Architectural upray //A 4373 • A 4 A 23 / 72.2 El TTTTTTVºf NTIII | º: º #: |H| Jºſiº Ǻ): $º of THE OF *GIGAN w 469 98,961 Water works services 5343 5410 5535 5661 5996 Telephone subscribers 5498 5351 5803 6048 6602 The waterworks department shows new taps to mains, a fair index of new houses, as follows: 1918 220 1919—250 1920 113 1921. ...286 (to Jan. 1) (86 taps have been made during the month of April) It must be remembered that our waterworks investment has grown from $450,000 to over $1,000,000 in ten years. The Waterworks will lay two miles of new water main this year to take care of new streets which are demanding service. We have already added 11-8/10 miles of four, six and eight inch dis- tribution mains. The telephone company has spent over $133,000 for extensions in the past five years The schools are just as im- portant as the water, the gas, the electricity or the telephones. The schools are vital—they influence profoundly the present and future citizenship of Ann Arbor. A study of our whole school field leads us to the conclusion that what we need may be summed up as follows: 1s. A new building for the Seventh Ward, on the Lincoln Avenue site to contain 18 to 20 school rooms plus auditorium and gymnasium. This will be equal in size to Elisha Jones School and can be built for about the same money. 2nd. An addition to W. S. Perry School to make it a 16 room building and to provide gymnasium, auditorium and rooms for domestic science and manual training thus placing its facilities on a par with those of the Elisha Jones School. 3rd. An addition to Philip Bach School to increase it to equal capacity and give the same facilities as provided in Elisha Jones School. 4th. An addition to Central High School to fill completely ' r — 11 — the present high school site. This may be deferred for a few years. 5th. The adoption of the Intermediate School and the erection of two buildings, one in the Eastern part of the city and one con- siderably West of the Ann Arbor Railroad. This would take the seventh, eighth and ninth grades out of the other schools and permit the use of the high school as enlarged and the six large grade schools for a long period. This question need not be de- cided for three or four years to come. We believe that when this program is complete the school needs will be well taken care of so far as the present area of the city is concerned. The city is growing very rapidly to the ex- treme west, the southeast and east and it is clear that provision ought to be made for the purchase of six to ten acre school sites in the near future looking to the building of future grade schools in the new residential sections. The present Donovan School is a good building for primary school uses and the proximity of the Elisha Jones School to the center of population in this district leads us to believe that it is wise to defer any steps looking to a new building or an enlarge- ment of the present one until a more marked development of the Fifth Ward takes place. THE SCHOOL CENSUS The school census shows very clearly the growth that has taken place in the different sections of the city. TABLE IV Year 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Total 1910 •••383 728 568 506 228 472 635 3500 1911 ...390 746 586 503 253 479 698 3655 1912 ... 400 742 589 491 240 448 719 3629 1913 •••394 733 608 492 235 484 757 3703 1914 ... 396 746 639 481 239 466 794 3761 1915 ••• 415 744 636 470 239 473 809 3786 1916 ... 436 743 678 487 244 461 843 3892 1917 ... 411 752 705 534 253 492 920 4067 1918 ... 405 741 706 569 232 461 1018 4132 1919 ... 401 778 699 482 213 488 1092 4153 1920 ... 420 766 731 514 260 557 1125 4373 1921 ••• 451 773 794 568 266 620 1170 4642 A careful study of the above figures will amply justify the school building program as outlined. — 12 — ^ ^ - To confirm the above we have computed the retardation of pupils of Newton, Mass., the annual report of which system has just come to our attention. The average retardation in Newton's entire school system is fifteen percent; in Ann Arbor it is thirty percent. NEW UNIVERSITY BUILDINGS For a present approximate enrollment of 11,000 students the State Legislature a few months ago appropriated $5,100,000. for new buildings and we have every reason to believe that the same generous treatment will continue. In addition to this the Uni- versity will soon receive other millions from private donors. All of this money will be used in Ann Arbor for educational purposes during the next few years without any expense to the city other than our share of the state taxes; surely our citizens are willing to authorize the expenditure of a small fraction of this large amount for buildings to be used in educating our own 4,000 children, a number more than one third as large as the total Uni- versity student enrollment. WHO MAY VOTE? Every citizen of the United States of the age of twenty-one, male or female, who owns property which is assessed for school taxes in the district, and who has resided in the district three months preceding the election, is a qualified voter. ALSO The purchaser of land upon a land contract, who actually pays the taxes upon such land and resides thereon may vote, if other- wise qualified. JOINT OWNERSHIP OF PROPERTY Where husband and wife own property jointly and the same is assessed for school taxes in the school district, each may vote, if otherwise qualified. — 20 only no detriment, but a positive benefit to the rest of the park and adding materially to its usefulness. "Your committee therefore recommends that the Board of Directors of the Chamber of Commerce express to the Board of Education its approval: "1. Of the purchase of the equities of the Driving Club in Burns Park for $20,000, on condition that all such sum shall be expended for a new track and fair grounds on land already se- cured for that purpose. "2. Of the payment to the city of a further sum of $12,500 for the cost of making necessary changes in the park and the opening of Lincoln Avenue through to Granger Avenue. "This is a matter of the city dealing with itself for its own best good. It is not a question of the desirability or undesirabil- ity of a race track, or of paying a sum of money to the Driving Club for its benefit. It therefore calls for such adjustment as is necessary to bring about the best good of the city in all years to come. To your committee the advantages of the plan recom- mended are so much beyond that of any other that has been sug- gested as to leave no room for doubt. Respectfully submitted, Edw1n C. Goddard, E. B. Manwar1ng, E. J. E. Gross, W. H. L. Rohde, C. B. Coe." Very truly yours, Ann Arbor Chamber of Commerce. OTHER IMPROVEMENTS Since the building program was outlined for the entire city the Board of Education has endeavored not to be unmindful of the needs of other schools as well. At the Bach school there was a very small amount of playground though it is the second largest school of the city. Purchase was therefore made of the Wild property joining the school ground on the north and front- ing on Fourth Street and also the Schleyer property joining the janitor's residence on the north and fronting on Fifth Street The janitor's house was moved to a newly purchased lot di- rectly across the street from its present location and the Schleyer residence was also moved to the other side of Fifth Street — 27 — i -4 8 u CO 8 O 1- 1—4 Q Q < 3 O Q Z o u J — 41 — ºn Nº Aw 83 TTI W NO TOO HOS /\:IN — 42 — I553*^HE^E±! 2L*r£J3E!5 j*^ 5CCOND FLOOR PLAN .SIXTH WARD SCHOOL LO.VI3 H. BOYNTON ARCHITECT 52 — t> • — 56 — VERSITY Of MICHIGAl Ti renew the (harge, took must be brought to the fafc. TWO WEEK BOOK 3 9015 0crnm MIGH 00636 6804 ^\ -