Deer Isle High School - Gatherer Yearbook (Deer Isle, ME)

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THE GATHERER THE NEW SCHOOL The idea of building a new school was first considered two years ago, when at town meeting a committee of nine was appointed to look into the possibilities of having a con- solidated high school with Stonington. This committee consisted of Grover Small, Dor- othy Carmen, Elwood Eaton, Alfred Col- well, Augustus Heanssler, Clark Hill, Walter Pickering, Emily Haskell, and Frank Milan. With a committee from Stonington they looked into the situation and decided not to combine with Stonington. These were the reasons for the decision. After investigation they were of the opinion that the needs of the two towns were somewhat different, since Stonington was interested in providing a sec- ondary school only, whereas Deer Isle need- ed improvement in both secondary and ele- mentary quarters. They decided that the cost of building and maintaining a consoli- dated high school would be too great. They learned also that if a consolidated school were established, Deer Isle would be ex- pected to provide about the same amount of money as Stonington for support, but would have less control, since representation on the board would be proportional to stu- dent attendance and Stonington would have about three times as many pupils. At town meeting in 1950 someone moved the building of a new grade school. The vote was carried and a committee appointed. This committee, called the School Planning Committee, consisted of Frank Milan, Walk- er Pickering, Alfred Colwell, Elwood Eaton, Dorothy Carmen, and Augustus Heanssler. They made arrangements to introduce a school district bill into the legislature and, after this was done, it was accepted at town meeting. It was necessary to introduce this bill because there is a state law which will allow a town to go only so far in debt. Our deadline was S35,000, but the School Dis- trict Bill allowed the district to go in debt for S60,000, the amount required. The town had already put aside 323,500 toward the project. This amount came from a surplus excise tax which had been accumu- lating over a period of years. It was decided to build a grade school instead of a high school because the grade schools did not have very good equipment, or much of it. The buildings were much too crowded. If a high school building had

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GIRLS' BASKETBALL rout. row: Mr. Blkll1k'l1ill'Cl. P. Knight. Eaton. R. Billings. P. Spofforcl. and S. Howurm vconfl row: B. Joyfc. M. llurcly. E. Eaton. Hzlskvll. B. Pvrvz. R. Haskvll. N. Colwvll and G. Woodman. CHEERLEADERS Km-L-ling in front. lxl'01ll ll-ft to right: P. l'0w1'1's. :xml R. Billings. Sluncling in lmrk. from lw-ft to right: Y. Billings. M. Damon, E. Small. Miss Pla-x'oa'k. B l'ickL'ring, and Snowclcn.

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THE GATHERER 31 been built, there would not have been any money left to repair the grade schools, and a two story building is not satisfactory for elementary children. If a grade school were built, the schools on the outskirts could be brought in and that would cut the cost of running the schools some, because one less teacher would be employed. Mr. Ambrose Higgins, an architect from Bar Harbor, was engaged to draw up plans. These plans called for five classrooms and a sixth room, considerably larger than the others, to be used for a cafeteria and recrea- tion room. They also called for toilets, a principa1's office and teacher's room, and a kitchen. When bids for this building were received, the lowest was S90,167, which was higher than had been expected. There were two chances for revision of plans. First the quality of the materials to be used could be cut, and, second, the size of the building. The latter alternative was impossible because the one planned was the smallest size possible that would still do the job. The committee talked the problem over with the architect. As a result, by re- arranging some of the facilities and chang- ing some of the specifications, they produced plans for a building that could be built for about 380,000 After adding to this sum about 81,000 for seats, well, and land, 32,- 000 for the first year's insurance, 1951 inter- est, and costs of other expenses, the total needed was about 393,000 An alternative proposal to build a four room building which could be added to was considered. If this were done, the cafeteria would be in the chapel, there would be no recreation room, and some classes would be held in the old rooms down by the high school. A special town meeting was held to ask for enough money to carry out the original plan. An appropriation of more money was turned down. The committee met and decided, never- theless, to start the building. Mr. Emmons L. Shea of Ellsworth was hired for the actual construction, and Mr. Allston Wheelden of Stonington was hired for the wiring, heat- ing, and plumbing. They were both hired on the cost plus fixed fee basis. This means that the contractor bought the materials and paid for them himself. These bills were checked each week. After the job was done he got back what he had paid out plus eight per cent of that amount. The location of the school was chosen be- cause it was near enough to the other school to be convenient for the school lunch and because the land was already fairly clear. The well, which was drilled by Ira Christy, was almost done by the time the ground was broken on June 6. It is 136 feet deep and has a flow of three gallons per minute. After the ground was broken the work progressed rapidly, and four of the five class- rooms were ready to be occupied when school began in September. However, everything was not completed until Novem- ber 16. On this date the primary class and the cafeteria were moved up from the chapel, where they had been since school began. As work progressed the expenses were lower than they had been estimated. Some of the items tentatively eliminated were re- incorporated in the plans. Among these were ceramo shingles for sidewalls, painting and Hnishing, some of the insulation, and tack boards. The Board of Trustees elected at town meeting is made up of Frank Milan, pres- ident, Augustus Heanssler, vice-president, Clark Hill, treasurer, Alfred Colwell, secre- tary g and Elwood Eaton. Each of these men serve for a certain period of years, with one member going ofl' and a new one replacing him each year for a five year term. While