E6 
 
 f 
 
 A PUBLIC SCHOOL 
 BUILDING PROGRAM 
 
 For the Moweaqua Community 
 
 Unit District 
 
 Based on a Study 
 of School Housing Needs 
 
 By 
 
 Citizens, Teachers, and Pupils 
 
 and 
 
 The College of Education, University of Illinois 
 
 1948-1949 
 
 Field Service Division, Bureau of Research and Service 
 
 College of Education, University of Illinois 
 
 Urbana, Illinois : 1949 
 
A PUBLIC SCHOOL BUILDING PROGRAM 
 FOR THE MOWEAQUA COMMUNITY UNIT SCHOOL DISTRICT 6k 
 
 Based on 
 A Study of School Housing Needs 
 
 Made for 
 The Moweaqua, Illinois, Board of Education 
 
 William Harris, President 
 
 James E. Hodges, Secretary 
 
 U. J. Austin 
 
 Haldon Bilyer 
 
 Thomas Hemer 
 
 Emerson Mathias 
 
 Dr. K. L. Pistorius 
 
 And 
 
 I. D. Baker, Superintendent of Schools 
 
 By 
 
 Citizens, Teachers, and Pupils 
 
 With the Assistance of 
 
 The College of Education 
 
 University of Illinois 
 
 Field Service Division, Bureau of Research and Service 
 
 College of Education, University of Illinois 
 
 Urbana, Illinois 
 
 19^9 
 
 fucatiea 
 
■>■;."•.' 
 
 
 

 - 
 
 CONTENTS 
 
 Chapter p a ge 
 
 PREFACE i 
 
 MEMBERSHIP LIST OF PARTICIPATING GROUPS ii 
 
 LIST OF MAPS iii 
 
 LIST OF TABLES i v 
 
 I. THE COMMUNITY 1 
 
 Early History of the Community 1 
 
 Educational Development 2 
 
 The Population of Moweaqua Community k 
 
 Recreational, Religious and Social Facilities . 6 
 
 Transportation 6 
 
 II. TEE SCHOOL POPULATION 7 
 
 Trends in School Enrollment 7 
 
 The Holding Power of the School 10 
 
 Prediction of Future Enrollments 12 
 
 III. THE EDUCATIONAL PROGRAM 16 
 
 The Educational Philosophy of the School . . . 16 
 
 Grade Organization 17 
 
 Current Practices and Trends Elsewhere . . . . 17 
 
 The Kindergarten 18 
 
 The Elementary School 19 
 
 The Junior High School 22 
 
 The Senior High School 25 
 
 The Adult Program 31 
 
 IV. SCHOOL HOUSING FACILITIES 32 
 
 V. FINANCING THE SCHOOL BUILDING PROGRAM kk 
 
 The Sources of School Income kk 
 
 The Ability to Support Schools 1+6 
 
 Local Effort to Support Education )+8 
 
 Expenditure Pattern and Trends 51 
 
 Bonded Indebtedness 55 
 
 VI. MAJOR CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS OF THE STUDY . 6l 
 
 The Major Conclusions 6l 
 
 A Building Program for the Moweaqua Unit 
 
 J District Q± 
 
 ^ Recommendations 65 
 
 Outcomes of the Program 69 
 
PREFACE 
 
 Early in July, 19*+8, Mr. I. D. Baker, Superintendent of the 
 Moweaqua Community Unit Schools, wrote to Dr. F. G. Cornell, 
 Director of the Bureau of Research and Service, requesting an 
 exploratory visit by representatives of the Bureau staff for the 
 purpose of planning for field service from the Bureau during the 
 initial year of the new unit and to assist in establishing a pro- 
 gram of lay advisory participation in educational planning. 
 
 On July 23, Dr. Van Miller and Mr. A. E. Pierce of the Uni- 
 versity staff met with the Moweaqua Board of Education and a 
 group of interested local citizens representing various community 
 organizations and geographical areas. The discussions at this 
 meeting indicated a need for a long range building program ac- 
 companied by a critical evaluation of the educational program. 
 
 One week after the Moweaqua meeting the Board of Education 
 filed a request for the Bureau services in conducting a survey of 
 building needs. Dr.. M. R. Sumption outlined the conditions of 
 the survey arrangements which included the participation of the 
 teaching staff and various community groups in the project. On 
 August 11 Mr. Baker notified the Bureau of the acceptance by the 
 Moweaqua Board of Education of the proposals made by the Bureau. 
 The study was to be carried on within the academic year 19^8-49. 
 
 The development of a sound long range building program re- 
 quires the collection and classification of many types of data. 
 Most of the data included in the report has been collected by 
 local committees. This information must be checked, analyzed, 
 and interpreted, and inferences drawn relative to the problem of 
 school housing. The long range building program presented in this 
 report is a result of careful professional judgments based on the 
 assembled data. 
 
 The survey staff is deeply indebted to Mr. I. D. Baker and 
 the local Moweaqua committees who cooperatively engaged in the 
 collection of the fundamental information and data. 
 
 C. E. Dannenfeldt 
 Director of the Survey 
 
 Urbana, Illinois 
 June 15, 19*4-9 
 
ii. 
 
 MEMBERSHIP OF GROUPS PARTICIPATING IN THE 
 MOWEAQUA SURVEY 
 
 Citizens ' Com mi ttee 
 
 Mr. Orlando Bohlen 
 
 Mrs. Marjorie Brown 
 
 Mrs. Floyd Cox 
 
 Mr. Don Drew 
 
 Mrs. Haldon Gorden 
 
 Mrs. Clarence Lambdin 
 
 Teachers ' Committee 
 
 Mr. Lester Burton 
 Mr. A. A. Cacherat 
 Mr. Paul Gorman 
 Mr. A. A. McCarty 
 Miss Maurine Moore 
 Mrs. Adith Poole 
 
 Students' Committee 
 
 Evelyn Darling 
 Haldon Funk 
 Barbara Gregory 
 James Hedges 
 Mary Louise Wheat ley 
 Wayne Wooters 
 Norma Zindel 
 
 University of Illinois Staff 
 
 C E. Dannenfeldt 
 
 J. L. Landes 
 
 C. W. Odell 
 
 J. H. Shores 
 
 M. R. Sumption 
 
Digitized by the Internet Archive 
 
 in 2011 with funding from 
 
 University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign 
 
 http://www.archive.org/details/publicschoolbuilOOuniv 
 
111. 
 LIST OF MAPS 
 
 M^P Page 
 
 I. High School Grades 9-12 Pupil Residence 7a 
 
 II. Elementary School Grades 1-8 Pupil Residence 10a 
 
IV. 
 
 LIST OF TABLES 
 
 Table Page 
 
 I. Population of Moweaqua School District 6k by 
 
 Decades, 1920 Through 1950 5 
 
 II. Enrollment by Grades and Sex in the Moweaqua Com- 
 munity Unit District for the School Year I9U8-U9 . . 8 
 
 III. Enrollments by Grades According to Urban and Rural 
 
 Residence in the Moweaqua Unit, 19U8-U9 9 
 
 IV. Total Enrollment for the Schools Now Incorporated in 
 
 the Moweaqua Community 11 
 
 V. Number and Per Cent of Retardation by Grades in the 
 
 Moweaqua Community Unit Schools, I9H8-I+9 13 
 
 VI. Moweaqua School Buildings ....... 33 
 
 VII. Building Scores in Illinois Schools 35 
 
 VIII. Sources of Income, Moweaqua Communits' Schools, 
 
 I9U8-U9 U5 
 
 IX. Per Pupil Assessed Valuation in Moweaqua Community 
 Unit District and Nine Similar Community Unit Dis- 
 tricts, 19^8-1+9 1+7 
 
 X. Total Assessed Valuations for the Moweaqua Community 
 
 High School District for the Years 1939-^9 ^9 
 
 XI. Tax Rates for Educational and Building Funds in 
 
 Moweaqua Community Unit and Nine Similar Community 
 
 Unit Districts, I9H8-U9 50 
 
 XII. Average Tax Levies in Common School Districts Now a 
 
 Part of the Moweaqua Community Unit 52 
 
 XIII. Per Capita Costs for the Moweaqua Elementary Schools 53 
 
 XIV. Per Capita Costs for the Moweaqua Community High 
 
 School, 1938-U8 51+ 
 
 XV. Classified Expenditures for Moweaqua Community High 
 
 School District 191 for Six-Year Period, I9U2A8 . . 56 
 

 - 
 
V. 
 
 LIST OF TABLES (Cont.) 
 
