,

D e ta ile d E xam ination o f th e P r e s e n t S e t U p . . . . . . . . .........

E v a lu a tio n o f th© P re s e n t E d u c a tio n a l P ro g ra m .

IV,

26

...........31

D i f f i c u l t i e s i n P ro g ram . .......... S ources o f O p p o s itio n .

IS 13

The S ta te R e o rg a n iz a tio n S tu d y .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . III,

Pfige 4

36 .................

38

Proposed R e o rg a n is a tio n o f F iv e C e n t e r s . . . ......................................

40

C r i t e r i a Used in D e lim itin g T e r r i t o r y o f Proposed C e n t e r s ., 40 The Proposed Q-illham C e n t e r , The Proposed DeQuean C e n t e r . The Proposed H o ra tio C e n t e r , The Proposed Lockesburg C e n t e r , .

..............

43

................

50

............

55

..........

60

The Proposed S i l v e r Ridge Negro C e n t e r . . . . . . . . . . .................... V,

Summary and Recommendations,

T I.

B ib lio g ra p h y ..............................

...................

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65 70 * 72

CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION By an a c t o f th e t e r r i t o r i a l l e g i s l a t u r e , approved by Governor I z a r d , O ctober 1 ? , 1928, p o r tio n s o f M ille r and Hempstead C o u n tie s were c u t o f f and o rg a n iz ed in to a new c o u n ty , w hich was named S e v ie r , in honor o f Ambrose H. S e v ie r , th e n S peaker o f th e House o f R e p r e s e n ta tiv e s and l a t e r on® o f t h e f i r s t U nited S ta te s S e n a to rs from A rkansas*

A t t h a t tia ® S e v ie r County com prised in

a d d itio n to i t s p re s e n t t e r r i t o r y a l l o f L i t t l e R iv e r County and p a r t s o f Howard and P o lk .

The p re s e n t l i m i t s o f th e co u n ty now in c lu d e 572 sq u are m ile s , ly in g

im m ediately n o rth o f L i t t l e R iv e r County and b o rd e rin g th e s t a t e o f Oklahoma. The f i r s t s e a t o f government was lo c a te d a t P a r a c l i f t a end i t rem ained th e r e u n t i l 1868, a t which tim e i t was moved to L o ckesburg.

F i n a l l y , in 1905,

a f t e r a s p i r i t e d f i g h t , and th e co m p letio n o f th e Kansas C ity S o u th ern R a ilro a d , th e county s e a t was removed t o DeQueen, th e p re s e n t s i t e . O rig in and H is to ry o f S e v ie r County S chools The s to r y o f e d u c a tio n in S e v ie r County f o r many y e a rs a f t e r o rg a n iz a tio n o f th e county was s im ila r t o t h a t o f o th e r p io n e e rin g n eig h b o rh o o d s.

I t is

known t h a t th e f i r s t o rg a n ise d sc h o o ls w ere p r iv a t e and lo e a te d on o r n e a r town s ite s .

C h a r a c te r is tic o f th e p e rio d , th e p r iv a te s c h o o ls were u s u a lly church

c o n tr o lle d .

They o ffe re d a v e ry lim ite d program o f s t u d i e s ,

111® b e s t known o f th e p r iv a te sc h o o ls was th e P a r a c l i f t a S em inary, founded in 1860,

In 1862, t h i s s c h o o l, u n d er th e le a d e r s h ip o f i t s p r i n c i p a l , Samuel

S te v e n so n , was o f f e r in g music in a d d itio n t o s tu d ie s in L a tin and G reek ,^

PoQ,n®8n B ee, A p r il 17, 1927, page 1 .

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T h is

5

sc h o o l had th r e e te a c h e r s and a s s i s t e d i t s s tu d e n ts by a rra n g in g b o ard in g p la c e s f o r them . The f i r s t p u b lic sc h o o l in th e c o u n ty was e s ta b lis h e d a t C hapel H i l l , n e a r th e p re s e n t lo c a tio n o f DeQpeen.

C a p ta in John G. MeKean, an e a r l y r e s i d e n t ,

in an a r t i c l e f o r th e DeQueen Bee in a s p e c i a l e d i tio n o f 1909, t e l l s o f t h e s p l i t - l o g benches a t th e C hapel H i l l school*

The hew n-log b u ild in g was so con­

s t r u c t e d t h a t on© lo g on th e w est s id e was rem ovable, s e rv in g th e d u a l purpose o f a w r itin g s h e lf and a so u rce o f l i g h t .

A la r g e f i r e p l a c e , e ig h t f s e t w ide,

sto o d a t one end o f th e b u ild in g . O ther f a c i l i t i e s were e q u a lly m eager and c ru d e . a c c o rd in g t o Mr. McKean, was th a o n ly book u se d .

Tha Blue Back S p e l l e r ,

D uring c e r t a i n h o u rs o f th e

d a y , w r itin g le s s o n s ware h e ld , tt® c h ie f f u n c tio n o f th e ta a c h e r d u rin g th e s e -ex ercises b ein g to sharpen p e n c ils made o f goose q u i l l s . o r th r o e months w ith th e te a c h e r g e t t i n g f r e e b o a rd .

The t o r s la s t e d two

T h is was accom plished by

th a te a c h e r b o ard in g an e q u a l amount o f th e term among th e d i f f e r e n t f a m ili e s . The f i r s t h ig h sch o o l in th e C ounty was founded a t Lockesburg in 1893 by J .B . M a rtin , who f o r many y e a rs p re v io u s t o t h i s d a te had d i r e c te d th e l a r g e s t e lem en ta ry sc h o o l in th e s e c tio n a t Brownstown,

From th e b e g in n in g , th e county*s

f i r s t h ig h s c h o o l i s s a id t o have a t t r a c t e d an av erag e o f t h i r t y b o a rd in g s t u ­ d e n ts ,

A f te r th e com pletion o f th e Kansas C ity S o u th ern R a ilro a d in 1897, th e

towns o f G illham , H o ra tio , and De^ueen e s ta b lis h e d f a i r l y good sc h o o l c e n t e r s . P r io r to 1925, th e r e was n o t a s in g le c l a s s i f i e d sch o o l in S e v ie r C ounty, and o n ly two s c h o o ls , DeQueen and L ockesburg, even a tte m p ted h ig h sc h o o l w ork. The av erag e le n g th o f t e r n o f th e 59 sc h o o l d i s t r i c t s in S e v ie r County was

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6

seven m onths.

2

P r e s e n t S ta tu s o f S ch o o ls From th e fo re g o in g d is c u s s io n , and from a n e x am in atio n o f th e p r e s e n t schoo l program , one can d is c o v e r t h e trem endous amount o f improvement in th e sch o o ls of S e v ie r County d u rin g th e p a s t s ix te e n y e a r s .

A rkansas C o u n tie s

f a l l i n t o th r e e g ro u p s in re g a rd t o t h e i r l o c a l sc h o o l d i s t r i c t o rg a n iz a tio n } th e h ig h ly c o n s o lid a te d c o u n tie s w ith few d i s t r i c t s , such a s P u la s k i, C h ic o t, and P h i l l i p s ; c o u n tie s where some c o n s o lid a tio n s have ta k e n p la c e , su ch a s S e b a s tia n and Boone; and c o u n tie s w here l i t t l e o r no c o n s o lid a tio n has o c c u rre d , such a s W ashington and B enton.

S e v ie r County had s i x t y - t h r e e d i s t r i c t s in 1921,

Today, S e v ie r C ounty, w ith i t s n in e te e n d i s t r i c t s , f a l l s in th e f i r s t c l a s s i f i c a 3 tio n . The m a y c o n s o lid a tio n s and changes in th e p u b lic sch o o l program o f S e v ie r County in d ic a te t h a t th e p eo p le have been u n u s u a lly p ro g re s s iv e in e d u c a tio n a l m a tte r s . The e x te n t t o w hich th e p r e s e n t h ig h sch o o l c e n te r s have been a f f e c t e d by th e s m a lle r d i s t r i c t s u n itin g w ith them i s shown i n F ig u re 1,

The f o u r l a r g e r

c e n te r s , DeQueen, L ockesburg, H o ra tio , and GdIlham, a lr e a d y com prise an a re a o f ap p ro x im a te ly 350 sq u a re m ile s , o r 62 p e r c e n t o f th e c o u n ty .

F iv e o f th e n in e ­

te e n sc h o o l d i s t r i c t s in S e v ie r County p ro v id e t r a i n i n g f o r N egroes.

A s tu d y o f

th e w h ite te a c h in g f o r c e o f 103 d u rin g th e 1940 sc h o o l y e a r r e v e a ls t h a t e ig h ty f iv e te a c h e r s worked in th e fo u r h ig h sch o o l sy ste m s.

2, 3.

DeQueen B ee. O ctober 2 2 , 1936, pege 2 , A rkansas E d u c a tio n a l S urv ey , S e v ie r C ounty, page 1 ,

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HO

-I o I

pH

1942

•P

End of School Year

Figure 2. Trend of Number of Units Offered in Sevier County High Schools, 1933-42.

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TABLE V#

GRADE DISTRIBUTION OF ’."HITE PUPILS BY NUMBER ARRANGED BY SCHOOLS having m a m u r n m e m op k a c h s s s , s e y h r c o u n ty s c h o o ls , 1939

:

I » ! :G ne-Teach- ; Two-Teach- : :®r S chools : e r S ch o o ls ; lo * No*

* *

Grade Grade Grade Grade G ra te Grad© Grad©

1 2 3 4 5 6

T0TA1S 1-6 Grad© 7 Grad® 8 Grad© 9 TOTALS 7-9 Grade 10 Grade 11 Grade 12 TOTALS 10-12 GRAND TOTALS

* *

ROLLMENT 3, 4, 5 * $ t o 9 T each er ; T each er S ch o o ls ; Schools No* No,

I s t. s

I 10 o r wovei T eacher : Schools ; A ll S ch o o ls No* No,

75 30 51 41 34 26

61 50 51 66 57 48

105 71 50 70 46 48

241 140 147 119 134 126

142 140 128 101 88 84

644 431 427 39? 359 332

25?

353

390

90?

683

2590

82 25

31 28 7

98 70

31 37 14?

82 102 76

265 262 230

168

216

260

75?



112 102 7?

89 59 63

201 161 140

291

811

502

1414

1154

3849



47

66

« •* *

*****

«M»0Nr



•M H

-* *

304

419

558

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TABLE VI*

GRADE DISTRIBUTION OF WHITE PUPILS BY PEHCSITAGES ARRANGED BY SCHOOLS u m m INDICATED KUMBlil OF TEACHERS, SEVIER COI3UTY SCHOOLS, 1939

!_____________

SHROLL 3, 4, 5 : One-Teach- i Two-Teach- 5 T e a ch e r : e r Schools *. e r S ch o o ls s S ch o o ls P e t. P e t. P e t.

