Whole Town's Talking: Eldora, Iowa part 2

that does not mean that we have necessarily 53 schools I'll come to that just a few moments now to replace this present situation the board in the last meeting as we said a moment ago and has adopted this new planet which then there could be one of those signal that says you should hurry up hurry up okay we can do that this divide this diminishes or decreases the number of districts in 211 and what the board had in mind to do is to leave a high school in each district so now then we have 11 districts this is a plan that has been submitted to the people and that's what we're going to have we're going to have a people's program at the present time in the old 53 district school system we have 39 one-room schools to to rural schools and one consolidated elementary school without and 32 pupils I checked back in eighteen ninety two we had 131 one-room schools in our encounter so I think we made an advance you know I wish the producer they showed on the other show he starts off with a great big fall fell on this when he starts off with a big ball felt their markup with me the funny Carl I noticed some this editorial you say the cart before the horse on school reorganization that what you think Ben's doing getting a cart before the horse I'll change my similarly just a little bit I think that Ben has nothing but a horse and buggy program for our educational system in Hardin County with that plan he just outlined there well you got something better is that didn't hear or what is it around let me explain and you people I don't think that the planned event is just outlined here does anything but perpetuate what we had for the last 25 years it perpetuates all the inequities and inequalities that we've got in our school system in Hardin County it doesn't improve a single solitary thing in the last 25 years we modernize practically everything in Hardin County from the kilowatts at Dens health bring us to the rubber tires on our tractors in all the rest we modernized in Hardin County where a rich county we could give our kids all of them good equal opportunity at about the same cost all the way but we're not doing it we've got 11 high schools in Hardin County ranging in size from the smallest 38 2 340 in that rich agricultural county with 11 high schools we have a five of them that have Smith Hughes vocational agriculture in an agricultural County we have three that have Smith use Home Economics and only three or four of those high schools that have really good shops program at a boy could go in and learn how to weld a broken heart or repair a tractor now those are just examples and I'd like to further emphasize that point of inequity inequality by two schools specific examples actly and quittin quittin a small school down in the south part actually one of our largest school in the north part these bars on the top show that the witan program is largely a minimum reading writing rithmetic program you've got a high school diploma because you will pass the minimum requirements in these horses right here here on the bottom here for the wedding extracurricular activities glee club band basketball round let's take a CLE here is the Richer program sure the reading writing arithmetic also vocational home economics vocational agriculture industrial arts business training driver's training physical education here are their extracurricular activities now what is all that cost on a per pupil cost and though low your top right now man for pupil costs three hundred and thirty-six dollars actly 256 dollars now you say been that for pupil cost means nothing those dollars come out of somebody's pocket they come out of our pockets taxpayers pocket let's talk about millage for a minute we have school districts in Hardin County where there is no millage levy whatsoever for school purposes we have the high Martin over in the town that you're familiar with Alden 46 mills for school area now I have no pat answer to these inequities because i have no study i don't have the study that the county board should have had and been making for the last three years before it came up with its map i think the first thing we need is a really thorough going study of our school situation the courses offered the millage type is the taxable valuation in various combinations of districts now i think that study might show I don't know five six seven eight districts I'm sure I don't know and I'm not advocating any particular number of districts but if you'll just everybody grab your seats for a minute we're going to we're going to start drawing a map here just just for ella joyce draw a picture i'm going to draw a picture we're going to come up with six districts which i don't necessarily advocate but it'll give us something to chew on we might take it this way and have all in here iowa falls actly a wasin steamboat rock Eldora in one district covered radcliffe in another new providence union and women now before anybody jumps up and takes a potshot at me i am not advocating closing any schools any high schools i would put them in those districts in that grouping or seven districts or eight districts letting the people in that district in one administrative unit with one school board one administrative staff decide how they can make best use of their total facilities for the total education of their children perhaps you'd have one senior high school with junior high schools other schools perhaps you'd run all of you all of your schools as senior high schools but concentrate and get a really good shot program invoke a program and one a good home economics program get business training get a really good music program get your driver training program the extras that modern education demands we've got schools in Hardin County where you can transport the whole high school education from one school to another in one or two school buses in 10 to 20 minutes I believe they're giving me those funny signs will you begin that I am through covenant everybody happy let's have a lot of fun now wrexham your started between the two hear what is it arose between two thirds or something like that with you happy about all this taya Ralph I told me you thought I was a ham of the bun but I think you can begin to realize that there was a reason for me being in between these two for horses I think this and we really folks should bear in mind that we're approaching this discussion here on the basis that we're dealing with the education of our youth and that is the very foundation of our democracy the education of our youngsters is the basis upon which we build our American Way of life and we are desirous in this consideration here of giving consideration to those plans that will bring about a better educational system for our communities and where our various students and pupils shall have an equal educational opportunity teachers hanging right over you here let's put it down this below I want everybody to talk to that all right now this is equal educational opportunity carries with it an equal financial responsibility today in this company we have the 53 school district we have villages for general school purposes that range from 2 mils 238 millions in the state of Iowa we have 4657 school districts we have militias that run from no mail for 75 those two districts to as high as 94 mills for some scooters there's no equality of financial responsibilities we must therefore in thinking of this tonight think of having this in such a way that will have more nearly approach to financial equality in the various school districts as well as educational Wendle here looks like he'd like to say something I think he's a farmer as that I don't know who agrees with one here but Wendell let's hear from you stand up so everybody can see well begin where they didn't put my town on the map whatever that Miss a pound of Buckeye here it's got its great school they had a little foresight and I put there a great school there when they consolidated decided we're gonna try to have a high school because I didn't have enough people who couldn't have a good night and I really believe they showed sense that maybe some of these other four are short and of course the problem arises when you've got a great school there the book I incidentally Comstock Lode and that the bucket on ship which is Southwold we forgot here for places like that didn't we meet again the problem is the folks I keep youngsters near home see I mean that's a little bit little past they shouldn't be too far away to get a stomachache they ought to be in there so they could call mom well and that raises the problem of transportation and I wish somebody would work out a problem there i said i believe it's good you