Sewickley Herald

              
The Herald
The Sewicldey Valley’s Home-News Weekly
VOL, 56, No, 51
SEWICKLEY, PENNSYLVANIA, THURSDAY, OCTOBER 8, 1959 IN TWO SECTIONS
Price Ten Cents
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What’s Doin’
OUTGROWN SALE of Boy and Girl Scout Uniforms & Equipment Thursday, Oct. 8	-	7 to 9 p.m.
Friday, Oct 9	-	9 to 5 p,m,
Sewickley Methodist Church Buy good used Scout equipment at substantial savings,	(Advt.)
ADULT DANCE SESSIONS New Piuce: $10.00 for ten hours First Lesson: Saturday, Oct 10th, 1959, 8:15-9:15 P.M.
Place: High School Gym, Leetsdale, Pa.
Terms: You may pay the fee in small installments.
Object: Leam to dance and fun.
(Advt.)
Tuesday, Oct. 13, 8 p.m., Meeting of the Sewickley Valley Council of Republican Women, in the Sewickley Borough Bldg. Council chambers.
(Advt.)
JEWELRY FASHION SHOW Sat., October 10, 8 p.m., St. James Hall. Free Admission, free refreshments. Live models.	(Advt.)
FALL RUMMAGE SALE The Womens Association of the Avalon Presbyterian Church, 520 Orchard Avenue, Avalon, Pittsburgh 2, Pa. will hold their annual fall rummage sale in the church on October 14th and 15th.
Wednesday evening - October 14 0:30 p.m. until 9:00 p.m. Thursday - October 15 9:30 a.m. until 3:00 p.m.
You are-invited to come and bring your friends. Coffee and donuts will be sold. For further information,, please call Mrs. R. G. Weckesser, POPLAR 1-9409 or Mrs. George Cain, POPLAR 6-8017.	(Advt.)
October 16, 1959 —BAKE SALE — Home of Mrs. A. Rucker, 202 Frederick Avenue. Place orders. Phone Sew. 3591 or Sew. 3820 ’til October 14, 1959.
Mrs. A. Rucker, President, Mission Circle No. 2, Triumph Baptist Church
(Advt.)
RUMMAGE SALE Friday, Oct. 16th, - 10 A.M. to 8 P.M.
Sponsored tby the Bon Meade Civic Club, in the Civic Club Building, Route 51, Brodhead Road. Good bargains.	(Advt.)
Women’s Association Shields Presbyterian Chinch October 16, 1959. Reservations. LUNCHEON, 1 o’clock Please call Miss Seaman, 910-M.
(Advt.)
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THIS WEEK'S HERALD
Quaker Valley Answers Edgeworth Advertisment
Since the budget of the Quaker Valley-Joint Schools contains no money for such advertisements, the Herald, as a public service, hereby presents the answer given by Chairman Frank Hawkins of the Q. V. Joint School Boards, to the advertisement placed in the October 1 Herald by a group of Edgeworth citizens.
. The advertisement in the Herald starts out by saying that our building plan is not a good plan. It calls for a careful look at the plan. Now let’s see how careful the advertisers have been in drawing the indictment.
The burden of their complaint is that too much money is being spent for gyms and cafeterias and too little is being spent for classrooms.
Our reply is that we are spending only what is necessary for adequate high school facilities of whatever nature, including classrooms and other needs as approved by county and state school authorities.
The real complaint, we> suspect, though it is not stated, is that the public school children should continue to be treated as if they were inmates of a county poorhouse. They shouldn’t have cafeterias and adequate physical education facilities such as' are found in even the poorest areas of the nation. The complainants consider diese facilities to be frills, at least insofar as they apply to public schools. We say they aren’t. Physical education programs are required by the State of Pennsylvania, just as are history and English. And we don’t have facilities that measure up 'to the state’s standards.
As for the cafeterias, they have become a standard part of the American educational program. The argument against them might have been made. 40 years ago at die national level. But it would be difficult today to find a modem school plant, public or private, without facilities for feeding children, many of whom are transported by bus and have no choice but to remain at school all day.
And so the apportionment of costs, as set forth in the ad and as questioned by our architect, is really immaterial. The only issue is dr» we need facilities and are we getting them at a reasonable cost. We say the answer to both questions is'yes.
The point has been made that the high schools have gyms. That’s right, they do. And tiiey are both sub-standard. They will be converted to better uses.
It is alleged that the gymnasium at die senior high school would have two basketball courts. That is false. There will be •only one court.-There will be seating for only 850 spectators, not 1,000 as alleged, although we have been advised by several educators who have had experience with building programs to provide for 1,000 or more.
It was pointed out tiiat the remodeling costs include expansion of the administrative and music suites, as if there were something wrong with that. You should see tire present facilities. Dr. McNamara, the very fine principal of the Senior High School, has to occupy a cubby-hole of an office drat no business man in tiris room would tolerate. There is no board room and there won’t be. The board feels that it can meet anywhere, as it is doing tonight. Had tire Edgeworth School Board not made an old residential property available .to the Jointure, there would be no facilities for the Jointure administration. -And we plan to continue to use those central office facilities. The administrative facilities to be provided in die high schools will include space for our child guidance activities, which become increasingly important in the educational program.
As for the figures aimed at showing how our proposed costs have snowballed over a period of two and a half years, we can only say that those figures could have come from no responsible source. There was never any attempt to publish an official estimate of costs until a room schedule was approved on April 24, 1958, or some 18 months ago. The cost estimate tiren was $2,160,000. All estimates until then were simply guesswork.
