High School Attendance

HIGH SCHOOL ATTENDANCE

Has Increased Twenty Over Last Year

SCHOOL SAVINGS BANKS

Asked For by Petitions--School Board Referred Matter to Finance Committees

Supt. Slauson of the city schools, reported to the board of education at their meeting Tuesday evening that the attendance of the public schools is at present 2,407, which is an increase of 90 over a similar time last year, the high school's attendance of 557 being 20 more than at the close of November, '02. Supt. Slawson recommended repairs to the floor in the fifth ward school and that door checks, to keep the outside doors closed, be placed throughout the schools. The recommendations were concurred in by the board.

City Physician Herdman recommended that harder chalk be used in the schools, as the kind now in service causes an excessive quantity of dust; and he also advised that the board request the school children to be vaccinated. Both matters were referred to the superintendent.

On recommendation of Mrs. Bach, of the salaries committee it was voted to follow the usual custom of allowing all the teachers four weeks' pay for the three weeks immediately preceding Christmas and to give the other employees of the district before Christmas the pay that will be due to them at the end of the month.

The secretary was instructed to ask the local banks for bids for the use of the district money during the coming year.

A petition from several citizens that the school savings bank system be instituted in this city was referred to the finance committee.

The secretary reported that the school census has been cut down by the authorities at Lansing from 3,330 to 3281, part of the reduction to his mind being unfair. He was instructed to protest the matter.

Considerable time was consumed over the question of allowing Janitors Mummery and Norton extra pay, in the case of the former for keeping the walks clean of snow and of the latter for taking care of the new room that has been added to his building. It was decided to allow Norton an extra $30 per annum but President Eberbach cast the deciding vote to disallow Mummery's claim, on the ground that he should have raised the walk cleaning question when he was engaged in the fall. "Perhaps he didn't think about the snow during the warm weather," suggested M. J. Cavanaugh, but a majority didn't see the matter in a similar light.