Following is a brief report on the efforts of the Education Committee during the past year. Chairman Chris Wright stated:”All we got after a year’s work,were some basketball hoops on the Rooms of 15 yard.”
At the time of the first meeting with Clyde Miller, Acting Superintendent of Schools a year ago, the Committee was concerned with children walking from the North side of Delmar and families being split by the bussing. Miller promised to look into it and referred the group to District Superintendent, Charles Brasfield.
Mr. Brasfield said that the District office was working on the problem of families attending several different schools.
The Committee then approached him with the need for more classroom space.
Brasfield stated the often-repeated refrain that the Board has no money and also that the Board had investigated the use of the old Bettendorf Store on DeBaliviere but was unable to lease it. Asked whether space in churches would be acceptable he said that the Board would look at any space the Committee could find and make an engineer’s report on it.
Delmar Baptist Church indicated that they would be willing to consider leasing their school facilities to the Board of Education, space that would accommodate approximately 250 children. The Committee took this information with the idea of creating a primary center in the Church to Mr. Brasfield. A Report of the building was issued in May which estimated an expenditure of $35,000 would be necessary to bring the building up to public school safety standards and Mr. Brasfield eliminated that possibility by restating the fact that the Board has no money for renovation of facilities.
In conclusion, the Committee felt that expanded interest and extreme community pressure on the Board and the District Superintendent would be necessary
Originally published in The Paper, February 1972.
Read this article in the original newspaper issue.
Original source: SD_Times1972_02.pdf, printed page 5.
