Public Schools of Cortland Village, 1885

The Cortland News, Friday, February 27, 1885.

Public Schools of Cortland.

   The Public school buildings of Cortland are four in number being located on Owego, Schermerhorn, Church and Pomeroy streets, respectively; the Owego street school building contains a primary and intermediate department.

PRIMARY DEPARTMENT.

   Miss Lenah Robinson, teacher; seating capacity, 54; regular enrolled Jan. 1885, 63; regular enrolled Jan. 1884, 23. Increased attendance, 36.

INTERMEDIATE DEPARTMENT.

   Miss Julia B. Slatter, teacher; seating capacity, 54; regular enrollment Jan. 1885, 46; regular enrollment Jan. 1884, 50; decreased attendance, 4.

   The Schermerhorn street school building also contains a primary and intermediate department.

PRIMARY DEPARTMENT.

   Miss Helena M. Myers, teacher; seating capacity, 54; regular enrollment Jan. 1885, 63; regular enrollment Jan. 1884, 45; increased attendance 12.

INTERMEDIATE DEPARTMENT.

   Miss Helene M. Myers, teacher; seating capacity, 54; regular enrollment Jan. 1885, 55; regular enrollment Jan. 1884, 49; increased attendance 6.

   The Church street school building also contains a primary and an intermediate department.

PRIMARY DEPARTMENT.

   Miss Eliza F. Austin, teacher; seating capacity, 48; regular enrollment Jan. 1885, 45; regular enrollment Jan. 1884, 40; increased attendance, 5.

INTERMEDIATE DEPARTMENT.

   Miss Mary Knapp, teacher; seating capacity 40; regular enrollment Jan. 1885, 28; regular enrollment Jan. 1884, 42; decreased attendance 14.

   The Pomeroy street school building contains a first and second primary and intermediate department.

FIRST PRIMARY DEPARTMENT.

   Miss Mary E. Fairchild, teacher; seating capacity, 54; regular enrollment Jan. 1885, 52.

SECOND PRIMARY DEPARTMENT.

   Mrs. M. A. Rice, teacher; seating capacity, 54; regular enrollment Jan. 1885, 46.

INTERMEDIATE DEPARTMENT.

   Miss Florence E. Bennett, teacher; seating capacity, 54; regular enrollment Jan. 1885, 40.

GRAMMER [sic] DEPARTMENT.

   Miss Mina W. Bishop, teacher; seating capacity, 54; regular enrollment Jan. 1885, 32.

   Since the Pomeroy street school has been built the Port Watson street school has been discontinued and it has also relieved the Church street school. It now has an attendance of 170 an increase in this ward of 126.

   By consulting the above statement it will be seen that all of the departments are well filled and some of them are uncomfortably crowded, and scholars desiring admission are almost daily refused admittance because the buildings are not sufficiently large to accommodate the scholars living in that ward.

   This is the case in both departments of the Owego and Schermerhorn street schools.

   It is almost a necessity that both of these buildings should be raised and two additional departments to be placed in each building during the coming summer as there is a sufficient number of children in each ward who wish to attend to comfortably fill the additional departments at once but the Board of Education did not deem it advisable to ask for the extra appropriation this spring because of the extra amounts to be raised by the village tor other necessities.

   The following is the list of estimated expenses which the Board of Education deem necessary for the ensuing school year:

Teachers wages $2,300

Building fund deficiency $1,300

Fences $100

Grading $300

Janitors $600

Fuel $650

Census $75

Insurance $25

School furniture and incidental expenses $650

[Total] $6,000.

   Teachers' Wages — Each teacher receives a salary of $8 per week. As the appropriations last spring estimated the number of teachers at seven while ten were necessary a deficiency in teachers’ wages exists and $2,300 is necessary to defray the deficiency and wages for the ensuing year in addition to the sum which will be received from the state.

   Building fund deficiency — As the new school buildings on Owego and Schermerhorn street have been built but a little over a year and are now inadequate the Board profited by this experience and decided to build a two-story school building on Pomeroy street instead of one-story as was planned, and for which the appropriation of $4,000 was asked, therefore a loan of $1,200 was made and with $1,000 the result of the sale of the S. Church street school site, a two-story building was built, the four departments equipped with furniture, heating apparatus, clocks &c. Therefore $1,300 is necessary to repay the loan with interest as these four departments were filled immediately. The wisdom of the change from a one- story building to a two-story is apparent.

   Fencing and Grading — As all the school yards require fencing and three of them need grading the estimated expenses are low.

   Janitors — It requires the services of four men daily to attend to the school buildings’ property, and to supply them with brooms, dusters, tools, etc., for the care and heating of the buildings, $600 was not deemed excessive.

   Fuel — As a fire has to be maintained in seven furnaces during seven or eight months of the year, $650 was deemed necessary for coal, wood and kindlings.

   Census and Insurance — Are estimated at $70 and $25, respectively a lower estimate than last year.

   School furniture, supplies and incidental expenses — No department has any maps, charts, dictionaries or anything of that description and are sadly in need of them. $650 was deemed necessary to purchase them, extra school furniture, and meet all incidental expenses that may occur during the ensuing school year.

   During the past year the Board of Education has adopted a course of study by which scholars may complete all common English studies and readily enter the regular Normal course, also has adopted a series of regulations for the Government and advancement of the schools.

   The schools are managed by a very efficient corps of teachers under whom not a single serious disturbance has occurred and the registered attendance has increased 60 per cent during the past year.

   The patrons of the school and others are earnestly requested to visit the schools as often as convenient so that the efficient work of both teacher and scholars may be recognized and encouraged.

CHAS. S. SANDERSON,

Secretary Board of Education