 Table 
 
 Page 
 
 XVI. Present Bond Amortization Schedule for Moveaqua 
 
 Community Unit District 6k ,57 
 
 XVII. Projected Bond Amortization Schedule for Moweaqua 
 
 Community Unit District 6k 58 
 
 XVIII. Combined Present and Projected Bond Amortization 
 
 Schedule for Moweaqua Community Unit District 6k . . 59 
 
Chapter I 
 THE MOWEAQUA COMMUNITY 
 
 The Moweaqua Community is composed of the village of 
 Moweaqua and the rich agricultural land which surrounds it. The 
 village itself is in the extreme northwest corner of Shelby county 
 in Central Illinois, The community is comprised of a portion of 
 the eastern part of Christian County , the southern part of Macon 
 county, and the northwest area of Shelby County. The community 
 has a population of approximately 3*000 persons chiefly engaged 
 in agriculture and activities related to agriculture. Numerous 
 stores and small businesses providing services and supplies to 
 the residents of the community are located within the village 
 The village is located slightly north and west of the geographical 
 center of the school district,, and is fifteen miles directly south 
 of Decatur, Illinois., a city of 65,000 population. 
 
 E arly Hi s tory of the Community 
 
 The original settlers of Moweaqua migrated from the states 
 of Indiana and Kentucky in l8h9 seeking improved living conditions 
 and opportunities for themselves and their families. The majority 
 of these early pioneers came from north and nor thwe stern Kentucky, 
 The name of Moweaqua is derived from an Indian word meaning "Muddy 
 Yfeter'" 1 and refers to the Flat Branch Creek area surrounding the 
 village. At the time of the first settlement a friendly tribe of 
 Indians, called the Sacs, were living on a reservation three-fourths 
 of a mile west of the village. The chief occupations of the early 
 pioneer settlers were farming and cattle raising. 
 
 In iBBh) the Illinois Central Railraod, passing from New 
 Orleans to Chicago and Sioux City constructed its roadbed, laid 
 track and established train service. The population of the settle- 
 ment at this time numbered between 300 and uOO people. The 
 establishment of train service resulted in an increase in popula- 
 tion as was customary in pioneer days with the coming of the rail- 
 road, 
 
 Moweaqua had several early industries which flourished for 
 a time and then ceased to operate, Ayars Saw Mill was established 
 in l8?0 and operated for a number of years. In 1393, Coffmans 
 Flour Mill was established and flourished for a time. Portions of 
 the structure still remain and the present Coffman Brothers com- 
 bined grocery and feed store is conducted on the same site. 
 
 The largest industrial venture to develop in Moweaqua was a 
 coal mine initiated in 1890. A mine shaft was sunk in that year 
 
2. 
 
 and the first coal was produced in 1891. The operation of the 
 mine continued for more than a quarter of a century and the popula- 
 tion of the Moweaqua community was increased by the addition of 
 mine workers, including some European emigrants and their families, 
 and experienced mine workers from other coal fields. In 1932, 
 after the mine had been closed for several years, volunteer 
 workers were going into the mine to prepare it for renewal of 
 operation, when a major disaster in the form of an explosion 
 occurredo Fifty-four people in the mine at that time were killed. 
 Although the mine remained open for a time, it was later closed 
 and no further efforts to resume operation have been attempted. 
 
 Other industrial developments in Moweaqua have been, a 
 brick factory which was in operation in 1900, and a tilemill which 
 began production in 1901+. Neither of these industries were able 
 to continue and are not operating at the present time. The most 
 recent industrial development has been the discovery of the oil 
 pool in the west part of Christian county which was opened in 
 the fall of 19I48, 
 
 Except for a possible extension of the oil producing 
 facilities near Moweaqua, the possibility of any industrial ex- 
 tension which would affect the community materially is highly 
 improbable e Moweaqua will continue to serve the community needs 
 for services and supply to an agricultural area a 
 
 The major churches of the town, including, the Baptist, 
 Methodist, Presbyterian, Christian, and Catholic churches 3 were 
 all established prior to l895o The Nazarene church was established 
 later. All are located at their original sites, except the Fresby- 
 terian church, which was moved in later years. The north cemetery 
 was the original cemetery of the town. The land for the west 
 cemetery was donated by R. I. Smith, a settler from Kentucky, 
 
 Some of the early settlers of Moweaqua were: Dr. Casselwood, 
 Captain Carmnell, Dr. Bush, B, H, McHenry, ".7a sh Gregory, G, M. 
 Kaiser, I. R. McKets, Bob Stine, undertaker who established the 
 present Stine Funeral Home, H, Day, B. F, Ribelin, and V. Snyder, 
 the banker. 
 
 Educational Development 
 
 The history of education in the community closely parallels 
 the common pattern of educational development in the Midwest during 
 the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. The first 
 school building to serve the pupils of Moweaqua was situated north 
 of the present site of the village. It was a one-room structure 
 built of logs, and was established before the village was laid 
 out. The second building was located near or on the site of the 
 present J»E„ Thomas residence. The third school building was 
 
3, 
 
 built on the corner opposite the present Methodist church of 
 Moweaqua This building was a two story structure with one 
 classroom and an assembly room upstairs., and additional classrooms 
 on the first floor, and vras constructed in approximately the year i860. 
 
 The original portion of the present Moweaqua school building 
 Yiras constructed in the year 1890, and consisted of six classrooms 
 which was adequate to accommodate both the grade and high school 
 studentSo In ten years^ the school population had increased 
 sufficiently to necessitate additional space, In 1901, the ex- 
 tension consisting of three additional classrooms and an assembly 
 room was completed 
 
 At that time, the first and second grades were housed in the 
 newly constructed first floor rooms, and grades 3 to S inclusive 
 on the lower floor in the remaining rooms „ Grades 6 to 8 in- 
 clusive were located in the older section of the building on the 
 second floor, wi th the 7 tli and 8th grades a combined room c The 
 high school classes were conducted in the two remaining classrooms 
 and assembly room, The Superintendent, and two teachers con- 
 ducted all of the classes in the high schools A departmental 
 plan of instruction was inaugurated for grades 6, 'J, and 8 in 
 1910, 
 
 In 1920, the older portion of the building was remodeled to 
 make the lighting comply with the new state requirements,, The 
 two front rooms were changed and extended on both sides making 
 four rooms on the front, with entrance and stairs in the middle „ 
 At this time, the 7th and 8th grades were separated and there were 
 eight grade school teachers, one of whom continued to teach a high 
 school subject,, This gave the high school another room upstairs 
 and the north basement was made into a science room, By this 
 time, the high school faculty had increased to five members and 
 the assembly room was used for a study room only 
 
 The school records indicate that the folloi/ving individuals 
 acted as the Superintendent of Schools in Moweaqua: Mr e Carl and 
 Mr Rodenberger, then Mr, William McGinley, lire. William Karris^ 
 Mr E« L, Lawson, Mr, C c W« lerkis, Mr« M» L t i.IcHaun, Mr. Uphoffj 
 Mr* J P. IliclTnan, Mr, Carem Waller, During Mr„ Waller's super- 
 intendency in 1936, the Moweaqua Community High School District 
 was organized as District 191, and District 177 continued to pro- 
 vide for elementary educational facilities only. Mr Waller 
 continued to serve as Superintendent for both the grade and high 
 schools, Mr. McClure followed Mr, Waller as Superintendent who 
 was succeeded by Mr. Dp A. Zook* 
 
 An increase in school enrollments, especially in the high 
 school necessitated a program of building expansion, and in 1921+ 
 an additional building consisting of a combined audi tor ium--gym- 
 nasium and classrooms was constructed at a cost of approximately 
 
ho 
 
 $60,000, The high school has utilized this building for physical 
 education, home economics, English and science classes. The 
 building is also used for athletic contests, dramatics, concerts 
 and other extra curricular activities «. 
 
 The program of reorganization of Illinois schools has 
 affected the Moweaqua Community In 19h6, three Consolidated 
 School Districts were formed in the community area effecting a 
 consolidation of numerous common school districts. These consoli- 
 dations affecting only the elementary school facilities were: 
 the Moweaqua Consolidated Unit, the Penn Township Consolidated 
 District, and the Flat Branch Township Consolidated School Dis- 
 tricto Further school reorganization occurred in the community 
 in 191+8, when the Moweaqua Community Unit District Number 6A. was 
 developed „ The new district included approximately the same 
 territory included in the former Community High School District, 
 which also covered most of the same territory included in the 
 elementary school consolidations mentioned earlier,. 
 
 The Population of Moweaqua Commu nity 
 
 The population of the Moweaqua community increased slowly 
 during the early years following its establishment,. Some acceler- 
 ation of growth developed with the coming of the railroad in 1851+ 
 and the opening of the mine in l090 s The population growth reached 
 its climax in the year 1920 at the height of the operations of the 
 Moweaqua coal mine. 
 