Grad© Grad© Grad© Grade Grad© G rade Grad©

1 2 3 4 5 6

TOTALS 1-6 Grade V Grade 8 Grade 9

MBMT IK : 6 t o 9 *. 10 o r more: s T each er : T each er : s S ch o o ls : S ch o o ls i A ll S ch o o ls P e t. P e t. .....P e t , ....

8 3 .7 9 .9 1 6 .8 1 3 .5 1 1 .2 8*5

1 9 .3 11.9 1 2 .2 15.7 1 2 .6 1 1 ,5

1 8 ,8 1 2 .8 9 ,0 1 2 ,6 8 .2 8 .2

1 7 ,0 9 .9 1 0 .4 8 .4 9 ,5 8 ,9

1 2 .3 1 2 .1 1 1 ,1 8 ,8 7 ,6 7 .3

1 6 .7 1 1 .2 1 1 ,1 1 0 .3 9 .4 8 .6

8 8 .6

8 4 ,2

70 ,0

6 4 ,1

5 9 .2

6 7 .3

7 .2 8 .2

1 7 ,5 1 2 ,5



7 ,4 6 ,7 1 .7

2 .3 2 .6 1 0 ,4

7 ,1 8 ,8 6 ,6

6 ,9 6 .8 6 .0

1 5 .4

1 5 .8

30 ,0

1 8 .3

2 2 .5

1 9 .7

7 ,9 7 ,2 5 .4

? .? S .l 5 .5

5 .2 4 ,2 3 .6



2 0 ,6

1 8 .3

1 3 .0

1 0 0 .0

1 0 0 .0

1 0 0 .0

100.0

r a w irwiri

TOTALS 7-9 Grade 10 Grade 11 Grade 12 TOTALS 10-12 C8AWD TOTALS

-



PS«■>

1 00.0

*■*«**

100,0

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TABLE ¥11* - GRADE DISTSIBOTIOR OF NJSQfiO PUPJIS S t NUMBER AKB4SKHED BY SCHOOLS HATH© INDICATED NUMB.® Of TEACHERS, S1TIIR COUNTY SCHOOLS, I S 39

:

I H B O L L M l I f I M i 3, 4, 5 : 6 t o 9 j 10 o r user e: : One-Teach- ; Two-Teach­ * T eacher : T each er i T eacher 5 : e r S chools : e r S ch o o ls ; S ch o o ls : S c h o o ls : S ch o o ls *. A ll S ch o o ls No. Mo* Mo, No* So.

Grade Grad© Grade Grade Grade Grade Grade

1 2 3 4 5 6

TOTALS 1 -6

11 6 3 S 3 fi

6? 47 45 46 39 27

35 17 19 2? 16 13

— — — — — —



113 70 67 SI 58 48

— — — —



39

. .

871

187

—________ - - ______________437

Grade 7 Grade 8 Grade 9

4 8 —

21 18 5

13 20 10

— — —

TOTALS 7-9

6

44.

45



5

7





12

5

7

— ____



18

Grade 10 TOTALS 10



ORAHD TOTALS

45

. .

320

.____ 179________ —

38 42 15

— —

_____________95

— _______

Reproduced with perm ission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.

544

TABLE ¥111.

GRAD! DISTHBOTICN OF HEGRQ POP O S By PSKJSKTAGES ARRANGED BY s c h o o ls m r m d e d ic a te d hcmber o f te a c h e r s , s w i m c o im rr SCHOOLS, 1939

E N R O L L M E N T

Grade Grade Grade Grade Grade Grade Grade

1 2 3 4 5 6

TOTALS 1-6 Grade ? Grade 8 Grade 9 TOTALS 7-9 Grade 10 TOTALS 10 G&A8D Tom s

II?

* 9 i 3 , 4 , 5 : 6 t o 9 ; 10 o r more: * Gne-Teach- : Two-Teach­ : T each er * T eacher i T eacher s e r S chools i e r S ch o o ls : S ch o o ls ; S chools : S ch o o ls s A ll S ch o o ls B s t, P e t. P e t. P e t. P e t, P e t,

O T.M M M W M W —

2 4 ,4 1 3 .3 6 .7 1 7 .S 6 .7 1 7 ,8

2 0 .9 1 4 ,7 1 4 ,1 1 4 ,4 1 2 .2 8 .4

1 9 .5 9 .4 1 0 .6 1 5 .2 8 .9 7 .3

8 6 .7

8 4 .7

7 0 .9

8 .9 4 .4

6 .6 5 .6 1 .6

7 .3 1 8 .3 5 .6

1 3 .3

1 3 .8

2 5 .2



•m-mt

1 .5

3 ,9



w w mm

1 .5

3 .9



100.0

1 0 0 .0

1 0 0 .0

*mmrn

_







8 0 .3

M W



2 0 .8 1 2 ,9 6 2 .3 1 4 ,9 1 0 .7 8 .3

MM MM



mt MW

7 .0 7 .7 2 .8 1 7 .5 2 .2



M » Mil

R eproduced with perm ission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.

2 ,2 100.0

23

F u rth erm o re , th e grad© p ro g re s s i n th e s m a lle r sc h o o ls i s c o m p a ra tiv e ly th e same when s tu d ie d s e p a r a te ly , b u t in th e l a r g e r sc h o o ls th e r e i s a s te a d y i n ­ c re a s e in th e g rad e p ro g re s s o f s tu d e n t s , showing a fa v o ra b le c o n d itio n . The p r e s e n t s t a t u s o f sch o o l b u ild in g s i n S e v ie r County offer® f u r t h e r ev id en ce o f th e s u p e r i o r i t y o f th e e f f o r t s and r e s u l t s o b ta in e d fro® th e l a r g e r c e n te r s .

T able EC and X d e s c rib e a c o n d itio n t h a t would b© rem edied w ith a com­

p le te d r e o r g a n iz a tio n o f th e c o u n ty s c h o o ls .

TABLE IX ,

CLASSIFICATION OF BUILDINGS JUS TO SIZE, TYKE, AND STATUS, WHITE SCHOOLS, SEVIER COUITTY, 1941-42.

D is tric t name Lyons* F a l l s C hapel Je ffe rso n Lockesburg Be Queen Rock H i l l I t . P le a s a n t West Line S illh a m W allace H i l l H o ra tio F a irv iew Paralom a H elium

t i

S iz e o f rooms 1 2 5 15 25 2 1 1 1? 2 18 1 2 2

Type o f sc h o o l E lem entary E lem en tary E lem en tary High School H igh School E lem en tary E lem en tary E lem en tary H igh School E lem en tary H igh School E lem en tary E lem en tary E lem entary

i $

S ta tu e U n su ita b le U n su ita b le U n su itab le* * Perm anent Permanent U n su ita b le Permanent U n su ita b le Perm anent Perm anent Perm anent U n su ita b le Permanent Permanent

* S e v ie r County S u p e rv iso r* s R e p o rt, 1941. ** A wing sch o o l i s perm anent.

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24

TjABLI X,

CLASSIFICATION OF WIIDBiGS AS TO SIZE, T IPS, .AM) STATUS, MBORO SCHOOLS, S1¥IER COUNTY, 1941-42

d is tric t name

s * *

I i s t

S iz e o f rooms

; :

Type o f seh o o l

: %

S ta tu s



S i l v e r Ridge Oak Grove G ravel H i l l Paralom a G raves Chapel

*

t

7 2 2 2 1

High S chool E lem en tary E lem en tary E lem en tary E lem en tary .

perm anent U n s u ita b le U n su ita b le U n s u ita b le U n su ita b le

Prom T ab les IX and X, th e s i g n i f i c a n t f a c t i s t h a t , d e s p ite a l l th e y e a rs o f th e f e d e r a l work program s, te n o f th e t h i r t e e n one and two-room d i s t r i c t s f a i l e d t o u t i l i z e th e o p p o rtu n ity to m odernize t h e i r sc h o o l b u ild in g s *

Those

b u ild in g s l i s t e d a s u n s u ita b le a r e so c l a s s i f i e d b ecau se th e y w ere n o t con­ s tr u c te d a c c o rd in g to p ro p e r s ta n d a rd s o f l i g h t i n g , v e n t i l a t i o n , and o th e r ap­ proved b u ild in g p r a c t i c e s f o r s m a ll sch o o ls*

In f a c t , m ost o f th e b u ild in g s

were b u i l t many y e a rs ago and were a p p a r e n tly d e sig n e d more a p p r o p r ia te ly f o r sm all community ch u rch es th a n f o r s c h o o ls .

I t m ust be n o te d a ls o t h a t w ith ­

o u t a s in g le e x c e p tio n th e l a r g e r c e n te r s have a d e q u a te and perm anent b u ild in g s . T hat S e v ie r County has been re o rg a n iz in g i t s e d u c a tio n a l system in keep­ in g w ith h ig h e r s ta n d a rd s seems no lo n g e r d e b a ta b le in th e l i g h t o f th e f o r e ­ going d isc u ssio n *

The co m p letio n o f th e r e o r g a n iz a tio n so t h a t e v e ry c h ild

w i l l re c e iv e h ig h sc h o o l b e n e f it s must be in l i n e w ith w hat has a lr e a d y been accom plished. T ab les I I , I I I , IX, ¥ , ¥ 1 , ¥ 1 1 , and ¥111, show v e ry c l e a r l y some o u t­ s ta n d in g work and p ro g re s s s in c e 1933 in th e l a r g e r sc h o o l c e n t e r s , such a s e n ric h e d h ig h sc h o o l c o u r s e s , in c re a s e d r a t i n g s , b e t t e r b u ild in g s and f a c i l i t i e s ,

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25

b e t t e r t r a in e d f a c u l t i e s , and l e s s r e t a r d a t i o n i n th e e le m e n ta ry g ra d e s a s com­ pared to th e s m a lle r s c h o o ls .

F u r th e r improvement in th e l a r g e r c e n te r s i s in ­

d ic a te d in T ab le X I, com paring y e a rs 1933 and 1941. TABUS X I.

MISCELLANEOUS INFORMATION, HIGH SCHOOL CENTERS, SEYISR COUNTY, 1933 and 1941

*■ * C e n te r • * «* DeQueen : • Lockesburg t : ♦* G illham t H o ra tio f 5 S i l v e r Ridge (c ) J J t O v e r-a ll av erag e t

Average : Number o f ? A .D ,A , i Value (p e r p u p il) • o f equipm ent s a la ry s te a c h e r s : • 1933 : 1941 s 1933 s 1941 ; 1933 i 1941 : 1933 i 1941 #800

800

29

32

884

1030

f 80

140

400

500

16

15

479

428

40

40

550

600

9

15

269

' 432

40

112

650

550

24

23

614

685

50

45

180

475

5

6

181

178

30

28

516

585

1 6 .6

1 8 .2

485

551

48

73

T able XI in d ic a te s th e g r e a t e s t improvement s in c e 1933 was in v a lu e o f equipm ent (in c lu d e s a l l sch o o l p r o p e r ty ) .

