Edison High School - Edisonian Yearbook (Lake Station, IN)

Page 17 text:

very fine wood working machines. The science department has some very good equipment which has been added from time to time; this department should have more room and further equipment. The commercial department is in good condition and now has 22 good machines against the original 10 used- machines which constituted its first equipment. Many valuable reforonce books have been added to the school library which started with practically nothing in 1928. The use of the lengthened period was started in 1933 and the first supervised study was begun in that year. This is a decided improvement ovor the short recitation period. The burden of financing the schools weighs less heavily on the local community now than it did before the high school was established. In 1927 the assessed valuation of property in East Gary was ;„ 2 , 745 , 495 . 00 as against $2, 112, 000.00 in 1940; the tax rate in East Gary ii 1927 was : ;1 ,3.10 per 100.00 of assessed valuations and in 1940 it was $1.84. This re- duction in tax rate and assessed valuation has been accompa- nied by an increase in school enrollment from 630 in 1927 to more than 900 in 1940-41. The change in method of school finance in the stato, whereby the state contributes to the support of the local schools, has helped make this possible. Another factor which has aided greatly is the fact that the per capita cost of education of the high school student has been reduced during this time from 174.78 per year in 1931- 32 to $88.59 per year in 1939-40, The high school building was built in 1931-32 at a cost of more than $60,000.00 for building and equipment, all of which has been paid except $3000.00. The School Board, how- ever, had accumulated a cash reserve at tho time of con- structing the building almost sufficient to pay for it. This cash reserve which the Board was accumulat ing partly account- ed for the extremely high tax rate in 1927. The subject offoring of the school has been increased until there are four separate curricula for wi ich the high school student may qualify. The increased offering cf subject matter makes it possible to serve better tho needs of the local community. It is the hope of tho school officials that our school will be able to continue increasing the offering until every boy and girl in the community can find something in which he is especially interested. Including the seniors of 1941 we have had approximately three-hundred graduates of the high school. It is especial- ly gratifying to know we have more students each year who are qualifying for and attending institutions of higher learning.