 Table I indicates the population figures for the Moweaqua 
 community, the census years 1920 - 1950, which are estimated on 
 the basis of U. S r Census Reports, The 1950 figure is an estimate 
 based upon the number of customers of utility services. As the 
 district area lies in three counties and includes portions of a 
 number of townships, actual figures for the entire community area 
 are not available, According to Table I a population decline 
 occurred in the census year 1930 and 191+0, which is attributed 
 to the closing of the mine. This loss was regained during the war 
 years as indicated by the 1950 estimates, 
 
 Since 19U0, the industrial growth of the city of Decatur and 
 housing shortage has resulted in persons working in Decatur and 
 commuting there from homes established in Moweaqua. 
 
 The people of the community are conservative in character, 
 and are of similar ancestral backgrounds. Most of the people in 
 the community are native born, although there are some second 
 generation citizens of foreign extraction. The number of residents 
 of foreign extraction has diminished since the mine ceased 
 operating. 
 
5. 
 
 TABLE Io POPULATION OF MOTEAQUA SCHOOL DISTRICT 6A 
 BY DECADES 1920 THROUGH 1950 
 
 Census Year 
 
 Papulation 
 
 Change : 
 Preceding 
 
 from 
 
 Census 
 
 
 Amount 
 
 
 Per Cent 
 
 1920 
 
 3,315 
 
 
 
 
 1930 
 
 3,055 
 
 Decrease 260 
 
 
 - 7.8 
 
 I9h0 
 
 2,733 
 
 Decrease 322 
 
 
 -10.55 
 
 1950* 
 
 2,9k6 
 
 Increase 213 
 
 
 + 7.7 
 
 Istimate based upon utility services, U« S„ Census Reports,, 
 

 
 
6. 
 
 Religious, Recreational and Social Facilities 
 
 Adequate religious facilities are furnished the Moweaqua 
 community by eight urban and five rural churches . The rural 
 churches are especially strong with active congregations, and large 
 functioning youth groups. The churches of the area have operated, 
 during the past ten years, a soft ball league under the auspices 
 of an organized association, They have constructed a lighted ball 
 park and play a regular summer schedule of games, which attracts 
 large crowds and serves as an excellent recreational facility 
 during the summer months 
 
 The American Legion owns its own building in the uptown 
 district, and operates, for the benefit of the youth of the 
 community, a Teen Club meeting each Thursday evening. Moweaqua 
 has an organized park district, which is supported by public 
 taxation and operates a regular summer recreational program with 
 a paid instructor for the children of the area« The park is 
 currently being improved with flower beds, and an amphitheatre 
 which is to seat people for events such as band concerts, and 
 other community entertainments, 
 
 Moweaqua has a well staffed hospital of twenty- seven beds, 
 which has been in operation since 1°2U, This hospital draws 
 patients from Moweaqua and the surrounding rural area Dr> J„ L, 
 Sparling, veteran physician of the community, founded the hospital 
 and has been its sponsor evor since, Associated with him as a 
 doctor in the community is Dr. K e L. Pistorius, 
 
 Tra nspor tat ion 
 
 The Moweaqua community is served by the Illinois Central 
 Railroad, which operates under a state franchise granted when it 
 was constructed through the area in l85h. Both freight, mail and 
 passenger services are provided. Additional passenger transporta- 
 tion services are provided by the Trailways Bus Lines, operating 
 on Route 5>1, Motor freight lines operating in the area furnish 
 drayage and freight facilities for the community,, 
 

 
MOWEAQUA COMMUNITY UNIT SCHOOLS 
 
 MOWEAQUA, ILLINOIS 1949. 
 
 MACON COUNTY 
 
 MACON COUNTY 
 
 CHRISTIAN COUNTY 
 
 SCALE OF MILES 
 
 MAP 1 
 
 HIGH SCHOOL 
 GRADES 9-12 PUPIL RESIDENCE 
 EACH DOT REPRESENTS I PUPIL 
 
 © 
 
Chapter II 
 THE SCHOOL POPULATION 
 
 The number of pupils and the distribution of the school 
 population are both significant factors in planning the school 
 building program. These factors influence the size of the school 
 buildings needed, the selection of their locations, and indirectly 
 their design c Since present practices in school building con- 
 struction usually result in structures that are to be used for 
 several decades, it is especially important to plan them in terms 
 of long range enrollment estimate s„ 
 
 Public school enrollments are directly influenced by popu- 
 lation groYfth, population mobility, birth-rates, enforcement of 
 school attendance laws, and the holding power of the school pro- 
 gram. These factors have been considered in compiling the in- 
 formation, and predictions are included in this section of the 
 survey, 
 
 The distribution of the school population in the school 
 area has been plotted during the survey, on Maps I and II included 
 in this section, 
 
 Trends In School Enrollment 
 
 The Moweaqua Community Unit District Number 6A is in its 
 first year of operation, and as a result, the comparison of present 
 enrollments with those of past years has been a difficult task. 
 The records include enrollment f igures from the Moweaqua elementary 
 school, and thirteen common school districts, plus the overlying 
 Moweaqua Community High School District,, 
 
 The present school enrollment for the year 19u8-l;9 is shown 
 on Table II. The distribution of the pupils is according to age 
 and sex, and indicates no regular pattern of increase or diminish- 
 ment. It is well to point out that the large first grade group is 
 an indication of increased future school enrolLment. 
 
 Table III presents the school enrollment by grades and 
 according to rural or urban pupil residence „ The table shows a 
 total school population for the school year 19hQ-h9 of U8G students. 
 A total of 212 or h3M per cent of the total enrollment are urban 
 residents and 276 or^6 e 6 per cent are rural residents. 
 
 The distribution of high school pupils according to residence 
 is shown on Map I. Of the total high school enrollment 76 or 5^,1 
 per cent are rural residents and all of these live "dthin a radius 
 of ten miles from school. Each dot on the map indicates the 
 residence of one high school student e 
 
8. 
 
 TABLE II. ENROLLMENT BY GRADES AND SEX IN THE 
 MOIEAQUA COMMUNITY UNIT DISTRICT FOR THE SCHOOL YEAR 19h8-h9 
 
 
 Grade 
 
 Boys 
 
 Girls 
 
 Total 
 
 1 
 
 26 
 
 26 
 
 52 
 
 2 
 
 22 
 
 23 
 
 \6 
 
 3 
 
 18 
 
 19 
 
 31 
 
 h 
 
 27 
 
 21 
 
 hQ 
 
 5 
 
 23 
 
 17 
 
 Uo 
 
 6 
 
 17 
 
 22 
 
 39 
 
 7 
 
 21 
 
 17 
 
 38 
 
 8 
 
 28 
 
 23 
 
 51 
 
 9 
 
 19 
 
 22 
 
 til 
 
 10 
 
 16 
 
 19 
 
 35 
 
 11 
 
 15 
 
 12 
 
 27 
 
 12 
 
 13 
 
 22 
 
 35 
 
 Total 
 
 2\6 
 
 2U3 
 
 U88 
 

 
 
 
9. 
 
 TABLE III. ENROLLMENTS BY GRADES ACCORDING TO URBAN 
 AND RURAL RESIDENCE IN THE MQVffiAQUA UNIT 19U3-U9 
 
 
 Grade 
 
 Urban 
 
 Rural 
 
 Total 
 
 1 
 
 23 
 
 29 
 
 52 
 
 2 
 
 12 
 
 33 
 
 U5 
 
 3 
 
 16 
 
 21 
 
 37 
 
 k 
 
 23 
 
 25 
 
 1|8 
 
 5 
 
 17 
 
 23 
 
 ko 
 
 6 
 
 15 
 
 2u 
 
 39 
 
 7 
 
 15 
 
 23 
 
 38 
 
 8 
 
 29 
 
 22 
 
 51 
 
 9 
 
 19 
 
 22 
 
 Ul 
 
 10 
 
 20 
 
 15 
 
 35 
 
 11 
 
 8 
 
 19 
 
 27 
 
 12 
 
 15 
 
 20 
 
 35 
 
 Total 
 
 212 
 
 276 
 
 ) 4 88 
 
 
 U3 oil -per cent 
 
 56r6 per 
 
 cent 
 

 
MOWEAQUA COMMUNITY UNIT SCHOOLS 
 
 MOWEAQUA, ILLINOIS 1949. 
 
 MACON COUNTY 
 
 
 MAP 2 
 
 ELEMENTARY SCHOOL 
 
 GRADES 1-8 PUPIL RESIDENCE 
 
 EACH DOT REPRESENTS I PUPIL 
 
 LARGE CIRCLE 5 MILE RADIUS 
 
 ©J 
 
10. 
 
 Map II indicates the pupil residences of the elementary 
 school students. There are 350 elementary school students, 200 
 or 57.2 of which are rural residents,, Only li6, or approximately 
 lit per cent of the total elementary school enrollment, live 
 beyond the $ mile circle enscribed on the map. 
 