Based on a p e r - p u p il co m p ariso n , an

in c re a s e o f 52 p e r c e n t over 1933 r e f l e c t s , no d o u b t, th e in flu e n c e o f t h e Works P ro g re s s A d m in is tra tio n in b u ild in g and im proving th e p h y s ic a l p l a n ts o f sc h o o ls d u rin g th e p e rio d .

As w i l l be o b se rv e d , th e in c re a s e i s acco u n ted f o r

by th e d a ta on DeQpeen and G illham c e n t e r s , w here th e main sch o o l b u ild in g s w ere new ly c o n s tru c te d s in c e 1936 by th e W.P.A.

Due to b u ild in g program s p re ­

v io u s t o 1933, L ockesburg, H o ra tio , and S i l v e r Ridge c e n te r s have p r o f i t e d v e ry l i t t l e from th e f e d e r a l work a g e n c ie s . T here was an in c re a s e in a v erag e d a l l y a tte n d a n c e o f 66 s tu d e n ts from 1933

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26

to 1941, w hile d u rin g th e same p e rio d th e a c t u a l en u m eratio n d e crea se d o v er 100 s c h o la s tic s *

T his f a c t i n d ic a te s a more a t t r a c t i v e c u rric u lu m in th e

l a r g e r c e n te r s , a l l b u t L ockesburg, a s n o te d h e r e t o f o r e , have added v o c a tio n a l a g r i c u l t u r e , home econom ics, com m ercial c o u r s e s , and o th e r p r a c t i c a l s t u d i e s .

3

A somewhat t r a g i c c o n c lu s io n i s d e riv e d from t h e sm a ll av erag e in c r e a s e i n te a c h e rs * s a l a r i e s , which amounts o n ly t o $59 a n n u a lly o r a p p ro x im a te ly 12 p e r c e n t from th e d e p re s s io n d e p th s o f 1933*

S in c e re v e n u es in c re a s e d g r e a t l y

d u rin g th e p e rio d , th e o n ly e x p la n a tio n i s found in th e in c re a s e o f p h y s ic a l p r o p e r tie s and th e s l i g h t a v e ra g e in c re a s e in th e number o f te a c h e r s .

There

i s re a so n t o b e lie v e t h a t some o f th e d i s t r i c t s were re d u c in g t h e i r c u r r e n t f l o a t i n g in d e b te d n e ss in c u rre d d u rin g t h e d e p re s s io n y e a r s . adequacy of an a n n u a l s a l a r y o f #585 i s e v id e n t.

However, th e in ­

However, t h i s amount i s

s l i g h t l y above th e A rkansas s t a t e a v erag e d u rin g th e same y e a r s . THE STATE HBORGANIZATIGH STUDY F ig u re 3 shows proposed a tte n d a n c e a r e a s a s recommended in th e re c e n t s t a t e r e o r g a n iz a tio n s tu d y sp o n so red by th e S ta te D epartm ent o f E d u c a tio n , a l s o in d ic a tin g a l t e r a t i o n s t h a t have m a te r ia lis e d s in c e 1936.

F o u r o f th e

changes r e q u ir e some e x p la n a tio n . Two o f th e c h an g es, th e d is s o lu t io n o f th e Ben Lomond D i s t r i c t and th e m erger o f G rannis and Ozark d i s t r i c t s o f P o lk County w ith G illham D i s t r i c t No. 4 7 , o f S e v ie r C ounty, were accom plished a f t e r ex ten d ed l i t i g a t i o n .

These two

im p o rta n t c o n s o lid a tio n s w ere b o th e v e n tu a lly a ffirm e d by th e Supreme C ourt

3.

See T able I I I .

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27

o f A rk an sas.* I t is n e c e s sa ry t o p o in t o u t her© t h a t th e above a c tio n a l t e r e d th e edu­ c a ti o n a l program o f S e v ie r County by t h e a d d itio n o f a p p ro x im a te ly 300 s c h o la s tic s from P o lk C ounty, and th e t r a n s f e r o f j u r i s d i c t i o n o v er 240 o th e r s tu d e n ts from S e v ie r County t o Howard and L i t t l e R iv e r C o u n tie s,

T h is i s

l e g a l l y tr u e b ecause o f th e law g o v e rn in g d i s t r i c t s in two o r more c o u n tie s s t a t e s t h a t such a d i s t r i c t must f o r a l l sch o o l p u rp o se s be a p a r t o f th e co u n ty in which i s s i t u a t e d th e l a r g e s t number o f in h a b ita n ts .® R e fe rrin g a g a in t o F ig u re 3 , we n o te t h a t th e proposed a tte n d a n c e a re a and h ig h sc h o o l c e n te r f o r Ben Lomond i s mad® im p o ssib le by th e d isa p p e a ra n c e o f a l l th e o r i g i n a l t e r r i t o r y o f th e Ben Lomond d i s t r i c t , th e e a s te r n p o r tio n h aving p e titio n e d f o r a n n e x a tio n t o th e M in eral S p rin g s D i s t r i c t in Howard C ounty, a re q u e s t which was g ra n te d w ith o u t l e g a l o p p o s itio n .

T h is a c ti o n

gave th e p eople o f t h i s a re a h ig h sc h o o l ad v an ta g e s s in c e M in eral S p rin g s has a c l a s s i f i e d system .

The ro a d s and o th e r f a c t o r s b e in g w h o lly s a t i s f a c t o r y ,

t h i s union seems j u s t i f i e d b e c a u se , a s we w i l l s e e s h o r t l y , Ben Lomond system was f i n a n c i a l l y unable t o re a c h a s ta n d a rd h ig h sc h o o l c e n te r a s proposed in th e s t a t e s tu d y .

N a tu r a lly , s in c e m ost o f th e p eo p le o f t h i s newly c re a te d

M in eral S p rin g s system liv e d in Howard C ounty, j u r i s d i c t i o n o v er them wee im­ m e d ia te ly r e le a s e d by S e v ie r C ounty. L ik ew ise, in th e rem ain d er o f th e Ben Lomond D i s t r i c t , which by e l e c tio n was u n ite d to th e Ashdown system o f L i t t l e R iv e r C ounty, th e r e s p o n s i b i l i t y f o r

4.

Ozark School D i s t r i c t No. 56 v . Ja c k so n , 201 A rk . 381. Foaby School D i s t r i c t No. 26 v , W illiam s, "Law R e p o rte r" , December 1 , 1941, p . 612. 5 . S e c tio n 11486 o f Pope’ s D ig e s t, p . 86.

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o o

T1 cd

G r a n n is

V -i G

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29

th e c h ild r e n e d u c a tio n a lly was d e le g a te d t o Ashdown and L i t t l e R iv e r County* Ho f u r t h e r re c o rd s o r r e p o r ts w i l l be k e p t on t h i s t e r r i t o r y by th e County S u p e rv iso r o f S e v ie r C ounty.

T h e re fo re , s in c e th e s e c h ild r e n now have h ig h

sch o o l & dvantages, th e above t e r r i t o r y w i l l h e r e a f t e r be d isre g a rd e d *

In

p a ss in g i t must be remembered t h a t t h i s i s a s i g n i f i c a n t d e p a rtu re from th e s t a t e p ro p o sa l f o r t h i s a re a and e v id e n tly a s te p w is e ly tak en by th e people* S t i l l a n o th e r developm ent n o t proposed by th e s t a t e su rv ey was th e a d d i­ t i o n o f 50 sq u are m ile s o f t e r r i t o r y from s o u th e rn P o lk County to G illham D is­ t r i c t Ho. 47 o f S e v ie r C ounty.

T h is a re a in c lu d e d th e town o f G ra n n is, p o p u la­

t i o n 241,® which f o r s e v e r a l y e a rs had o p e ra te d i t s own bus to and from G illham High School f o r us® o f High School s tu d e n t s .

At t h e same tim e , th e G rannis

D i s t r i c t m a in ta in ed a th r e e te a c h e r e le m e n ta ry s c h o o l,

A nother P o lk County

d i s t r i c t added t o G illham and S e v ie r County in th e same e le c tio n and su b seq u en t c o u rt a e ti o n was O zark No* 5 6 , which o p e ra te d a tw o -te a c h e r school and lik e w is e s e n t i t s own bus f o r h ig h sc h o o l s tu d e n ts t o G illh am .

The s t a t e r e o r g a n iz a tio n

p la n f o r P olk C ounty had proposed th e above t e r r i t o r y be In clu d ed in th e Wickes High School c e n t e r .

However, due to t h e in a d e q u a te f a c i l i t i e s a t th e Wickes

sch o o l and s t r i c t r e g u la tio n s go v ern in g a d m issio n o f n o n -r e s id e n t h ig h sch o o l p u p il s , th e p e o p le o f th e above a re a in P o lk C ounty, on O ctober 2 1 , 1939, v o te d 87 to 73 in fa v o r o f c o n s o lid a tin g w ith G illham sy ste m , th e long l i t i g a t i o n t h a t fo llo w e d r e s u l t i n g in c o n firm a tio n o f t h e e x p re sse d d e s ir e o f th e c i t i z e n s . As in d ic a te d on th e map, t h i s Polk County t e r r i t o r y is now a d m in is te re d s o le l y in S e v ie r County and i t s 300 enum erates now have h ig h sc h o o l ad v an tag es a t

6.

3.940 C ensus, U n ite d S t a t e s , P o p u la tio n S e r ie s - A rk a n sa s, p , 40.

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30

QllH'i&m. Thus we have n o te d some changes from th e s t a t e su rv e y accom plished by th e p eople a f f e c t e d .

The o n ly re m a in in g change d e sig n a te d on F ig u re 3 i s th e

sm a ll b lo ck o f t e r r i t o r y j u s t e a s t o f G illham , and im m ediately a c r o s s th e G o ssa to t R iv e r, known a s th e Antimony community.

F o rm erly , t h i s a re a was

serv ed by th e G illham S c h o o l; how ever, due to th e ab sen ce o f a b rid g e a c ro s s th e r i v e r , t h i s t e r r i t o r y was w i l l i n g l y re le a s e d by G illham sc h o o l a u t h o r i t i e s in 1937, whence i t im m ed iately jo in e d t h e Umpire D i s t r i c t o f Howard C ounty, which m ain tain ed a c l a s s "Cn h ig h s c h o o l.

S in ce th e l a s t S e v ie r County r e p o r ts

l i s t o n ly 12 e n u m erate s, th e change u n d o u b ted ly w i l l be an improvement o v e r th e form er s i t u a t i o n . By way o f summary, F ig u re 3 shows 14 a tte n d a n c e a r e a s a s recommended by th® s t a t e s tu d y , w ith s i x h ig h s c h o o l c e n t e r s , on© f o r N egroes in c lu d e d .

