taken on August 10, 1909. The land has been partially paid for and the total expenditure will probably be about $30,000. It seemed unlikely that the building could be completed within the year, and when funds were urgently needed to establish the Trade School for Girls the School Committee and the Board, by joint vote, transferred $40,000 from this item. This amount and sufficient to cover the cost of the land will have to be appropriated to make this item complete again. The allowance for this building is as follows: Fourteen rooms and two for the hall, a total of sixteen rooms, at 30,000 cubic feet and twenty-two cents per cubic foot, $105,600. Here, as in the Peter Faneuil, two. of the class rooms are large enough to seat fifty, and the manual training is located below one of these larger class rooms and the cooking room below the other. This building will be named the Samuel Adams School and will be let shortly after February 1. Item 2.— Sherwin district, elementary school, upper grades, 704 pupils, or sixteen rooms. The appropriation for this item was $175,000. When this amount was fixed it was the intention of the superintendent, as expressed to the Board, that the Sherwin should be rearranged for a mixed school, upper elementary grades, that the Hyde School should be rearranged for a mixed school, lower elementary grades, and that a new lower elementary building of twelve rooms should be built. This, with the four rooms gained in the hall of the Hyde, would make the sixteen rooms contemplated by the order of the School Committee. Later it was decided that it was inadvisable to change the Sherwin and the Hyde and that for the present, at all events, they would remain separate schools for boys and for girls, and that instead of one lower elementary of twelve rooms two buildings should be built, each containing eight rooms, one of these two to be planned for an addition of eight rooms and an assembly hall, so that it would be eventually an upper elementary school. The Board advertised for land and opened bids on March 8, 1909, held a hearing on March 16, 1909, and on April 15 requested the Street Commissioners to take 27,508 square feet on Ruggles street, at a cost of $13,227.70, which includes taxes of $227.70. They also requested the Street Commissioners to take 43,979 square feet on Hunneman street. This was done and the Street Commissioners made an award and settled at a cost of $34,778.78, which includes taxes of $201.84. On the first of these lots, the smaller one on Ruggles street, the eight-room lower elementary was planned. The allowance for this, on a standard basis of 30,000 cubic feet per room at twenty-two cents, would be $52,800. As will be pointed out later, it is seen that the allowance of 30,000 cubic feet for a lower elementary school is more than necessary. On this lot, however, there is piling, so that 22 cents a cubic foot on the full cube will probably be necessary to cover the cost. It is estimated that with the land and the furniture the amount of the appropriation necessary for this item will be about $70,000. It will be named the Lafayette School. The Hunneman street lot is a similar proposition as far as the original building is concerned, except for the fact that it must contain a boiler room and coal pockets large enough for the boilers of the future building. This might slightly increase the cost of the building. Taking the building at about the same price as the Ruggles street and the land and furniture, $90,000 to $95,000 would seem to be sufficient. These two items, therefore, can apparently be executed within the original appropriation. This building will be named the George T. Angell School. Item 3.− Lewis district, elementary school, lower grades. On February 13, 1909, the Board advertised for land, and a hearing was held on March 15, 1909. On April 3, 1909, the Board requested the Street Commissioners to take 45,000 square feet on Hutchings street, for which was paid $15,750. This is rather a larger amount of land than is usually taken for a lower elementary school, but in view of the future increase of the school to an upper elementary and the fact that the land could be purchased at a reasonable price, the Board and the superintendent felt that they were justified in purchasing this amount. In making up the figures but $12,500 had been allowed originally for land. At the reduced allowance of 28,000 cubic feet per class room instead of 30,000, and 22 cents per cubic foot, the allowance on this building would be about $62,000. If these figures are met it would seem possible to keep within the appropriation. On May 10, 1909, Messrs. Newhall & Blevins were appointed architects for this item. A ten-room building has been planned, so that ten rooms more and an assembly hall can be added. This building, like the two previously mentioned, has two class rooms that are larger than the standard and which will accommodate fifty pupils. The building will be named the William Lloyd Garrison School and will be let shortly after February 1. Item 4.— The Dwight district, high school (Girls' High School). Land for this addition was bought in 1902 and 16 CITY DocumENT No. 31. $14,000 was paid for 4,660 square feet. The original appropriation, which was known to be somewhat inadequate, was increased by concurrent vote of the School Committee and the Schoolhouse Commission September 20, 1909, from $90,000 to $105,000. The architects, Messrs. Coolidge & Carlson, were appointed April 12, 1909, and the increased appropriation above referred to was advised when study by those concerned in this school showed clearly that a building Somewhat larger than was originally contemplated was necessary if the girls were to have reasonable accommodation in their gymnasium. Even now it seems doubtful whether this appropriation is sufficient on account of the cost of the work in the old building, made absolutely necessary in connection with the erection of the new. The accommodation is eight class rooms of the standard high school dimension, 26 by 32, and a gymnasium and lunch room. To further this work without interfering with the use of the school this winter special contracts were made for the work necessary in the old building, all of which are charged against this appropriation. They were as follows: Carpentry in connection with new toilet room . $1,229 00 Plumbing in connection with new toilet room e 1,363 00 Marble in connection with new toilet room . . 