 Location of pupil residences affect both the building 
 program and the transportation system. Where students do not 
 live at too great a distance from school, it has been found that 
 the centralization of school facilities at a single site or build- 
 ing is more economical than the operation of several school plants. 
 No school student should spend more than forty-five minutes on the 
 bus, and the travel time for elementary students should be even 
 less if it is possible. With proper bus routing and scheduling, 
 it is possible for ail students to be transported to a central 
 school within the forty-five minute time limit. 
 
 The total school enrollment for the schools of Shelby and 
 Christian Counties which are now incorporated into the Moweaqua 
 Community Unit Number 6, is indicated on Table IV The enrollments 
 for the school years 1938-39 to I9J48-U9 inclusive are shown. In 
 the elementary school, the enrollment ranged from 350 students to 
 a maximum of lil6, with these two extremes found in the past two 
 years, The present low enrollment is attributed to the reorganiza- 
 tion which occurred* In the high school the highest enrollment of 
 17U occurred in 19liU-u5> and the lowest, 138 during the present 
 school year a Here again, the low enrollment figure is attributed 
 to reorganization. Over a period of years, the total enrollment 
 tends to be stable and with only slight variations from year to 
 year. 
 
 The Holding Power of the School 
 
 The concept of failure in school, as heretofore held, 
 implies a set body of material to be mastered in each "grade". 
 This body of material to be learned, or skills to be acquired, 
 was associated with the grade as a step in the child's progress 
 through school. This concept also assumed equal ability on the 
 part of each child entering the grade. 
 
 We now know that children develop and mature at different 
 rates of speed. Moreover the various phases of their mental, 
 emotional, and physical natures become mature at different times. 
 
 The promotion policy of the Moweaqua Community Unit Schools 
 is one of placement, rather than promotion. We attempt to place 
 each child in the room or grade, where he can gain tiie most from 
 the school situation. We conceive of the school as an agency for 
 the development of the child, rather than a taskmaster to see that 
 a certain body of material or certain skills are mastered at certain 
 specified periods of time. 
 
, 
 
 '* 
 
 
 
 
 
11. 
 
 TABLE IV. TOT: J, ENROLLMENT FOR THE SCHOOLS 
 NOT INCORx 3 OR..T3D IN THE UDHB&QT&, COMMUNITY 
 
 Elementary High School 
 Year Enrollment Enrollment Total 
 
 1938-39 
 
 393 
 
 1939-UO 
 
 398 
 
 19h0-l;l 
 
 ink 
 
 19kl-h2 
 
 313 
 
 19U2-U3 
 
 387 
 
 19U3-IU 
 
 391 
 
 19kh-hS 
 
 375 
 
 I9h$-k6 
 
 390 
 
 I9k6-hl 
 
 373 
 
 19U7-U8 
 
 U16 
 
 19hQ-h9 
 
 350 
 
 163 
 
 561 
 
 167 
 
 581 
 
 163 
 
 536 
 
 172 
 
 ^9 
 
 150 
 
 5U 
 
 17U 
 
 559 
 
 165 
 
 ^ 
 
 150 
 
 523 
 
 169 
 
 585 
 
 138 
 
 U88 
 
' • ■ '• 
 
 
 ' 
 
 
12. 
 
 This policy admittedly is not without its fibre. We recognize 
 that there is a place for firmness and for standards of achievement 
 in child development. However we now counsel, guide, and encourage 
 the student in his or her choicest, 
 
 This policy will affect the holding power of the school in 
 coming years. This has not always been the policy since there are 
 a number of "retarded 11 pupils within the system. If this new 
 policy becomes a part of our everyday thinking as we teach, we not 
 only will be able to reach more but will hold more students. 
 
 Retardation occurs when a child is not at the point which we 
 feel he should be for his age and the time spent in school. The 
 accompanying Table V shows the number of pupils now enrolled in 
 the school who have been retarded one or more grades as the grade 
 system is now organized. This can indicate a number of things, but 
 very possibly it indicates that the school should give intensive 
 study to its instructional program, and see to what extent it is 
 meeting the needs of the childo If the program adequately meets 
 the needs of the child, it is likely that he will not be retarded, 
 at least not to the extent that retardation is now found in the 
 Moweaqua Schools. 
 
 Promotion policies and the resultant retardation and lack of 
 holding power of the schools may be attributed at least in part to 
 the inadequacies of the physical plant. In many instances, plans 
 for enrichment of the school program are limited by lack of space 
 and inadequate facilities a.nd equipment. The holding power of 
 the school is also improved when the school buildings are well 
 lighted, adequately heated and ventilated, and attractively 
 decorated. 
 
 Predictions of Future Enrollments 
 
 The prediction of the future school enrollment in the 
 Moweaqua Community Unit District is unusually difficult because of 
 the great variation in births occurring within the district during 
 the last few years. These variations are markedly different from 
 the general birth rate in the State of Illinois, upon which most 
 predictions for districts within the state are based. The number 
 of births in the area no?; included in the district for the years 
 1939 to I9I48 inclusive are given as follows; 
 
 1939 
 
 U9 
 
 19li0 
 
 m 
 
 19U1 
 
 55 
 
 19h2 
 
 56 
 
 19lf3 
 
 82 
 
 19UU 
 
 86 
 
 1916 
 
 106 
 
 19U6 
 
 90 
 
 191*7 
 
 75 
 
 19U8 
 
 62 
 

 
 
L3. 
 
 TABLE V. NUMBER AND PER CENT OF RETARDATION BY GRADES 
 IN THE LIOIEAQUA COMMUNITY UNIT SCHOOLS 19U8-U9 
 
 
 Grade 
 
 Enrolled 
 
 Number Retarded 
 
 Per Cent 
 
 
 1 
 
 52 
 
 2 
 
 3.8 
 
 
 2 
 
 U5 
 
 2 
 
 k.h 
 
 
 3 
 
 37 
 
 h 
 
 10.8 
 
 
 h 
 
 U8 
 
 3 
 
 6.2 
 
 
 5 
 
 ho 
 
 5 
 
 12,5 
 
 
 6 
 
 39 
 
 5 
 
 12.8 
 
 
 7 
 
 38 
 
 3 
 
 7.8 
 
 
 8 
 
 51 
 
 6 
 
 11.7 
 
 
 9 
 
 lil 
 
 11 
 
 26.0 
 
 
 10 
 
 35 
 
 3 
 
 8.5 
 
 
 11 
 
 27 
 
 3 
 
 11.1 
 
 
 12 
 
 35 
 
 3 
 
 8.5 
 
 
 Total 
 
 U88 
 
 5o 
 
 10.2 
 
 
Uu 
 
 The first high figure, in 19ljO, came at a time when the birth 
 rate for the vfhole state was relatively low. The low figure in 
 19i<2 was at a time when the state rate was definitely higher than 
 in 191*0 and 19hlo The highest year, ±9h$i came when the state 
 rate dropped distinctly below previous figures, and finally, the 
 decrease from 19u5 to 19l;7 is contrasted with a marked increase 
 for the state as a whole The irregularity of tnese figures for 
 Moweaqua makes it very difficult to predict its trend for the 
 future 
 
 Since it is necessary to make some future estimates if the 
 situation is to be dealt with intelligently, what appears to be 
 the best basis of doing so, has been employed. It is assumed 
 that there will be no significant moving in or out of the district 
 during the next few years, and therefore, that the number of 
 children to be provided for in the public schools will be determined 
 by the number who have been born in the district recently and will 
 be in the near future, the number lost by death, the promotion 
 policy of the school, and, as the compulsory age limit is approached 
 and exceeded, the attractiveness of the school's offerings to 
 potential students e The death rate is assumed to remain the same 
 as it has been recently for the state as a whole. Unless a serious 
 war or some other unexpected social economic event occurs, the 
 holding power of the school at the secondary level should tend to 
 increase, perhaps as much as 10 per cent at the senior high school 
 level. 
 