On®

o f th e f iv e c e n te r s f o r w h ite s h a s been e lim in a te d , le a v in g o n ly fo u r h ig h sch o o l c e n te r s .

W ith t h e a d d itio n o f th e G rannis a tte n d a n c e a r e a , f o u r te e n

sc h o o ls would rem ain t o b e a d m in is te re d in S e v ie r C ounty.

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CHAPTER I I I

e i/a lu a tio k o f t b s m z w s r e b g c a tig h a l program in til© p re v io u s c h a p te r , by way o f in tro d u c in g some a s p e c ts o f t h e prob­ lem , a b r i a f su rv e y was g iv e r o f th e im provem ents accom plished in S e v ie r County d u rin g re c e n t y e a r s .

The l a t t e r p a r t o f th e c h a p te r was devoted to a b r i e f

exam ination of an e a r l i e r r e o r g a n is a tio n su rv e y and su b seq u en t a l t e r a t i o n s * In th e p re s e n t c h a p te r , i t i s proposed to e v a lu a te th e p re s e n t o rg a n is a ­ t i o n o f sc h o o ls in th e county w ith re f e r e n c e t o th e s ta n d a rd s s e t by com petent a u t h o r i t i e s in th e f i e l d o f sch o o l a d m in is tr a tio n .

C o n sid e ra tio n o f th e d i f f i ­

c u l t i e s in re a c h in g th e d e s ir a b le s ta n d a rd s w i l l a ls o be d is c u s s e d . The p re s e n t e d u c a tio n a l program h a s grown l a r g e l y around th e f o u r to w n s, G illh am , BeQueen, H o ra tio , and L oekeaburg, c h i e f tr a d in g c e n te rs in S e v ie r C ounty,

The movement to b u ild b e t t e r s c h o o ls h a s a l l a lo n g been t o c o n s o lid a te

th e s m a lle r sc h o o ls w ith th e l a r g e r sy ste m s. R eg a rd le ss o f th e many s p le n d id on© and tw o -te a c h e r sch o o ls found th ro u g h ­ out th e n a tio n , i t i s g e n e r a lly b e lie v e d t h a t c h ild r e n have b e t t e r a d v an ta g e s in th e l a r g e r sc h o o ls where c la s s e s ar© s m a lle r , r e c i t a t i o n s a re lo n g e r , and curriculum ® more e n ric h e d ,^ A lthough a d m ittin g t h a t o th e r f a c t o r s b e s id e s j u s t b ein g " la r g e " d e term in e a good sch o o l sy stem , B u tterw o rth a s s e r t s :

2

D ata g iv en from r e c e n t s tu d ie s in r e p r e s e n ta tiv e s t a t e s . . . m ight bo p re s e n te d to show t h a t b ecau se o f p re p a ra tio n and

1. 2.

Dawson, Howard A ,, " f in a n c i a l and A d m in is tra tiv e Heeds o f th e P u b lic S ch o o ls o f A rk a n sa s," V o l. 8 , p p . 191 -9 2 . B u tte rw o rth , J . E . , "R ural School A d m in is tr a tio n ."p p . 7 -8 ,

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32

and e x p e rie n c e o f te a c h e r s , le n g th o f t a r n s , q u a l i t y o f b u ild ­ ing®, and amount o f equ ip m en t, th e la r g e r s c h o o l i s g e n e r a lly s u p e r io r . Xven when we employ methods w© now use t o m easure th e developm ent o f th e p u p il ( f o r exam ple, th e e x ta n t o f re * ta r d a tio n and th e achievem ent in c e r t a i n s u b je c ts , e t c . ) th e same g e n e r a l c o n c lu s io n I s s u g g e s te d . In s p i t s o f th e f a c t t h s t m ost a u t h o r i t i e s a g re e w ith th e two c i t a t i o n s g iv e n , th e te n d en c y t o b u ild th e l a r g e r c e n te r s around th e towns has met w ith sos® r e s is ta n c e in S e v ie r C ounty, due perhaps t o a m isc o n ce p tio n t h a t th e town environm ent i s d e tr im e n ta l. In t h i s c o n n e c tio n , a f t e r much r e s e a r c h , Kolb found t h e im p lic a tio n s in* volved in town and c o u n try r e l a t i o n s a s fo llo w s :

3

F o r th e townsman i t moans t h a t h i s town must become th e s p e c ia liz e d s e r v ic e s t a t i o n f o r th e la rg e community. T h is means t h a t no on© town can l i v e u n to i t s e l f b u t m ust work o u t i n t e r - r e l a t i o n s w ith o th e r towns and t h e i r com m unities. ©i® im p lic a tio n f o r th e fa rm e r in v o lv e s th e assu m p tio n o f a k e e n e r r e s p o n s i b i l i t y f o r th e l a r g e r community l i f e r a t h e r th a n a tte m p tin g t o h o ld to fa m ily o r a neighborhood economy. The fa rm e r i s In r e a l need o f t h i s la r g e r o r g a n iz a tio n r e l a ­ tio n s h ip where h i s own i n t e r e s t s m y be safeg u a rd e d and a t th e same tim e u n ite d w ith th o s e o f h i s town and c i t y in o rd e r t o e f f e c t an e f f ic ie n c y commensurate w ith th e g r e a t l y expand­ ed needs o f h i s day. These m utual r e l a t i o n s o f t h e townsman and th e r u r a l r e s i d e n t I n d ic a te t h a t th e sm all community sc h o o l i s n o t a b s o lu te ly n e c e s s a ry to r u r a l l i f e .

The

town may r i g h t f u l l y and more e x p e d ie n tly o f f e r a s p e c ia liz e d sch o o l program u s u a lly n o t a v a il a b le in th e one-room s c h o o l. M u eller is even more s p e c if ic t h a t la r g e r sc h o o l u n i t s a re n e c e s s a ry .

3,

K olb, J .H ., "S e rv ic e R e la tio n s o f Town and C o u n try ." R esearch B u l le tin 58. pp. 59-60.

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33

Aft or much study, he writes?

4

I f rural e d u c a tio n i s to b e r a is e d to a plane at all compar­ a b le to t h a t o f urban e d u c a tio n , we must fo llo w t h e example of our p ro g re s s iv e c i t i e s and ad o p t a larger u n i t f o r sch o o l p u rp o se s. We no lo n g e r have th e ward system in o u r c i t i e s , b u t we have made th e whole c i t y th e u n it* In s te a d o f each ward su p p o rtin g i t s own s c h o o l, we now have th e whole c i t y su p p o rt­ in g a l l alike, and thus a l l c h ild r e n h aving an e q u a l opportun­ i t y , I t i s t o such l a r g e r u n i t s t h a t r u r a l e d u c a tio n must be d ir e c te d . They ere th e tow n, c o u n ty , and community* The v iew p o in t o f th e a u th o r i s t h a t th e c i t y h a s le d th e m y and t h a t l a r g e r u n i t s w i l l b rin g g r e a t e r e q u a liz a tio n o f o p p o rtu n ity to r u r a l boys and g irls . S t i l l a n o th e r a u th o r v e ry a p p r o p r ia te ly pays t r i b u t e t o th e s e r v ic e s re n d e red by th e sm a ll d i s t r i c t sch o o l in th e f o llo w in g ;5 l a should n o te i n p a ss in g t h a t th e d iv is io n o f sc h o o l adm inis­ t r a t i o n among th e l i t t l e d i s t r i c t s , which l a t e r proved d is a s ­ tr o u s to th e i n t e r e s t s o f th e c h ild re n ., serv ed one good purpose f o r a tim e . U ndoubtedly, more men p a r tic ip a t e d in th e re s p o n s i­ b i l i t i e s o f l o c a l government th a n would have u n d er a raore c e n tr a li z e d a d m in is tr a tio n . Thus each lo c a l u n i t became e t r a i n i n g sc h o o l of dem ocracy. The need I s now l e s s p r e s s in g . T oday, th e American fa rm e r needs t o th in k and a c t in term s o f c o o p e ra tio n on a la r g e s c a le . T here a r e few modern e d u c a tio n a l a u t h o r i t i e s who do n o t a g re e w ith th e s e n tim e n ts c o n ta in e d In th e above q u o ta tio n s - t h a t l a r g e r a d m in is tr a tiv e sch o o l d i s t r i c t s a r e needed. The fo u r te e n sm all on® and tw o -te a c h e r d i s t r i c t s in v o lv ed i n t h i s s tu d y , a s p o in te d out by A b e l,

6

a re s i m i la r t o th e g r e a t m a jo rity o f th e sm all sch o o ls

in p o s se ss in g th e fo llo w in g in h e re n t w eaknesses; th e d i f f i c u l t y o f p ro p e r

4. 5. 6.

M u e lle r, A .D ., P ro g re s s iv e Trends in R u ral E d u c a tio n , p . 9 . C am pbell, Maey, R u ral l i f e a t th e C ro s sro a d s , p p . 2 8 3 -8 ". A b e l, J .F * , "C o n so lid a tio n o f S ch o o ls and T r a n s p o rta tio n o f Pupils,** B u lle tin 4 1 , p . 4 .

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34

g ra d in g , th e lim its d r e c i t a t i o n p e r i o d , th e r e s t r i c t e d s o c i a l e x p e r ie n c e , and th e la c k o f in c e n tiv e in s m a ll g ro u p s .

These w eaknesses c an b e s t be e lim in a te d

by removing th e th in g i t s e l f th ro u g h change o f th e s m a lle r sc h o o l t o a l a r g e r one.

Most e d u c a to rs a r e a g re e d t h a t th e improvement o f e d u c a tio n a l o rg a n iz a ­

t i o n b eg in s w ith c o n s o lid a tio n . A g a in st th e above o b je c tio n s t o th e sm a ll s c h o o l, l a r g e r c o n s o lid a te d system s can be s a id to have acco m p lish ed th e fo llo w in g d e f i n i t e r e s u lts * 1,

Brought f i r s t - c l a s s s c h o o ls t o r u r a l p u p i ls ,

2,

In tro d u ced th e " g e ttin g to g e th e r " h a b i t ,

3,

C re ate d th e t r a n s p o r t a t i o n id e a and s u p p lie d b e t t e r means

7

of tra v e l, 4,

Caused th e c o n s tr u c tio n o f b e t t e r r o a d s ,

5,

E rased boundary l i n e s and i s o l a t i o n ,

6,

E re c te d modern, new, c e n t r a li z e d sc h o o l b u ild in g s .

F u r th e r in fo rm a tio n t o s u p p o rt th e fo re g o in g a u t h o r i t i e s i s found in th e f a e t t h a t th e a n n u al d e c re a se i n one room sc h o o ls ap p ro ach es 4 ,0 0 0 , a c c o rd in g t o th e U n ited S ta te s O ffic e o f E d u c a tio n ,

A p p a re n tly , th e c o n s o lid a tio n move­

ment h as w idespread p o p u la r a p p ro v a l.

7.