995 00 New boilers e © e so to to so © 1,596 00 Setting and piping boilers . . . e & 2,750 00 Gymnasium apparatus . . . . . . 1,200 00 $9,133 00 This finishes the list of 1909–10. By special act, chapter 446 of the Acts of 1909, an appropriation not to exceed a total of $600,000 was authorized for the erection of a High School of Commerce, to contain also accommodation for the School Committee and the Board of Schoolhouse Commissioners. On June 26, 1909, the Board advertised for land and on July 19, 1909, a hearing was held on these various offers. None of the parcels offered seemed to the Board as desirable as the land on Warrenton and Common streets adjacent to their own property, the Brimmer School. The Board consulted with the chief owner of this land, the Massachusetts General Hospital, with the superintendent, the committee on high schools, the master of the High School of Commerce and Messrs. Fish, Rothwell, Filene, McSweeney and Tuttle, representing the Chamber of Commerce, and, in accordance with the unanimous opinion of all these authorities, voted on November 8, 1909, to take this land. Under the terms of the act it was necessary to have the consent of the School Committee to the location, because the building was to contain accommodation for them. After receiving the approval of the superintendent and of the Mayor the taking was therefore sent to the School Committee on December 17, 1909. Certain owners asked for a hearing; the School Committee in consequence withheld action. The hearing was held by the Board of Schoolhouse Commissioners on January 14, 1910, and shortly after, on January 17, the School Committee approved the taking. The papers went to the Street Commissioners on January 19. This long interval from June 26, 1909, to January 19, 1910, is mentioned here as an illustration of the many unavoidable delays which accompany any such complicated transaction. On the 28th of October, before the actual taking had been made, but when the Board had received the opinion of all the various bodies interested, Messrs. C. Howard Walker and Kilham & Hopkins were appointed joint architects. An agreement was made whereby they are employed on a salary basis.” In the original estimate of the cost of this undertaking $150,000 was estimated as the probable cost of the land. It seems likely that the land may run beyond this amount. The building was one difficult to estimate beforehand, but when the sketch plans were made by the department in July, 1909, it was estimated that the building would run to 1,900,000 cubic feet and the cost to about $437,000, and, as far as could be estimated at that time, it would appear that $675,000 would more nearly represent the total cost of the undertaking than the $600,000 contemplated by the act. This was reported in October, 1909, to the special committee on high schools and to the committee of the Chamber of Commerce, and the chairman of the Board stated that in his judgment the total cost of the undertaking might run from $650,000 to $675,000. It was not, therefore, without full understanding on the part of all concerned of the possible increased cost of this undertaking that the Board proceeded with the taking of the land. The sketch plans are now well under way and are being studied by those connected with the High School of Commerce, by the School Committee and by this Board. * As this document is going to press about March 25, it is perhaps, pertinent to add that at this date the taking has not been made, owing to the fact that the survey is not complete and the lack of the survey has stopped the architects in their work. (2.) THE REVISION OF STANDARDS OF COST TO AGREE Since last year's report a modification has been advised by the Superintendent in the previous rule which fixed the rooms at a limit to accommodate only forty-four. Now a certain number of rooms are made large enough to accommodate fifty. This allows an occasional class above the standard size and also provides spaces which are large enough for manual training, cooking and kindergarten rooms. The Board has figures on the Peter Faneuil as let and on the Abraham Lincoln as partially let and can now check further the conclusions reached last year. The following table shows the modified standard and compares with it the actual figures on the building referred to. Neither the Dorchester High Annex nor the addition to the Girls' High School are given, as these are connected with old buildings and are not the same problem as the elementary schools. The modified standard is to allow 28,000 cubic feet per class room (instead of 30,000) in the lower elementary, and 30,000 per class room in the upper elementary, with two or four rooms, according to the size of the school, added to cover the cost of the hall. In both cases the cost per cubic foot is at 22 cents. The class rooms are rated at forty pupils for the standard and fifty for the oversize rooms. Co. Cost Cost Rated NAME. dios Cube. per Total Cost. per Number Room. Cu. Ft. Pupil. Pupils. Nathan Hale, lower elementary, Allowed, 28,000 336,000 $0 22 $73,920 00 || $154 00 480 first class, except roof, twelve | Actual. 27,781 333,379 20 67,231 82 140 08 class rooms.” Peter Faneuil, lower elementary, Allowed. | 28,000 504,000 22 110,880 00 154 OO 750 first class, eighteen rooms. f | Actual. 24,000 431,886 24 106,402 25 141 87 Bishop Cheverus, upper elemen- || Allowed. 30,000 540,000 22 118,800 00 185 00 640 tary, first class, except roof, Actual. 29,748 535,474 19 102,076 35 159 18 sixteen rooms, two rooms so allowed for hall.” Edward Everett, upper elemen- || Allowed. | 30,000 480,000 22 105,600 00 188 00 560 tary, first class, except roof, Actual. 32,000 516,678 20 107,515 43 191 99 fourteen class rooms, two rooms allowed for hall.” Abraham Lincoln, upper ele- || Allowed. 30,000 | 1,320,000 22 290,400 00 181 00 1,720 mentary, first class, forty $ Actual. 26,330 | 1,158,533 24 280,000 00 162 79 #. four rooms allowed for all. * No oversize room. f Three oversize rooms. o # Twelve oversize rooms. § Electrical and heating contracts estimated, not awarded. |