 From these assumptions, it appears that grades 1 to 6 in- 
 clusive will reach a high point of approximately U50 pupils for the 
 school year 1953-5U. Most of the increase from the present figure 
 up to this will occur by 1951-52, at Yfhich time the estimated en- 
 rollment in these grades will be close to u25» In grades 7 to 12, 
 the peak figure will naturally come 6 years later, since pupils 
 therein are on the whole 6 years older than those in grades 1 to 6. 
 Allowing for the deaths of a few pupils, and for the fact that the 
 per cent of pupils attending in the upper grades is not so high as 
 that in the lower ones, it is estimated, that if no increase in 
 holding power occurs, by 1957-58 there will be about 330 pupils 
 in grades 7 to 12 and by 1959-60 there will be about 35 pupils, 
 If holding power increases, these figures will be somewhat greater, 
 perhaps as great as 10 per cent more* 
 
 What will happen after the peak enrollments of the two school 
 levels is conjectural. It does not, however, appear probable that 
 the birth rate in the Moweaqua district will increase to such a 
 high point, as that reached during the period from 19hh to 19u6 in- 
 clusive, but that it will probably tend to level off at a figure not 
 far from that of 191*8 or perhaps slightly higher. If this prediction 
 is correct, the number of pupils to be accommodated will decrease 
 somewhat, by as much as 20 per cent, after the p3 ak years mentioned 
 above. If however, a large fraction of those born in this district 
 

 ' 
 
15. 
 
 at the time of the high birth rates in 19h0 and 19kh-h<& remain in 
 the community there will probably again be increases in the birth 
 rate, when they reach the age where they begin to establish families, 
 that is, about 20 years. Thus, if they do tend to remain in the 
 community, there will likely be some increase in the number of 
 births about I960 and a larger increase about 5 years later,, These, 
 of course, will be reflected in the number of children entering 
 school about 6 years after the periods mentioned, 
 
 In the figures given above, no account has been taken of the 
 kindergarten. It is generally recognized that a kindergarten should 
 form a part of every elementary school. If the Lloweaqua schools 
 see fit to provide this, it appears that in the year 1950-51 there 
 should be approximately 100 children in the district who might 
 attend it c Probably some patrons living outside of the town of 
 Moweaqua will not desire to have their children attend kindergarten 
 so that accommodations for the entire 100 will not be needed, 
 However, it seems safe to say that, if kindergarten facilities 
 are provided, there should be two such rooms. This is based on 
 the belief, that classes should not exceed 20 and should be only 
 a half day in length, so that each room may accommodate two groups 
 in a day, This will provide satisfactorily for a maximum of 80 
 pupils at this level, which is probably ample. 
 
Chapter III 
 THE 2D T JC:.TI0N^L PROGRAM 
 
 The Philosophy of The Schools 
 
 Primitive civilizations were able, by the very simplicity of 
 their life, to induct the young into the existing society merely by 
 having the child live with his elders and acquire the skills, the 
 background, the social mores and the common culture of the group. 
 Modern civilization, however, is so complex that the. child is 
 unable to fit itself into the. culture of the group and acquire 
 the heritage of the past and the skills necessary for living in a 
 modern world without the aid of an institution especially designed 
 and organized for this purpose. For a number of centuries the 
 school has been the institution on which society has relied to 
 facilitate the introduction of the young into the existing society. 
 Its chief purpose is to pass on the heritage of the past, to teach 
 social and vocational skills and to develop a personality which 
 will fit into the social group into which it is born. The school 
 then becomes a miniature society, operating for the benefit of the 
 child so that the child may learn, apart from the distractions of 
 modern society, some of the lessons he will need to know in coping 
 with it. However, it is recognized that the school, although it 
 deletes from many of its teaching some of the more sordid aspects 
 of society, must not contain itself within ivory walls and fail to 
 keep contact with what is going on e The lessons of life must be 
 learned from life itself. Therefore, the school is increasingly 
 availing itself of the educational opportunities which exist in 
 everyday living and does not confine its educational program to 
 the four walls of the classroom; rather it seeks to interpret the 
 existing social scene to the child in terms of the ideals that 
 the culture has held and the objectives toxvard which it is 
 striving. It does not neglect the health of the child since 
 this is of primary importance to his well being. Emphasis is 
 laid on the development of health, personality, character, and 
 social skills in the elementary schools, along with the funda- 
 mental skills necessary for the acquisitions of further knowledge . 
 Vocational skills and more organized knowledge, and a continuation 
 of the elementary program are carried on in the secondary school,. 
 In fact, the secondary school is only a continuation and extension 
 of the program of the elementary school, with greater attention 
 being paid to the correlation of the learning program with life 
 itself, Throughout both the elementary ?nd the secondary school 
 an attempt is made to provide opportunities for democratic living 
 so that the child may not ohly learn about democracy but may learn 
 democracy and the ways of democracy within the school. The school 
 recognizes the fact that an abstract academic program will not fit 
 every child. Therefore, experience and training must be provided 
 in work and skills which the child can do with its hands. To this 
 
17. 
 
 end shopwork of one kind or another, business education, farm 
 shop or industrial arts, home economics and home living experience 
 is provided. Likewise experiences in art as a means of expression, 
 along with other forms of expression, such as English, music, and 
 speech, are provided in the school « 
 
 Gr ade Organizat ion 
 
 The type of school organization which Illinois now possesses 
 grew up somewhat like Topsy, with additions being made at different 
 times by the state legislature. Along in the 1920 's laws were passed 
 which gave impetus to a type of organization for tax purposes 
 which made a sharp line of demarcation between the elementary and 
 the secondary school s Although the Moweaqua School did: not avail 
 itself, due to reluctance on the part of the rural population, of 
 the opportunity to become a community high school until 1936, the 
 thinking of the state which followed the enabling laws of 1920 
 caused the grade and the high school to be sharply divided in pro- 
 gram, although housed in the same building, In 1936 the community 
 high school district was formed and operated separately, as an 
 organization and as a tax unit, from the grade school until the 
 formation of the unit district in 19U8 3 In 1910 the elementary 
 school was organized on the departmental program which included the 
 6, 7, and 8 grades. It was not until 19U6 that the home room plan 
 was again used in the school. At the present time a modified depart- 
 mental plan operates in grades 7 arid 8 with one teacher teacning 
 the social science and science fields and another teacher teaching 
 the language arts and mathematics fields. The plan has been 
 strictly, as far as the organization of the schools has been con- 
 cerned, an 8-I4. plan. Little or no integration of the elementary 
 program with the high school program has been existent, Since the 
 formation of the unit however, an attempt has teen made to inte- 
 grate all 12 grades in a definitely organized program of studies 
 and this attempt will bear increasing fruition as time passes. 
 
 Curr ent Practice s and Trends Elsewhere 
 
 According to a study conducted for the .National Education 
 Association and published in the research bulletin of February, 
 19l;9, regarding trends in city school organization from 1?38-1j8, we 
 find the following to be true: 
 
 Thirty-five per cent of the 1,372 city schools reporting used 
 the 6-3-3 plan of organization; 23 per cent used the 8-U plan; 16 
 per cent the 6-6 plan; 12 per cent the 6—2— U plan, with other vari- 
 tions making up the remainder , However, as we have pointed out, 
 this is a survey of city school systems and it does not necessarily 
 follow that their plan of organization should be used in smaller 
 rural schools. In the same study are reported the patterns of 
 
18. 
 
 organization of the elementary and high school districts which are 
 separate. Of the lU6 elementary school systems reporting, 5>6 per 
 cent used the 8 year plan, 19 per cent the 6-2 plan, and 11 per 
 cent the 6-3 plan. In the 80 high school districts reporting, 77 
 per cent were four year high schools, U per cent were U-2 plan 
 high schools and 9 per cent used some other plan of organization. 
 
 A current practice worthy of note in the organisation of the 
 grades is the trend which is growing to classify pupils by divisions 
 rather than by grades, In the study just cited, it was found that 
 17 per cent of all the cities reporting were following this practice 
 while 83 per cent were not, But of the 17 per cent which were 
 following this practice 76 per cent indicated that this was being 
 extended, in other words that it was on the way in Yirhile only 8 per 
 cent indicated that it was on the way out. 
 
 There is a definite relationship between grade organizations 
 and building needs „ For example, if the Q-h plan is used, it is 
 necessary to duplicate such facilities as home economics depart- 
 ments, industrial arts shop and physical recreation facilities, as 
 well as to some extent science rooms and to a great extent library 
 facilities. If the 6-3-3 or 6-6 plan is used this duplication can 
 be avoided or if, as recommended in this study for Moweaqua, the 
 unit 1-12 plan is used many of the facilities above mentioned may 
 be used in common without duplication of cost of construction or 
 operation. 
 
 The grade organization used in Moweaqua, as has been indicated, 
 is the Q-h plan which is being rapidly modified to the 12 grade plan. 
 There is thinking in the direction of classifying by divisions rather 
 than by grades, especially in the lower grade areas. In a unit of 
 the size of Moweaqua ' s, one building could house all of the grades 
 allowing for the common use of shops and other facilities which may 
 be shared, with provisions for separate playgrounds, classrooms, 
 and restrooms. This building program would be adequate and would 
 be less expensive than would a dual program. 
 