B ap eer, L.W ., The C o n so lid ate d B u ral S ch o o l, p p . 280-83,

R eproduced with perm ission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.

TABLE X II.

PERCENTAGES Of ENUMERATION ENROLLED IN SCHOOL, BY DISTRICTS, 1933-34 19 School D i s t r i c t s in S e v ie r C ounty

Per cent 90 80 70 60 50 40 30

-

9 9 .9 8 9 .9 7 9 ,9 6 9 ,9 59.9 4 9 .9 3 9 .9

T o ta l Md M

TABLE X I I I .

]

t : s

D is tr ic t© w ith p e r c e n t in d ic a te d 4 4 6 3 1 1 1 19 76 7 5 .5

PERCENTAGE Of ENUMERATION ENROLLED IN SCHOOL, BY DISTRICTS, 1940-41 19 School D i s t r i c t s in S e v ie r County D i s t r i c t s w ith p e r c e n t in d ic a te d

Per cent 90 80 70 60 50 40 30

~ -

99.9 8 9 .9 7 9 ,9 69,9 59.9 4 9 ,9 39.9

T o ta l Md 1

: J s : s j s

7 3 5 3 1 1 0 19 ' 79 80

R eproduced with perm ission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.

36

DIFFICULTIES IN PROGRAM T ables X II and X III in d ic a te w h e th er th e r e o r g a n iz a tio n o f sc h o o l s e r v ic e s t h a t o ccu rred p r i o r t o 1933 had m a t e r i a l l y in c re a s e d th e p e rc e n ta g e s o f enumer­ a te d p u p ils b e n e f itin g from S e v ie r C ounty s c h o o ls ,

Iv a n though th e employment

s i t u a t i o n was enco u rag in g many h ig h sc h o o l p u p ils t o w ithdraw from sc h o o l d u r­ in g 1941, th e t a b le s in d ic a te a s iz e a b le in c re a s e in t h e p ro p o r tio n o f enumer­ a t e s t h a t were a tte n d in g s c h o o l o v e r th e y e ar 1933,

From t h i s developm ent,

th e r e seems t o be a r e l a t i o n betw een th e e n ric h e d c u rric u lu m , b e t t e r t r a i n e d i n s t r u c t o r s , and a c c r e d ite d sc h o o ls g e n e r a lly and th e number o f p u p ils a t t r a c t ­ ed,

However, d is c o v e ry o f t h i s in c re a s e d a tte n d a n c e in S e v ie r C ounty s e rv e s

o n ly t o c o rro b o ra te a commonly a c c e p te d view t h a t c o n s o lid a tio n and f r e e tr a n s p o r ta tio n te n d s t o in c r e a s e sc h o o l a tte n d a n c e e s p e c i a l l y in th e u p p er grades.®

However, a d i f f i c u l t s i t u a t i o n e x i s t s when even 20 p e r c e n t o f e l i ­

g ib le p u p ils do n o t a tte n d s c h o o l. There a r e many o th e r d i f f i c u l t i e s t o be overcome in re a c h in g e v e ry S e v ie r County c h ild w ith h ig h sc h o o l o p p o r tu n i tie s .

The m a tte r o f g e o g ra p h ic a l

b a r r i e r s , so prom inent in many A rkansas c o u n tie s , e n te r s th e problem a t hand to a v e ry lim ite d e x t e n t •

In o n ly th e n o r th e a s t s e c tio n o f t h e co u n ty i s

found a n y th in g l i k e m ountainous t e r r a i n , and h e re th e f e d e r a l r e l i e f w orkers have b u i l t e x c e lle n t r u r a l ro a d s .

The co u n ty h a s numerous c re e k s and two

r i v e r s most o f which a r e f a i r l y w e ll b rid g e d .

The r e o r g a n iz a tio n n e c e s s a ry to

com plete th e a r e a s c o n tem p lated would p ro b ab ly r e q u ir e b u sse s t o t r a v e l o v e r

8,

Foot©, John W», "A C om parative S tu d y o f I n s t r u c t i o n in C o n so lid a te d and One-Teacher S c h o o ls ," J o u rn a l o f R u ral E d u c a tio n . V o l. 8 , No, 8 , pp. 337-351.

R eproduced with perm ission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.

37

about 100 m ile s o f d i r t ro a d s , th e re m a in d er b e in g g r a v e l and pavem ent.

As th e

s t a t e su rv e y co n clu d ed , th e r e seems t o be no in su rm o u n tab le d i f f i c u l t i e s a s f a r a s th e ro ad s o r g e o g ra p h ic a l c o n d itio n s a r e co n cern ed . P o s s ib ly th e most s e r io u s d i f f i c u l t y i n f u r t h e r r e o r g a n iz a tio n i s th e f i n a n c i a l s i t u a t i o n , w hich in some o f th e p re s e n t c e n t e r s , i s a cau se o f d is c o n ­ t e n t and o p p o s itio n to f u r t h e r e x p a n sio n . TABLE JOY.

OUTSTANDING BONDS, RYGISTSHSB WARRANTS, DEBT SEH7TCE PAYMENTS, AND ANNUAL 2NGGUB, S3YX1R COUNTY SCHOOLS, JUNE 30, 1941*

D is tric t Name

: :

Bonds O uts ta n d in g

t :

R e g is te re d W arran ts

: 5

Debt : S e rv ic e ;

Annual Income

#48300

#12375

#1955

#23164

1167

280

160

1071

034

3433

126

3712

Dequeen

46000

12135

8013

40542

Loekesburg

38500

7272

3253

14850

G illham

17720

None

1122

16364

None

363

None

1841

Kellum

330

None

339

2981

Oak Grove

862

Non©

None

841

153913

35858

14968

105366

H o ra tio Paralom a S i l v e r Ridge

P a l l s C hapel

T o ta ls

♦ S e v ie r C ounty S u p e rv is o r, Annual R e p o rt, June 3 0 , 1941, B reaking down th e in fo rm a tio n shown in f a b l e X I?, ta k in g th e two columns a s th e t o t a l In d e b te d n e s s , T able X? g iv e s f o r each o f th e p re s e n t h ig h sch o o l c e n t e r s , th e in d e b te d n ess p e r s c h o l a s ti c f o r S e v ie r C ounty High sc h o o ls f o r 1941.

R eproduced with perm ission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.

33

T /.B L I X ? .

3BDJ6B5EKDKBSS PER SCHOLASTIC, SE V IE R COBI-TY H I ®

* »

C e n te r

* •

SCHOOLS, 1 9 4 1

In d e b te d n ess ...... » cr sq ho.la.atic..........................

5 Lockesburg H o ra tio DeQueea G illham S i l v e r Ridge

#68 55 40 36 24

: • • • • • * •

F o r th® f i v e c e n t e r s , th e a v erag e in d e b te d n e ss p e r enum erate w i l l exceed a l i g h t l y th e s t a t e a v erag e which i s a p p ro x im a te ly $ 4 0 .

The c h ie f co n cern in

th e above f ig u r e s i s t h a t th e l a r g e r sc h o o ls have gone in to d e b t w h ile th e sm a ll sc h o o ls have n o t.

T h is f a c t has i t s e f f e c t on so®® uninform ed c i t i z e n s

who do n o t c o n s id e r t h a t th e modern p la n ts and d u ra b le equipm ent r e p r e s e n t an in v estm en t and t h a t th® p ro p e rty i s w orth f a r more th a n th® o u ts ta n d in g d e b ts . Th© d e b t problem , under p r e s e n t r e g u la ti o n s , h as been r e l ie v e d by th e s t a t e e q u a lis in g fund which re im b u rse s sc h o o l d i s t r i c t s t h a t q u a lif y f o r d e b t s e r ­ v ic e e x p e n d itu re s .

S in ce each o f th e above sch o o l c e n te r s has alw ays q u a li ­

f i e d f o r e q u a liz a tio n fu n d s , th e s e r io u s n e s s o f th e f i n a n c i a l s i t u a t i o n i s g r e a t l y re d u c e d .

However, th e f a c t rem ains t h a t e x te n s iv e expansion o f

f a c i l i t i e s in Lockesburg and H o ra tio c e n te r s w i l l be im p r a c tic a l f o r some tim e t o come, SOURCES OF OPPOSITION The p ro p o s a l to b rin g h ig h sch o o l ad v an tag es t o e v e ry S e v ie r County c h ild w i l l meet o p p o s itio n from some s o u rc e s .

Many uninform ed p a tro n s who would be

a b le t o p la c e c h ild r e n in h ig h sch o o l would oppose c o n s o lid a tio n a s a means o f

R eproduced with perm ission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.

39

b e n e f ittin g t h e i r c h ild r e n .

Custom ary argum ents r e c i t e d t o th e w r i t e r f o r

y e a rs a r e u s u a lly o f f e r e d , which in c lu d e s

c o n s o lid a tio n d e s tr o y s community

i n t e r e s t , makes "town lo a f e r s " o u t o f In d u s tr io u s farm boys and g i r l s , t r a n s ­ p o rtin g p u p ils by bus i s v e ry d a n g ero u s, and t h a t c o n s o lid a tio n d e c re a s e s th e p r ic e o f farm p ro p e r ty .

These c o n te n tio n s a r e r a t h e r a b su rd and f in d l i t t l e

o r no su p p o rt among com petent in v e s t i g a t o r s in th® f i e l d o f e d u c a tio n .

An a tte m p t has been made in t h i s c h a p te r t o e v a lu a te th e p r e s e n t r e ­ o rg a n iz a tio n o f s c h o o ls in S e v ie r County by c o n s u ltin g th e view s h e ld by w r ite r s who have s tu d ie d th e s u b j e c t .

In th® l a t t e r p o r tio n of th© c h a p te r ,

th© w r i t e r h as d is c u s s e d some o f t h e d i f f i c u l t i e s in b rin g in g e q u a l sc h o o l p r iv i le g e s to e v e ry c h ild in th e c o u n ty , d i f f i c u l t i e s w hich w i l l r e q u ir e much e f f o r t t o overcome.

N e v e rth e le s s , t h e o b s ta c le s in th© way a r e n o t insurm ount­

a b le .

R eproduced with perm ission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.