The ad attempts to make it appear that the costs climbed "with tire addition of new gyms, etc,” The truth is drat no plans have ever been projected drat didn’t include die “gyms, etc.” from tire outset.
Then we come to the erroneous statements about tire elementary buildings. It is stated that last year some $60,000 was spent for new boilers in tire Sewickley Elementary School, That is false. There was one new boiler and it cost about $40,000, as could .easily have been verified through a phone call to our central office.
“And,” says the ad, “the other elementary buildings have yet to Ire inspected,” Thai is false.
All of the buildings have been inspected by the state and all but tire Sewickley Elementary School"have been made to conform to tire, state’s safety requirements. Even now we are complying witir the state's stopgap requirements for the Sewickley building pending a longer-range solution.
Then it is alleged that many members of the various school
(Continued on Page 24) '
Joint Boards Vote 3 8 to
3 To Proceed To Build
Q.V. Joint School Boards Approve Higher Cost Estimates For Both Buildings
The Quaker Valley Joint School Board, at a meeting in the junior high school auditorium, attended by a crowd estimated at over two hundred persons, approved, by a vote of 38 to 3, higher estimates on the additions and alterations to both Junior and Senior High Schools. The total increase in costs is $161,695 of which $70,295 is for the senior and $91,400 is for the junior high school.
The revised estimates now total $2,385,000 of which $865,000 is for the junior and $1,520,000 is for the senior high school. Approval of the resolution means that now the Quaker Valley Joint Schools Authority may advertise for bids on the additions and alterations. After the bids are received, they must be approved by the County Office and the State before contracts are let. Actual construction contracts may be higher or lower than the estimates, but the probabilities are that they will be lower.
Because of the large crowd present-it was necessary to move the meeting
to the auditorium of the Junior High School. Mr. Hawkins, Chairman of the Quaker Valley Joint Schools Board, called the meeting to order, and directed Mrs. Shriver, Secretary, to call the roll. The ten boards answered with the number of their members present, so that a quorum could be established. It was indicated that there were 41 board members present and that each district bad a quorum of board members.
Following the approval of the minutes of the Joint Boards meeting of May 4, 1959, Mr. Hawkins stated that the purpose of the meeting was to approve a Resolution revising cost estimates in connection with the Junior and Senior High Schools Building Program, and directed the Secretary to read the Resolution. A motion was made and seconded to approve the Resolution, and Mr. Hawkins asked for remarks. Mr. W. Randall Compton, 417 Woodland Road, Edgeworth, asked to speak. He stated that he was acting as spokesman for the group of citizens whose names appeared in the ad in Hie Herald of October 1, and wished to emphasize that their position was not meant as one of obstruction or harassment; but that until the meeting of the Quaker Valley Joint Boards on Sunday, September 20, when he was present and heard the Architect's breakdown of figures for revised costs of the two building projects, no figure had been available and he was of the opinion that some members of the Joint Boards were not aware of the figures. He admitted that he did not know the history of the whole project, just some salient facts, Mr. Compton started with 2% years ago when a figure of $750,000 was mentioned as an amount for the building program. The need for classrooms was recognized—this was largely the reason many of the boroughs entered into the Jointure. The figure lias now grown to $2,385,000. He repeated the figures in the ad, that of this amount only 18% was to be used for classrooms and approximately 60% for new gyms and cafeterias. Mr. Compton said Iiis group was not there to be critical of the Board and did not question their intentions for one minute, but that they felt the overall result was open to a serious review. They make no pretense of being experts, but feci the Board should care for the immediate needs for the Senior High School, pending study of the Junior High School and Elementary School needs, and whether the Elementary Schools should perhaps become the problem of the individual School Districts. A plan to buld a new
high school or a combined Junior-Senior high school on the property in Leetsdale was dropped, “why, I do not know.” He suggested that the Joint Building Committee reconsider, re-evaluate the projects, and come up with a plan which would give the Community a good deal more for their money and provide an adequate and profitable education for the children of the community.
Mr. Hawkin’s reply to Mr. Compton and the advertisement in last week’s Herald is printed in full on the front page of this week’s Herald.
Supervising Principal George Bedi-son, stated that the program started with a census; of children, determining how many would have to be accommodated. Then, the state set up a room schedule for 737 junior high pupils and 695 senior lygh school students. The estimate of overall costs was based on the room schedules and until the room schedule was approved by tiie state, there were no official figures. The first official figures were $2,160,000. Then preliminary plans were drawn up, approved by county and state before the working drawings were made. They, too, were approved by the four state agencies involved and certain changes were required.
With the aid of a chart, he explained the way in which the existing facilities were altered and new ones added in the additions .to fit the state’s minimum requirements. Experts in different fields were called in for advice and suggestions. The architectural section in Harrisburg complimented the architects on one of the best and mast economical uses of old facilities that they had ever seen! He added that the test borings revealed conditions which caused increases in the estimates for foundation work.
Dr. Alfred W. Beattie, County Superintendent of Schools, traced the history of the jointure and recalled that the recommendation to the County Board was that one high school be converted to a junior and the other to n senior high school as the most economical Way to’provide secondary education. These proposed costs are not out of line, not nearly as expensive as some other buildings he could cite. The State Department of Instruction believes it is the best solution foi the dollars you have to spend at tills time.
Dr, A. G. Clark, County Assistant in charge of building programs, said that separation of junior and Senior high groups was desirable due to the difference in ages, When the juniors get away by themselves they develop better qualities of leadership. The
(Continued on Pago 14)
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