 The type of administrative organization for tax purposes 
 greatly affects the organization for classroom purposes. The same 
 study reports that "when allowance is made for those (schools) 
 undoubtedly established merely for population growth in cities 
 already having the general high school unit, it is apparent that 
 the number of high school systems changing from the traditional 
 elementary- secondary plan to a pattern of elementary, junior high, 
 and senior high school has been relatively small" 
 
 The Kindergarte n 
 
 It has become increasingly a practice in city schools and 
 small town schools to inaugurate kindergarten programs wherever 
 
19. 
 
 possible. The director of the Moosehart Schools at Moosehart, 
 Illinois in a recent article- in Nation's Schools magazine states 
 that the school is greatly handicapped in waiting until the child 
 is six years of age before getting him in school, that a great 
 deal of the learning has already taken place and patterns of 
 action have been formed. Therefore, it behooves the school to 
 extend education below the first grade level. A recent study 
 by The National Educational Association indicates that of the Ii92 
 schools in cities with a population between 2,5>OQ and 5^000 who 
 reported, 5'3 per cent of the cities have kindergarten programs and 
 2 per cent have pre-kindergar ten programs c Of the schools in cities 
 of all sizes reporting, 59 per cent have kindergarten programs and 
 2 per cent pre-kindergarten programs. The new unit districts are 
 without exception looking forward to kindergarten programs. This 
 is especially true if the unit district has a substantial tax base 
 and a population large enough to warrant the kindergarten. 
 
 The Elementary School 
 
 The job of the school is to carry on the educational program. 
 As indicated in the statement of the philosophy of the school, this 
 program is directed toward improving all aspects of the individuals. 
 It has as its goal the development of happy, healthy, capable, co- 
 operating citizens. The purpose of reorganization is to make this 
 goal more nearly realizable by providing better instruction, 
 materials, and housing e 
 
 All of the various aspects of administration, finance, and 
 building, must be dedicated to this goal e This means that a clear 
 and reasoned program must be in mind when all of the various aspects 
 are considered; that all of these subsidiary activities must be 
 directed to the best possible educational program « With this in 
 mind we shall examine the modern educational program and its setting, 
 
 The modern educational program, as indicated in the statement 
 of the philosophy of the school, realizes that a child who is 
 worried or insecure, sick or tired, undernourished or uncomfortable, 
 cannot do the work of which he is capable. It knows that children 
 not only learn "facts" or skills but also attitudes toward these 
 learnings. It knows that the ideals learned in the school exert a 
 tremendous influence throughout the life of the individual. It 
 knows that every child is a different individual in terms of 
 interests, abilities and stages of physical, mental and social 
 maturity. It recognizes the job of teaching as a highly specialized 
 and extremely delicate one« 
 
 Learning in the classroom is no different from learning in 
 community life. If a problem arises in real life we determine, if 
 we can, by reading and talking with others what the cause and remedy 
 is» If we cannot tell exactly what is wrong, as perhaps in the case 
 
20. 
 
 of an ailing farm animal, we call in the expert on animal diseases 
 and follow his opinion. In either case we learn somethings It is 
 obviously" a waste of time for the average farmer to try to learn 
 all about diagnosis and treatment of all animal diseases. There 
 are some common ailments with which he perhaps should be familiar, 
 but he leaves the job of the veterinarian to the veterinarian, 
 The same thing applies in all other phases of life work. There 
 are certain common things which we all should know and we learn 
 best when we need knowledge to solve our problems© life solve 
 problems by working on them, not by merely writing down answers to 
 questions. It is evidently ludicrous to the farmer to think that 
 he can cure a sick cow by merely writing down what is wrong with 
 the cow and what he thinks should be done to make her well. The 
 point is this; we learn by actually working on things or by doing 
 things, and the classroom and schedule must be arranged to maximize 
 the carrying on of the learning activities. 
 
 The modern conception of education is that it takes care of 
 all the needs of the child in order to enable him to become a more 
 effective person in his community. This means he must learn in the 
 schools how to work with groups as well as how to work alone while 
 carrying out a group project, A factory or company worker obviously 
 needs to get along with his fellow workers as well as do his own 
 particular job. The same thing is true of the farmer. The trade 
 or farm organisation must have steadfast support of its members 
 even though points of disagreement on certain issues arise. Unless 
 the child learns this in school the job will be much more difficult 
 for him when he gets out in the world „ 
 
 In order to carry on a modern type of educational program the 
 classrooms must be much larger than the traditional size. They 
 must be flexible in arrangement so that the various needed learning 
 activities can be carried on. They must be designed for the uses 
 to which they will be put, 
 
 The classroom now serves four functions — that of study hall, 
 workshop, play room and conference room. It must have movable 
 furniture, a small library which is changed from time to time, work 
 tables and a wide variety of instructional materials. Since many 
 of the projects of the class cannot be carried on in the classroom, 
 other rooms must be provided for special activities 
 
 One of these rooms will be a project room which provides 
 facilities for carrying on the larger building projects, or 
 those which require more extensive equipment than can feasibly be 
 supplied to each classroom. This room will offer opportunities 
 for carrying on science experiments, plant growing experiments, 
 construction and painting of scenery for plays, pottery making, 
 and other activities of a similar nature. 
 
 Another project room should be equipped with a small stage, 
 curtains, and stage lighting so that the children can present their 
 
21. 
 
 class plays. This room should also be equipped with darkening 
 shades and a small projection booth and screen so that visual 
 education aids can be used at any time* This room might also 
 serve as a meeting place for special class groups or for small 
 civic or parent groups,, 
 
 The modern school recognizes that while we cannot teach the 
 child everything he should know, we can and must teach him how to 
 find out what he needs to know. An adequate library is one of the 
 tools which is essential to the gaining of this skill. The library 
 will be under the supervision of a trained librarian who will be 
 available to help children locate materials needed for solving the 
 problems on which they may be working. It will need to be as 
 functional and flexible as the classrooms. It will provide for the 
 rotation of books so that teachers may have pertinent and stimu- 
 lating material available in their rooms as they need it, 
 
 The school should also have a gymnasium where children can 
 play under the supervision of their teacher. Children in the 
 elementary school learn to gut along with others by learning how 
 to get along with their playmates. Snail children actually prefer 
 playing organized games to merely being turned loose at recess. 
 ■While undirected play has a place in the child's life, it does not 
 take the place of those activities which are planned to develop 
 skills and agility. 
 
 Large play grounds are essential to the carrying on of a 
 desirable elementary program. The playground should serve not 
 only the purpose of providing space for exercise and group games 
 but also for the building of outdoor projects, carrying on of 
 garden experiments and keeping pets 
 
 An auditorium should be available in which the children can 
 gather to present their plays and have their music concerts. This 
 room might also serve as a meeting place for community organizations 
 and for civic programs of an entertainment or educational nature. 
 The auditorium might well be shared with the high school as a 
 duplication would evidently not be economically desirable. 
 
 The health suite will house the school nurse and the necessary 
 space and equipment for her examinations and student care. This 
 will include the facilities necessary for carrying on routine 
 vision, and hearing examinations. Physical and dental examinations 
 and immunization which are given at school will also be carried on 
 in this suite. Not infrequently the parents of children who become 
 ill during school hours cannot be located or contacted. The school 
 must operate under the policy that every child who becomes ill is 
 possibly taking a contagious disease. Provision for isolation of 
 these students and occasionally for medical treatment at school is 
 necessary. We hope that the day when a child taking down with 
 measles is required to stay either in the classroom or in the 
 
22. 
 
 corridor is rapidly drawing to an end, The health suite, if 
 properly planned, would serve all of the students in the Moweaqua 
 Schools o 
 
 The good school cafeteria is a place where students not only 
 are given hot lunches but where they as well learn group behavior, 
 health habits, and what a good meal should consist of. The state 
 and federal governments give aid to all approved school hot lunch 
 programs o This aid is in the form of remuneration for each approved 
 lunch served and the donation of various surplus commodities, The 
 school cafeteria should serve both elementary and secondary pupils 
 in Moweaqua. 
 
 There are many children in every community who cannot be 
 cared for in the regular school program. Such children as those 
 with handicaps of locomotion, hearing, vision, mental and emotional 
 nature need to have special provisions made for them by the school. 
 In a small unit such as this, it frequently is not feasible to 
 provide rooms, equipment and teachers to care for each type of 
 child. Those pupils requiring special rooms with special teachers 
 would be better cared for in neighboring schools which have made 
 adequate preparation for this type of instruction. According to 
 Superintendent Baker, it will soon be possible to send most of the 
 exceptional children to Decatur, only 1$ miles away, the state 
 paying the transportation and the excess cost of educating these 
 children o If the unit plans to send its exceptional children to 
 Decatur, it will not need to make provision for special rooms in 
 the building, with the exception of a room for the speech cor- 
 rectionist instructor and her work. 
 