CRAPTSR n r PR0P033D REORGANISATION OF FITS CFNT3RS The recommendation of t h e state su rv e y staff of 1936 for S e v ie r County i s as fo llo w s ; W hile f iv e h ig h school a tte n d a n c e areas are proposed f o r S e v ie r C ounty, i t i s p l a i n l y e v id e n t t h a t th e m ost p r a c t i c a l and econom ical o rg a n iz a tio n fox* th e co u n ty would be th® whole county a s ono a d m in is tr a tiv e d i s t r i c t . T h is would Make i t e a s i e r and lo s s ex p en siv e to b rin g th e o p p o r tu n itie s o f h ig h sc h o o l t o a l l th e c h ild r e n . The c o n tem p lated re o r g a n iz a tio n c e n te r s are Ben Lomond, L ockesburg, DeQueen, G illh am , and H o ra tio * .,a n d th e e x te n s io n o f th e s e c e n te r s would in c lu d e th e whole co u n ty e x c e p t d i s t r i c t No, 7 and a p o r tio n o f G illham c e n te r e a s t o f t h e C o ss a to t R iv e r. The p u p ils o f t h i s p o rtio n o f th e c o u n ty should be tr a n s p o r te d t o t h e Dlexica d i s t r i c t in Howard C ounty, The id e a upperm ost in t h i s p re s e n t s tu d y i s to su g g e s t such proposed changes t h a t a r e n o t o n ly a d v is a b le bu t Changes t h a t a l s o a r e p o s s ib le o f b e in g accom plished in th e n e a r f u t u r e .

The above C ounty U n it p la n was r e je c te d by

th e p eo p le o f S e v ie r County in a s p e c ia l e l e c t i o n , to y 1 , 1929,

As a r e s id e n t

o f th e c o u n ty , th e w r i t e r i s o f th e o p in io n t h a t th e c o u n ty d i s t r i c t id e a i s im p o ssib le o f accom plishm ent a t t h i s tim e . The p ro p o s a l o f t h i s su rv ey i s t h a t th e c o u n ty be reduced t o f i v e sc h o o l d i s t r i c t s , fo u r w h ite c e n t e r s , and one Negro c e n t e r , becau se th e s e f i v e c e n te r s a re

a lr e a d y w e ll e s ta b lis h e d ; and a s p re v io u s ly shown,

85 p e r c e n t

o f th e c h ild r e n .

The fo llo w in g pages w i l l

th e s e c e n te r s nowIn c lu d e a tte m p t t o show howeach

proposed a re a w i l l be a f f e c t e d by th e a n n e x a tio n o f a d d i tio n a l d i s t r i c t s . C r i t e r i a Used in D e lim itin g T e r r i t o r y o f P roposed C en ters W ith th e f i v e c e n te r s e s ta b l is h e d , th e n e x t problem was t o d e cid e w hich d i s t r i c t s would be c o n s o lid a te d w ith each c e n te r .

I f fo u r te e n d i s t r i c t s in th e

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41

c o u n ty a re to c o n s o lid a te with, th e f i v e h ig h sch o o l c e n t e r s , c e r t a i n c r i t e r i a should be used 83 g u id in g p r i n c i p l e s , B u tterw o rth ^ has o ff e re d c e r t a i n w id e ly -a e e e p te d c r i t e r i a which er® s e le c te d t o guide th e r e o r g a n iz a tio n proposed in t h i s s tu d y .

A good sch o o l

system n e ed s: "P h y sic a l R esources" w hich B u tte rw o rth d e s c rib e s sim ply a s s u f f i c i e n t pupil® and ta x a b le w e alth in o rd e r t h a t t h e r e w i l l be a maximum o f a d m in is tra ­ t i v e e f f ic ie n c y , " I n te g r a tio n o f e d u c a tio n a l i n t e r e s t s , " a d is c u s s io n o f t h i s p r in c ip le be­ in g a s fo llo w s : 1,

A Common Purpose* The common a c c e p ta n c e o f an id e a about which th e people can r a lly *

2,

Homogeneity. C itiz e n s o f more o r l e s s common r a c i a l back­ ground who a re w i l l i n g t o w ork to g e th e r .

3,

C o n tin u ity o f M embership. Communities work to g e th e r f o r e d u c a tio n a l b e tte rm e n t when t h e r e i s n o t so much s h i f t i n g from p la c e to p ie c e among th e r e s i d e n t s ,

4,

I n te r a c tio n w ith o th e r g ro u p s. When c o m p e titio n and con­ t e s t s a re p o s s ib le , e s p e c i a l l y w ith o th e r com m unities, th® e d u c a tio n a l program i s s tre n g th e n e d ,

5,

O rg a n iz a tio n and F a c i l i t y o f C o n ta c ts . Communities making up a sch o o l d i s t r i c t need o rg a n iz a tio n and th© " g e ttin g to g e th e r h a b it" in o rd e r to have a f u l l y in te g r a te d educa­ t i o n a l program f o r a l l th e in h a b ita n ts .

6,

T r a d itio n .

A proud p a s t h e lp s com m unities work to g e th e r .

These re q u ire m e n ts f o r a good sc h o o l system ar© b e lie v e d met t o a con­ s id e r a b le e x te n t i n each o f th e recommended sch o o l c e n te r s d e sc rib e d In t h i s s tu d y . 1.

B u tte rw o rth , J . S . , R u ral S chool A d m in is tra tio n , p p . 81 -8 7 ,

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42

The fo llo w in g e s tim a tio n s a s dev elo p ed in r e c e n t s u rv e y s o f Benton and W ashington c o u n tie s , ap© u sed a s b a se s f o r d e te rm in in g r e c e i p t s and e x p e n d itu r e s f o r th e proposed d i s t r i c t s : 1.

2

One e lem en ta ry te a c h e r h a s been allow ed f o r each 40 e lem en tary p u p ils *

2*

One h ig h sc h o o l te a c h e r i s allo w ed f o r each 25 seco n d ary s tu d e n ts*

5*

S ix ty d o l l a r s a month have been allow ed f o r th© s a la r y o f each elem en ta ry te a c h e r*

4*

E ig h ty d o l l a r s a month have been allo w ed f o r each h ig h sch o o l te a c h e r*

5.

The allow ance f o r t r a n s p o r ta t io n i s s e t a t #15 p e r s tu d e n t 3 in av erag e lo a d .

6.

T h i r ty - f i v e h ig h sch o o l p u p ils and f i f t y e le m e n ta ry p u p ils have been c o n sid e re d a maximum lo a d f o r a b u s .

7.

Twelve p e r c e n t o f th e e x p e n d itu re s f o r te a c h e rs * s a l a r i e s h as been allow ed f o r o p e ra tio n and m ain ten an ce.

8.

S eventy d o l l a r s have been allow ed f o r each $1000 o f in d e b te d ­ n e s s in c lu d in g t h a t in c u rre d f o r new c o n s tr u c ti o n .

At p re ­

s e n t low I n t e r e s t r a t e s , t h i s allow ance sh o u ld r e t i r e th© f u l l o b lig a tio n in 80 y e a r s .

S. 3.

S o u th a rd , Qrby, P roposed P la n o f R e o rg a n iz a tio n o f High School C e n te rs in Benton C ounty, p p . 17 -1 9 . R o b e rts , Roy W,, "An A n a ly sis o f th e C ost o f P u p il T ra n s p o rta tio n in A rk a n sa s." Experim ent S ta tio n B u lle tin Mo. 316, p . 2 5 .

R eproduced with perm ission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.

43

3.

luces© from th e l o c a l p ro p e rty t a x i s f ig u r e d a t 90 p e r c e n t c o l l e c t i o n o f an 1 8 -m ill le v y on th© t o t a l a s s e s s e d v a lu a tio n . An e s tim a te d 10 p e r c e n t w i l l be d e lin q u e n t o r p a id o u t a s com m issions t o th e c o l l e c t i n g a g e n ts .

1 0 . The s t a t e ap p o rtio n m en t from th© common sch o o l fu n d has been p la ce d a t #8*00 p e r en u m erate.

4 1

1 1 . C ost o f a d d itio n a l c o n s tr u c tio n has been e s tim a te d on t h e b a s is shown in T ab le M I ,

TABLE M I ,

UNITS OF COST USED IN MM CONSTRUCTION BUCK OB STONE TOOQOt

S iz e o f b u ild in g rooms 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 and over

: « •

C ost o f b u ild in g and equipm ent p e r room • #1250 1800 1833 1725 2200* 2000 2100

* In c lu d e s p r ic e o f a u d ito riu m

The Proposed G illham C en ter Based upon th e g u id in g p r i n c ip le s p re v io u s ly o u t l i n e d , o n ly two o f th e fo u r te e n d i s t r i c t s n o t i n a h ig h sch o o l c e n te r would be c o n s o lid a te d w ith

4. 5,

The enum eration apportio n m en t i n 1941-42 s c h o o l y e a r exceeded # 9 ,0 0 , b u t a more c o n s e rv a tiv e e s tim a te i s u se d . W h itak er, J . B . . A P roposed P la n o f B a o rg a n iz a tio n o f S ch o o ls in W ashington C ounty. ArkansasT p . 1 9 .

R eproduced with perm ission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without perm ission.

44

G illham School D i s t r i c t Ho* 4 7 .

These sc h o o ls a re th© Helium tw o -te a c h e r u n i t

and th© F a irv iew one-room s c h o o l,

The s e t- u p a s recommended by t h i s s tu d y i s

shown on F ig u re 4* Im portant d a ta on t h i s a r e a a r e g iv e n i n f a b l e XVTI. TABLE 2 m .

lam© G illham Helium F a irv iew T o ta ls

SELECTED DATA (M DISTRICTS IN PROPOSED GILLHAM DISTRICT* *• A ssessed i v a lu a tio n ? : #589225 * s 84890 * *• 20710 *• «• 654825

: In d e b te d n e ss : : :

E nrollm ent 1 -8 : 9-12

: s

D istan ce bus ro u te

$20130

412

141

330

55

0

15

0

20

0

4

20460

487

141

10 (av erag e)

* A ll d a ta from S e v ie r County S u p e rv is o r R e p o rts , 1941. S in ce th e b u ild in g a t K e llu a i s a perm anent s t r u c t u r e and th e d is ta n c e i s to o g r e a t f o r tr a n s p o r ta tio n o f s m a lle r c h ild r e n , a s i x g ra d e e le m e n ta ry sc h o o l w ith 35 p u p ils and one te a c h e r , would c o n tin u e .

The re m a in d e r, an e s tim a te d

35 p u p ils , c o n s id e rin g some s tu d e n ts now read y f o r h ig h s c h o o l, would r i d e th e bus to Gillham* As was proposed i n th e s t a t e s u rv e y , th e sc h o o l a t F a irv ie w would be a b o lis h ­ e d , w ith th e b u ild in g donated to th e community f o r r e l i g i o u s and c iv ic a c t i v i t i e s . The G illham c e n te r , a s shown by d a ta above, would have an in c re a s e o f 75 o r more p u p ils above p re s e n t e n ro llm e n t a t G illh am , and th e a s s e s s e d v a lu a tio n would r i s e ap p ro x im a te ly #105,000 an in d ic a tio n t h a t th e ex p an sio n proposed would be l a r g e ly s e lf - s u p p o r tin g .

S in c e th e w r i t e r h a s been s u p e rv is in g th e

R eproduced with perm ission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.