 Many of those with only minor handicaps will best be taken 
 care of by the room teacher under the supervision of the special 
 education supervisor. Children with partial seeing can be given 
 large type books and special materials, and lighting, and profit 
 most by remaining with their class. The same is true of the partial 
 hearing, mentally, speech or physically handicapped. Caution is 
 warned in the arranging of special teacher loads as this work is 
 mostly with individuals or small groups e 
 
 The Junior High School 
 
 The junior high school is the place where the student makes 
 the transition from elementary to secondary school life. It 
 provides experiences of an exploratory nature so that every child 
 will have contact with a wide variety of activities. It encourages 
 the child to reach an -understanding of tho body changes, which occur 
 during this period, and to make wholesome adjustments to them. 
 It helps the child reach an understanding of his skills and interests 
 in various activities, by actually pursuing them. It teaches 
 appreciation of, and respect for others' work, by the understandings 
 which come from experiencing the work. 
 

 
 
23. 
 
 One of the skill exploratory activities included in this 
 period is work with the hands. This could include woodworking, 
 metal work, electricity, mechanics, printing, ceramics, painting, 
 sculpturing, and photography.. The "courses" should be somewhat 
 limited in scope in order to permit wide sampling, so that each 
 student can be required to take several of these every year 
 
 Similar try-out experiences in home living will be provided 
 for all students. Both boys and girls need to know how to live 
 with their families, how to improve the physical and aesthetic 
 aspects of their houses, how to spend wisely and save money, how 
 to make minor repairs, what a balanced meal would include, the 
 responsibility of all members for various activities of the home, 
 and the job of the family in the world of today It is obviously 
 false to think that women alone are responsible for the management 
 and welfare of the family e 
 
 Opportunities for exploration in the area of business educa- 
 tion should be provided. Students should have access to courses 
 in typing, bookkeeping, office machines, and shorthand^ If 
 possible, experiences in the various "vocations, such as agricul- 
 ture, merchandising, auto mechanics, etc r , should also be provided. 
 
 Try-out experiences in the academic field require facilities 
 for science, language arts, social studies and mathematics. The 
 course offerings here may include a portion of the common learnings, 
 but should be pointed to the students' gaining an acquaintance with 
 various areas in order that he might better choose those he wishes 
 to pursue in the senior high school 
 
 Music experience in the junior high school would be extended 
 beyond that which was offered in the elementary grades and would 
 cover singing, playing instruments, listening, and dancing,, While 
 folk-dancing activities may be claimed by the physical education, 
 department, in the secondary area, they nevertheless are also a 
 responsibility of the music department. Music of the local com- 
 munity should be experienced by all of the students. This would 
 include not only folk music but that of a popular and classical 
 nature as well. 
 
 In the area of speech arts, the students will learn to do and 
 to appreciate by actually carrying on the activity. All students 
 will have some opportunity for experiences in writing and producing 
 plays, radio programs, and moving pictures. Needless to say, this 
 would demand the presence of stage equipment as suggested for the 
 auditorium, a public address system, and a l6mm e cine camera. 
 
 The social development of the student will be furthered by 
 participation in all of the group problems which are attacked. It 
 will also be aided by music and physical education programs which 
 involve both boys and girls in games and dancing, and by clubs where 
 
2U« 
 
 students work together in planning parties, trips, or other school 
 sponsored activities, 
 
 Guidance must be a function of all of the teachers. The 
 specialized aspects of testing and counseling, as well as pupil 
 accounting, may have to be attended to by the administrator, but 
 if guidance is to truly function the classroom teachers must be 
 active participants, Every teacher should develop competence in 
 understanding what the results of the various tests actually mean, 
 and how these meanings relate to the future of the pupil. Those 
 teachers doing guidance work must have time available for conferring 
 with pupils. They also need to have adequate records available 
 which will give the various indications necessary for helping a 
 student. Guidance must be based on reliable test results and 
 accurate observations of trained personnel, and must be interpreted 
 in terms of the individual pupils' interests and goals. 
 
 The present trend in school programs is to include those 
 things needed by all of our students, in order to become good 
 members of society, in a required common learnings class, and to 
 permit special learnings to be carried on in much the present 
 fashion. This administrative arrangement has appeared under a 
 variety of names and titles and with many special adaptations. 
 Basically hovfever, it is an organization to allow students to 
 spend larger periods of time in the common learnings class. This 
 permits the students to concentrate better on the job at hand and 
 allows them sufficient time for taking trips or making visits. 
 This arrangement to a large extent does away with the need for the 
 conventional study hall and replaces it with a library where the 
 students can have conferences or go to find special information 
 needed to solve their problems. 
 
 Under the common learnings plan, rooms serve pupils for a 
 longer period of time and for more purposes than was formerly con- 
 sidered necessary, For this reason the rooms must be larger and 
 more adaptable in order to carry on the many different activities. 
 As in the elementary school, provisions for more varied materials 
 and movable furniture must be made. Every common learnings room 
 and many of the special subject rooms should have facilities 
 for darkening the room in order that visual education aids might 
 be usedo Radios should be provided, so that current events and 
 problems can be studied first hand. Newspapers and magazines for 
 the same purpose should be available* A wire or tape recorder 
 should be accessible for recording those radio speeches of major 
 importance which do not take place during the common learnings 
 class periods. The recorder will also be of much value and use 
 to the speech and music classes. 
 
 Gymnasium facilities for the junior and senior high schools 
 in Moweaqua should be combined. While it is true that separate 
 gymnasiums for boys and girls are desirable, since they permit more 
 
I ■ . 
 
time to be spent with each group, the financial limitations do not 
 seem to warrant this provision,, The same thing is true of the 
 swimming pool, A swimming pool is a highly desirable part of the 
 physical education program as it is not only one of the better forms 
 of exercise, but also a form of safety or protection against water 
 accidents, Financial limitations however would seem to place the 
 construction of a swimming pool at some period in the far distant 
 future o 
 
 The health, lunch, and special education services would be 
 shared by the entire system as previously outlined. 
 
 The Senior High Sc hool 
 
 In the senior high school students continue the citizenship 
 training and exploratory activities of the junior high school and 
 concentrate especially on the choice of and training for their life 
 work 8 This demands an extension of guidance, perhaps to the point 
 that units in vocations are included as a part of the common learn- 
 ings program. It demands a knowledge of the community and what the 
 nature of its facilities and offerings are c 
 
 It must be stressed that the curriculum is not a set and 
 frozen thing. It should be under the constant consideration of the 
 faculty and should change with changing conditions, It must be 
 considered and modified by the local faculty as conditions warrant. 
 For this reason teachers should be released from classes at least 
 one afternoon a month to study and correlate the various needs of 
 the pupils and community and to make provisions for caring for 
 these needs. The increasing practice of paying the teachers to 
 come in a week early and remain a week longer to work on problems 
 of the curricula is highly recommended. These so called workshops 
 serve the function of pointing up the entire year's work and of 
 minimizing the confusion which results from new staff members and 
 new pupils entering school in the fall. 
 
 Some of the questionnaires developed for the Illinois 
 Secondary School Curriculum Program yrere used to determine what 
 the superintendent, teachers, pupils, and graduates. think about 
 their school's program. Ton of the teachers, $1 per cent of the 
 graduates, and 02 per cent of the high school students answered 
 the questionnaires, A few of the high school student's question- 
 naires had to be discarded. The findings of the rest of the 
 questionnaires however are used as the basis for the discussion 
 of the curriculum. 
 
 The questionnaire considers the "Problems of High School 
 Youth" under the eight headings as follows: 
 

26. 
 
 A. Earning a living. 
 
 B« Developing an effective personality. 
 
 C Living healthfully and safely. 
 
 D. Managing personal finances wisely. 
 
 E. Spending leisure time wholesomely and enjoyably, 
 F Taking an effective part in civic affairs 
 
 Go Preparing for marriage, homemaking, and parenthood. 
 H. Making effective use of educational opportunities. 
 
 A. Earning a living e 
 
 The school attempts to furnish information about various 
 vocations and to help students discover their vocational interests 
 and make wise vocational choices. It is concerned with the problems 
 of developing good work habits and of training for chosen vocations. 
 Its vocational program follows the students after they leave school 
 and are on the job„ 
 
 Much of the training at present is of an Incidental nature. 
 No extensive program is present for providing students with experience 
 in many of the desired fields. Extension of the program should be 
 made in the fields of business education, industrial arts, agricul- 
 ture, and home economics. The present program is very good for 
 those students who are going on to college, but this number is only 
 about one-fourth of the total student body. When the curriculum 
 is changed to include training for those students whose interests 
 and abilities are of a vocational type, there will also be a greater 
 number of students who continue in school until they have gradu- 
 ated. 
 