45

G illham d i s t r i c t f o r s e v e r a l y e a r s , he i s a b le to p r e d i c t th e new t e r r i t o r y would be an a s s e t f o r th e pro p o sed c e n te r w ith in a s h o r t tim e becau se o f b e t t e r ro a d s now under c o n s tr u c tio n and in c r e a s in g p ro p e rty a sse ssm e n ts due t o p ip e l i n e c o n s tr u c tio n and power l i n e e x te n s io n s w ith in th e a r e a . Each o f th e two d i s t r i c t s a r e s u f f i c i e n t l y a c c e s s ib le to w a rra n t c o n s o lid a ­ tio n .

The F airv iew d i s t r i c t sc h o o l house i s w ith in fo u r m ile s o f th e G illh am

High School and a l l th e p u p ils r e s i d e e i t h e r on o r n e a r an e x c e lle n t g r a v e lle d ro ad j u s t r e c e n tly com pleted.

In f a c t , by r e f e r r i n g to th e map o f th e a r e a , i t

i s p l a i n l y e v id e n t t h a t th e p r e s e n t G illh am bus s e rv in g th e e a s te r n p o r ti o n o f th e d i s t r i c t c o u ld , w ith l i t t l e a d d i t i o n a l m ileag e and e x p en se, s e rv e th e F a i r ­ view p u p ils *

The e lem en ta ry p u p ils o f t h i s s e c tio n would a tte n d th e H a g E le ­

m entary sch o o l o n ly two m ile s away, and th e h ig h sc h o o l s tu d e n ts would a tte n d th® c e n t r a l sch o o l a t G illham . S in ce th e new h ig h sc h o o l b u ild in g program a t G illham i s no® co m p leted , i t i s s i g n i f i c a n t t h a t in t h i s p a r t i c u l a r a r e a no new b u ild in g c o n s tr u c tio n would be n e c e s s a ry .

There a r e th r e e v a c a n t rooms in th e G illham main b u ild in g ,

which would be ample f o r th e a d d it io n a l 40 p u p i l s .

The 1956 s t a t e s tu d y had

recommended th r e e a d d itio n a l c l a s s room s, b u t t h i s stu d y was made b e fo re th e p r e s e n t p la n t was b u i l t . T ra n s p o rta tio n B outea in th e G illham Area Three b u sses w i l l be r e q u ir e d in th e S e v ie r County p a r t o f th e proposed G illham c e n te r , and i n a d d itio n th e two r o u te s now o p e ra te d in P olk C ounty would c o n tin u e . Bus l«o. 1 would s t a r t a t th e W offord s t o r e on th e Oklahoma s t a t e l i n o , and

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4S

go s o u th e a s t to Kellum , ta k in g ju n io r and s e n io r p u p ils from X o llu a said a l l p u p ils along th e G illham -K ellum ro a d t o G illham High S c h o o l,

The average lo a d

would be 4 5 , and th e ro u te 15 m ile s d is ta n c e one way. Bus No* 2 w i l l s t a r t a t G illham * going th e lo n g ro u te t o F a irv iew s c h o o l, th e n ce to King a f t e r which th e advance s tu d e n ts a r e tr a n s p o r te d to Gillham* T his bus would th e n make th e w e st run to A ntioch community going th e so u th re a d and r e tu r n th o n o rth r o u te a s shown on th e G illh am a r e a map.

T h is would

be a t o t a l m ile a g e , one way, o f 1 5 , w ith an av erag e lo a d o f 35 p u p ils f o r each trip . Bus No, 3 w i l l s t a r t a t G illham go in g down U .S . Highway Ho, 71 u n t i l re a c h in g th© P u ll/m u county ro ad i n t e r s e c t i o n .

T aking t h i s co u n ty ro a d back

to th e King S c h o o l, le a v in g th e s m a lle r s tu d e n ts t h e r e , th e bus w i l l th e n c a r r y ju n io r and s e n io r h ig h sch o o l p u p ils on t o G illh am , The above sch e d u le o f b u sses w i l l g iv e c o n v e n ie n t s e r v ic e to th e c h ild r e n o f th© d i s t r i c t .

The p ro p o s a ls fo llo w c lo s e ly th® s t a t e su rv e y w ith th e e x ­

c e p tio n t h a t i t recommends one l e s s bus*

T h is was made p o s s ib le by h av in g Bus

No, 2 make th e two ru n s in s te a d o f j u s t th e F a irv ie w r o u te .

The bus now make®

a p p ro x im ately th e same m ileag e in h av in g t o double back o v e r a p a r t o f th e rout® which would be e lim in a te d by s e rv in g th e F a irv ie w community. The proposed G illham School D i s t r i c t would be a b le to save th e s a la r y o f one elem en tary t e a c h . r and th e upkeep on one b u ild in g * In a d d itio n to b rin g in g 75 o r more c h ild r e n in to h ig h sc h o o l who w i l l p ro b a b ly n e v e r have th© chance o th e rw is e .

The G illham c e n te r would c a r e f o r a l l c h ild r e n in N orth S e v ie r

County* e x c e p t J e f f e r s o n Township in th e n o r th e a s t c o m e r . The d is p o s it io n made o f J e f f e r s o n t e r r i t o r y , w hich i s now one d i s t r i c t ,

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4?

i s to c o n s o lid a te i t w ith M a r k s ,

The rout© o f G o ssa to t H ivor makes i t i a -

p r a c t i c a l to ed u cate th e s e c h ild r e n i n S e v ie r C ounty,

I t i s a reoonaaendatioca

now bein g c a r r ie d in to e f f e c t , a p e t i t i o n having been f i l e d in A p ril f o r th e c o n s id e ra tio n o f th e S o v ia r County Board o f E d u catio n a t th e r e g u la r June m e e tin g .

A pproxim ately 80 c h ild r e n w ith o u t h ig h sch o o l serv ice® a re concerned

in t h i s m erger, which i f a d o p te d , w i l l g iv e Howard County a u t h o r i t i e s and th e C le rk s High School th e r e s p o n s i b i l i t i e s in v o lv e d in. sc h o o lin g th o s e c h ild r e n . F a i r l y good ro a d s to M erles, th e n a t u r a l trad© c e n t e r , i s an in v a lu a b le a id in c a r ry in g o u t th© program .

R eproduced with perm ission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.

G rannis

Howard C o u n t y A n tioch G ih h a m ^ WoFforol S to re

King

Pullm an

Paved

------

G ravel ----C o u n tg -----

Figure 4.

Boundaries and Bus Routes in the Proposed Gillham Area.

R eproduced with perm ission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.

TABLE S T III.

ESTEIATED 30DCKT FOR PROPOSED C U I M CEBTEB*

Income 110,285

l o c a l Tax S ta te A pportiosuaent

6*464 $16,749

T o ta l E x p e n d itu re s T eachers* S a la r ie s S u p e rin te n d e n t

I 1,800

Four h ig h sc h o o l te a c h e r s

2,560

Twelve E lem entary te a c h e r s

5.760

O ther expense o f o p e ra tio n

1 ,2 1 4

T ra n sp o rt a tio n

4,500

Debt s e r v ic e

JLdSSL

$10,120

7 ,149

T o ta l e x p e n d itu re s D iffe re n c e to be mad® up fro® s t a t e so u rc es - which e q u a lis e s

$ 1 7 ,2 6 9

f

520

* Based on an 8-raonth term* As In d ic a te d in th e proposed b u d g e t, th e G iIlham c e n te r would r e q u ir e o n ly $520 o u ts id e a id end a t th e same tim e would b rin g th e ad v an tag es o f a h ig h sc h o o l t o 75 o r more boys and g i r l s th a n now have such o p p o r tu n i tie s .

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The Proposed Defoteen C en ter The s t a t e su rv ey recom m endation f o r th e Bequeen a re a i s a s fo llo w s 2 At DeQueen th e r e sh o u ld be m a in ta in e d a s i x y e a r eleiaexitary and & th re e y e a r ju n io r and a th re e y e a r s e n io r h ig h s c h o o l. The school a t Mt. P le a s a n t, D i s t r i c t N o, ££» sh o u ld be a b o lis h e d and a l l p u p ils tr a n s p o r te d a t p u b lic expense to DeQueen, A ll th e p u p ils above th e s i x t h g ra d e from C hapel H i l l , D i s t r i c t No, 17, W allace H i l l , D i s t r i c t Ho, 5 0 , and N e ttle H i l l , D i s t r i c t S o , £ 1 , should be tr a n s p o r te d t o DeQueon. T here would be 670 e le m e n ta ry , £67 ju n io r , and £15 s e n i o r , o r a t o t a l o f 1,052 p u p ils e n r o lle d l a th e sc h o o ls a t Dequeen, T h is would r e q u ir e se v e n te e n elem en­ t a r y , e ig h t ju n io r h ig h , and seven s e n io r h ig h sc h o o l te a c h e rs * I t i e n e c e s sa ry to s t a t e t h a t s in c e 1937 th e C hapel H i l l D i s t r i c t and th e S e t t l e H ill D i s t r i c t have c o n s o lid a te d w ith th e Dequeen D i s t r i c t and t h a t th e sch o o l a t b oth p la c e s was a g re e a b ly d is c o n tin u e d , a l l c h ild r e n now b ein g t r a n s ­ p o rte d in to DeQueon,

The p ro p o s a l in th e above stu d y to keep p u p ils up t o and

including, th e s i x t h grade a t C hapel H i l l and H a ttie H i l l i s , s in c e th e y no lo n g e r e x i s t , im p r a c tic a l, and a l l th e s e c h ild r e n sh o u ld c o n tin u e t o a tte n d sch o o l in DeQueon, A© proposed by th e s t a t e s tu d y , th e sch o o l a t S t , P le a s a n t sh o u ld be d i s ­ co n tin u e d and a l l o f th e c h ild r e n tr a n s p o r te d t o DeQueen, ap p ro x im ately two m ile s d is ta n c e *

A good perm anent b u ild in g would be l e f t to th e community a s a

c iv ic c e n te r s in c e i t s u s e f u ln e s s a s a sc h o o l would c e a s e . The o th e r d i s t r i c t proposed f o r th e DeQueen a r e a i s W allace H i l l D i s t r i c t No, 50,

C o n tra ry t o th e p re v io u s s tu d y , i t i s recommended t h a t a l l th e p u p ils

o f t h i s community be tr a n s p o r te d to Dequeen.

The main re a so n f o r t h i s p ro p o s a l

i s t h a t a good paved highw ay, U .S , Highway Ho. 7 1 , makes p o s s ib le id e a l t r a n s ­ p o r ta tio n to th e b e t t e r f a c i l i t i e s in th e Dequeen c e n t r a l school® .

At th e

tim e o f th e s t a t e s u rv e y , t h e highway now a v a il a b le was n o t even ro u te d th ro u g h

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this community thus making a d v is a b le th e rocc.'ssendution. that a school o f slat grades be left at Its present sits* TABLE XIX.

SELECTED DATA OH DISTRICTS 2N THE PROPOSED USQUEEH AREA*

lame

A ssessed T a lu a tio n

Dequeen

#1,534,537

#46,000

955

296

1498

Mt* P le a s a n t

20,365

Hone

34

0

51

W allace H i l l

49,370

Hon©

53

0

72

#1,604,272

4 6 ,0 0 0

1042

296

1621

T o ta ls f o r Area

: s

In d e b te d ­ n ess

: E u ro llm en t : 1 -8 9-12

: i

Enumera­ tio n

* From S e v ie r Comity S u p e rv is o r R e p o r ts , 1941* T able XIX in d ic a te s an u n u s u a lly s tro n g sch o o l system from th e v ie w p o in t o f fin a n c e s and number o f p u p ils , t h e r e b ein g an a ss e ss e d v a lu a tio n o f # 1 ,6 0 4 ,272 and an enum eration o f 1621 c h ild re n *

The a d d itio n a l r e s p o n s i b i l i t y o f ap­

p ro x im ate ly 100 s tu d e n ts i s matched by a g a in in th e a s s e s s e d v a lu a tio n o f th e Be queen d i s t r i c t o f $69,735,

A lthough DeQueen sc h o o l a u t h o r i t i e s have r e c e n t ly

com pleted an e x te n s iv e b u ild in g p rogram , th e d i s t r i c t would need a two too® annex to th e DeQueen l a s t S id e E lem en tary b u ild in g in o rd e r t o c a re f o r t h e new p u p ils from W allace H i l l and l i t . P le a s a n t*

T h is annex i s e stim a te d to c o s t

#1800, and would n o t be a burden on a system w ith an a s s e s s e d v a lu a tio n o f p ro p e rty exceeding #1,600,000* F ig u re 5 shows th e b o u n d a rie s o f th e new Dequeen system a s proposed in t h i s study.

There would bo seven bus r o u te s in th e a re a a s in d ic a te d *

I t is

im p o rta n t in t h i s connection t h a t most o f th e s e r o u te s are over e x c e lle n t 1 5 8 8 * 7

R eproduced with perm ission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.

Arc a

J_ .o cK esbu.rcj

A r^ c x

Cri I lh a m

H oratio

Figure 5.

R eproduced with

Boundaries

m d

B u s

Area

Scutes in Proposed DeQueen *

perm ission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.

re a .

53

highways o r r e c e n tly b u i l t g r a v e lle d r o a d s .

Two U.S. Highways would be used

and two s t a t e highways se rv e th e t e r r i t o r y .

M oreover, th e s o i l o f th e m ajo r

p o r tio n o f S e v ie r County i s h e a v ily mixed w ith g r a v e l w hich makes t r a n s p o r t a ­ t i o n l e s s d i f f i c u l t i n ra in y seasons* U sing th e c r i t e r i a f o r d e te rm in in g th e number o f te a c h e r s , i t i s e v id e n t t h a t 35 i n s t r u c t o r s would be n eed ed , th e saise number now b ein g em ployed.

How-

' e v e r , th e upkeep on two b u ild in g s would be e lim in a te d and 100 boys and g i r l s now denied h ig h sch o o l a d v an tag es would b© a ssu re d a tte n d a n c e a t on© o f th e H o rth C e n tra l c e n te r s in th e c o u n ty . T here a re a few N egroes in th e DeQueea a re a and th e y w i l l be t r e a t e d s e p a r a te ly in co n n ec tio n w ith th e Negro h ig h sch o o l c e n te r f o r th e c o u n ty . T r a n s p o rta tio n ro u te s f o r t h e Dequeen a re a would be a s fo llo w s i Bus No. 1 w i l l s t a r t a t N e ttle H i l l , ta k in g a l l p u p ils v i a Genova and W allace H i l l t o DoQueen, a d is ta n c e o f t e n m ile s , w ith a maximum lo a d o f 69 p u p ils * Bus No. S w i l l s t a r t on Highway No. 71 a t e a s t d i s t r i c t l i n e , v i a l i t . P le a s a n t ta k in g a l l p u p ils t o DeQueen,

The m ileag e i s e ig h t mile® w ith a

maximum lo a d o f 55 p u p ils . Bus .No. 3 r i l l s t a r t thro© m ile s w est o f W rights C h ap el, ta k in g a maximum o f 55 p u p ils t o Dequeen, a m ileag e o f e i g h t m iles* Bus No, 4 w i l l s t a r t a t Cane Creek and go. by way o f C hapel H i l l to DeQueen, a d is ta n c e o f f i f t e e n m ile s .

The maximum lo a d w i l l be t h i r t y p u p ils *

Bus No, 5 w i l l s t a r t a t Oak G rove, go in g by way o f Johnson F o rd , and ta k in g a maximum lo ad o f t h i r t y p u p ils to DeQueen, a d is ta n c e o f e ig h t M i e s ,

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54

Bus No, 6 w i l l s t a r t a t DeQueen c i t y l i m i t s , making a c i r c l e v ia Avon, and Huekabee s e ttle m e n t and back to DeQueen, ta k in g a maximum load o f 29 p u p i ls . The d is ta n c e i s t e n m iles* Bus No, 7 w i l l s t a r t two m ile s

n o rth o f W aters S to re on Highway Ho, 70

and fo llo w R .F.D . Ho, 2 , ta k in g 45 p u p ils t o

DeQueen, a d is ta n c e o f tw elv e

m ile s , Thus f o r th e DeCiueen a re a sev en bu ses w i l l t r a v e l 71 m ile s , tr a n s p o r tin g 311 p u p i l s , a t an e stim a te d c o s t o f $ 4 ,6 6 5 , SABLE XX,

ISTBATU) BUDGET FOR THE

PROPOSED DEQDEEN CENTER*

Income L o cal ta x S t a t e apportio n m en t

$25,99? 12,968 | 38,965

T o ta l E x p e n d itu res Teachers*, s a l a r i e s S u p e rin te n d e n t 11 h ig h sc h o o l te a c h e rs 24 e lem en tary te a c h e rs

23,980

#2 ,1 0 0 7 ,9 2 0 13,960

O p eratio n and m aintenance

2 ,6 2 5

T ra n a p o rta tio n

4 ,6 6 5

D ebt s e r v ic e

3,360

T o ta l Balance

* Based on nine-m onths* terra*

R eproduced with perm ission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.

34,630 |

4 ,3 3 5

55

T able XX shows t h a t th e DeQueen a re a could have a sc h o o l te rm o f n in e months w ith a s u b s t a n t i a l b alan ce, l e f t each y e a r .

T h is b a la n c e e x ce e d in g

$4000 when based upon th e minimum program a s p re v io u s ly o u t lin e d , co u ld be used t o in c re a s e th e s a l a r i e s p a id th e c lassro o m te a c h e r s , r e t i r e th e bonded in d e b t­ edness more r a p i d l y , o r t o in c re a s e th e s u p e rv is o ry p e rs o n n e l.

S in c e o n ly a

s u p e rin te n d e n t h as been a llo w e d , th e r e co u ld be no s e r io u s o b je c tio n t o th e a d d i­ t i o n o f a h ig h sch o o l p r i n c i p a l , whose s a l a r y would be p a id from th e in d ic a te d b a la n c e . The DeQueen c e n te r would th u s be a s tro n g system f i n a n c i a l l y and would b rin g h ig h sch o o l ad v an ta g e s t o a p p ro x im a te ly 100 boys and g i r l s now w ith o u t such o p p o r tu n itie s . The Proposed H o ra tio C en ter I t i s proposed in t h i s s tu d y t o fo llo w th e recom m endations o f th e s t a t e su rv ey of 1937 f o r th e H o ra tio S chool System ,

The proposed system fo llo w s :

1 s ix g rad e elem en ta ry sc h o o l and a s ix g rad e ju n io r - s e n io r h ig h sch o o l should be m a in ta in ed a t H o ra tio .

The sch o o l a t West L ine sh o u ld be a b o lis h e d

and a l l p u p ils tra n s p o rte d to H o ra tio .

There would be 450 elem en ta ry and 240

ju n io r - s e n io r p u p ils e n ro lle d a t H o ra tio w ith e le v e n e lem en tary and seven J u n io r - s e n io r h ig h sch o o l te a c h e r s employed. W alnut S p rin g s School There sh o u ld be a s ix g rad e e le m e n ta ry sch o o l a t Walnut S p rin g s , e n r o l l ­ in g 125 p u p ils end employing th r e e te a c h e r s . C e n tra l School There should be a s ix g rad e e lem en tary sc h o o l m a in tain ed a t C e n tr a l, en­ r o l l i n g 115 p u p ils and employing th r e e te a c h e r s .

R eproduced with perm ission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.

56

The above p ro p o s a l would mean th e d is s o l u t io n o f o n ly one d i s t r i c t , West Lint) Ho, 4 5, which i s th e u p p er n o rth w e st c o m e r o f th e E o r a tio d i s t r i c t ad­ jo in in g th e Oklahoma boundary (F ig u re 6 } ,

Hone o f th e o th e r d i s t r i c t s con­

cerned in a r e o r g a n is a tio n o f S e v ie r County s c h o o ls a r e s u f f i c i e n t l y a c c e s s ib le to w a rra n t a n n e x a tio n to th e H o ra tio system*

Thus th e un io n o f a s m a ll one

room sch o o l would n o t m a te r ia lly a f f e c t th e o p e ra tio n o f a d i s t r i c t a lr e a d y em­ p lo y in g PA te a c h e r s , TABLE XXI.

SELECTED DATA OH MSTH1CT8 IN TUB PROPOSED HORATIO ABBA, WHITE HIPIL3 A ssessed Y a lu a tio n

Hams H o ra tio West Line T o ta ls f o r Area

: In d eb ted n ess 5

s E n ro llm e n t s 1 -8 9 -1 2

: 5

E num eration

#760,619

#48,500

673

158

1078

22,880

Hone

43

0

48

#783,499

#48.500

716

158

1126

Table XXI shows a system e n r o ll in g 874 whit© s tu d e n ts *

There would be no

tr o u b le a b so rb in g th e e x tr a 43 p u p ils a s one o f th e H o ra tio b u sses now o r i g i ­ n a te s a t th e boundary o f th e l e s t L in e sch o o l which bus would have t o ex ten d i t s ro u te a p p ro x im a te ly two m ile s i n o rd e r t o s e rv e t h e new t e r r i t o r y . There would be some b u ild in g improvement n e c e s s a ry w ith in th e H o ra tio s e tu p .

A lthough th e recommended wing sc h o o ls a t W alnut S p rin g s and C e n tra l

have fram e b u ild in g s , th e y have undergone some r e p a i r s r e c e n t l y by t h e Works P ro g re ss A d m in is tra tio n and a re c o n sid e re d perm anent s tr u c t u r e s now.

I t is

recommended t h a t one more room be added t o th e p la n t a t H o ra tio t o h e lp accommodate th e e x tr a p u p ils , an a d d itio n t h a t would n o t c o s t o v er #1500

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