 All of the respondents overwhelmingly reported the vocational 
 area as being one in which considerable more work needed to be 
 added. The graduate respondents reported that only about one-eighth 
 of their number received all needed' help in this area, 
 
 B. Developing an effective personality . 
 
 Personality has been defined as all of one's characteristics. 
 The school's concern here will be not only with developing poise, 
 good manners and self-confidence but also improving one's speech, 
 writing and reading ability, emotional control, appearance, moral 
 judgment, and ability to get along with others. 
 
 The school is concerned with all of these aspects of person- 
 ality and teaches them as a part of the learnings of the school. 
 

27. 
 
 It does not have any definite program for providing for all of 
 these experiences however and does not have any organized review 
 of how individual pupils are progressing along all of these various 
 lines. The teacher respondents were in accord in agreeing that this 
 was an extremely important developmental aspect with which the 
 school should bs concerned. The pupil respondents also were in a 
 majority agreement here as to the importance of the general area 
 of personality. Both students and faculty respondents felt that 
 pupils must be at ease with their group if they are to enjoy 
 participation and make any positive contributions to the work of 
 the group o 
 
 It is well known that we do not work with groups in which we 
 feel ill at ease. To gain poise and self-confidence the ability 
 to work with groups is a vital task of the school. Unless this 
 ability is learned in school the individual will probably never 
 learn it. 
 
 About one-fourth of the graduate respondents report having 
 received all of the help needed in the various areas of personality, 
 
 C t Living healthfully and safely . 
 
 The problem of learning to care for one's health and develop- 
 ing good health habits is taken up in various science, home economics, 
 and physical education classes. The teaching staff knows that the 
 maintenance of a good state of health is essential to functioning 
 at a high level of efficiency. The school attempts to provide a 
 cheerful, wholesome, and healthy environment in which the process 
 of instruction can take place 
 
 Safety instruction is stressed in all phases of school living, 
 The teacher and student respondents were in accord as to the 
 importance of this phase of instruction, A driver's training course 
 has been recently added which gives "behind- the-wheel" training. 
 The value of this course is evident when one considers that the 
 majority of accidents are caused by adolescents who have never had 
 the training which causes them to realize the responsibility of 
 the person who is behind the wheel, and to know how to drive in 
 order to avoid getting in "jams", 
 
 Another phase of health instruction is knowing how to choose 
 a physician and dentist who are qualified to treat ailments. The 
 large quantity of advertising of so-called "quacks" is evidence that 
 many of the persons in this county are patronizing such people. 
 Somewhere along the line every child needs to learn how to dis- 
 tinguish between the properly qualified medical person and those 
 who exist on ignorance and superstition. 
 
 Only about h per cent of the graduate respondents reported 
 receiving the needed help in learning how to drive and care for an 
 
■ 
 
 
 
28. 
 
 automobile, and in learning how to choose a family dentist and 
 doctor. About 20 per cent of the graduate respondents reported 
 receiving all necessary health and safety instruction. 
 
 D. Managing persona], finances wisely . 
 
 The ability to manage finances wisely is an important part 
 of one' s adult life. The various problems which are involved here 
 include spending, saving, and investing money, and are considered 
 in several courses in Lloweaqua High School. The general business 
 class covers all of these phases in varying degrees, and the 
 agriculture and home economics classes stress the various things 
 to look for when buying different materials, tools, and machines. 
 
 The teacher and student respondents were in agreement that 
 this area was an extremely important part of the educational pro- 
 gram. Less than one-fifth of the graduate respondents reported 
 receiving adequate help in the problem of buying wisely, while 
 only about one-third reported learning all that they needed to 
 know. about how to use the facilities of the bank and how to 
 develop habits of thrift. 
 
 E Spending leisure time w holesomely and enjoyably . 
 
 The current trend of working hours in industry indicates that 
 we will have more leisure time. This may be used for enriching 
 our lives or for enjoyable group activity or it may be wasted. The 
 school realizes that it has a responsibility to its students in 
 this area and has provided an excellent music program, It has not, 
 however, provided the same opportunities for those students whose 
 interests are outside of the field of music. There is no adequate 
 program for the developing of "art" hobbies such as sketching, 
 painting, designing, sculpturing, or collecting art objects. 
 Neither is there a program for those students whose interests lie 
 in the direction of manual work of other sorts. The physical educa- 
 tion program is very good for those students who are participating 
 as members of the school teams but there is no well developed 
 intra-mural program which attempts to draw in all of the students 
 as members of various sports teams. The area of drama is left 
 almost entirely to those students who elect to come out for class 
 plays. In the field of study and appreciation of contemporary art, 
 the English classes have units on modern communication which include 
 books, magazines, the radio and motion picture. It is highly 
 commendable that the English department has taken cognizance of 
 the impact which these means of education, enjoyment, and propaganda 
 have upon the members of our society. Only as we come to examine 
 rather critically the statements which are made as facts or fancy 
 can we hope to distinguish between those forces which unite or cause 
 a disintegration of our nation. The social aspects of life as 
 evidenced by dances, parties, etc., are not given any special con- 
 sideration in the curriculum. The parties which are held seem to 
 

 
 
29. 
 
 be rather loosely organized with little attention being given to 
 the development of wholesome, well-rounded personalities. 
 
 The teacher respondents reported as most important of these 
 problems those which had to do with the ability to select and en- 
 joy good books and magazines, with the ability to appreciate music 
 as second. The remainder of the areas were also considered as be- 
 ing of importance, but not to the extent of the two here given. 
 
 The pupil respondents listed all areas as being of importance 
 with the main necessity, from their point of view, being that of 
 developing the ability to play athletic games and sports. The 
 students listed as second in importance the ability to sing or 
 play musical instruments. About 10 per cent of the graduate 
 respondents reported that they received all needed help in develop- 
 ing a desirable hobby and only about 7 per cent reported receiving 
 adequate help in becoming a more cultured and cultivated person. 
 In the area of music, about 35 per cent reported receiving all 
 needed help and in the rest of the areas the number who reported 
 adequate help was between the high and low figure just indicated. 
 
 F. Taki ng an effe ctive part in civic affairs . 
 
 Good citizenship requires participation of every member of 
 this nation in determining ail matters in which there is question. 
 It places a responsibility on every voter to be informed, to par- 
 ticipate in discussion and decision, to abide by the decisions 
 which the enlightened majority has made. 
 
 The school has provided excellent opportunities in a few 
 classes for studying the problems of a democracy, It also provides 
 for group meetings where students learn how to conduct meetings as 
 leaders and where they learn the responsibility of the members of 
 the group. These opportunities need to be extended however so 
 that every child will come out of the schools not only with an under- 
 standing of how a democracy works, but also with a firm conviction 
 that he must play his parte 
 
 It is rather surprising that the student respondents of the 
 Moweaqua High School feel this civic responsibility with almost 
 as much intensity as do the teacher respondents. This report is 
 indicative of the fact that the teachers have done a good job in 
 getting their students ready to take over their responsibilities 
 as citizens. Both teacher and student respondents replied in the 
 majority that this task was one of the major ones with which the 
 school should be concerned. 
 
 The graduate respondents report that about 12 per cent of their 
 number have become interested in and learned how to solve social, 
 economic, and political problems; to become well-informed and 
 

30. 
 
 sensitive citizens of their own community and of the world. One- 
 fourth of the graduate respondents report being free from prejudices 
 as to race or religion and 30 per cent of their number report that 
 they feel capable of conducting a meeting in a satisfactory manner. 
 
 G, Freparing for marriage , ho memakin g, and parent hood a 
 
 The problem of developing and maintaining wholesome relation- 
 ships with members of the opposite sex, is not one which can be left 
 to chance alone, The problem is not considered by all of the students 
 of the Movieaqua School however. The only present education of this 
 type is that which is given in the home economics classes. 
 
 The teacher and student respondents both considered this 
 problem to be of major importance although there was not the con- 
 viction concerning the problem of "whether the school should help 
 pupils learn ho?/ to rear children intelligently, that there was 
 on the problems of maintaining wholesome boy-girl relations, home 
 management, and sex education. 
 
 The graduate respondents report that less than one-fifth of 
 their number received all of the help needed in the various areas 
 of homemaking, etc, that were indicated. 
 
 H, Making effective use of educational opportunities . 
 
 The administration counsels with the students to see that 
 they are taking the courses which will best fit them for their 
 future work. Students going to college are guided into the courses 
 which will be needed in the various departments of higher education. 
 The same attention is given to those students 'who are going on to 
 a vocational or trade school, but many of the subjects desired for 
 entry are not offered. The school's out-of-class activities are not 
 organized for the widest participation and there is little provision 
 to take care of individual differences of taste as to club activi- 
 ties. There should be more attention in each of the classes to 
 the development of study habits for that class, Study methods 
 differ for different subjects and their development must be the 
 task of ever;* teacher in the system. 
 
 The teacher and student respondents reported that all of 
 these phases of vocational and educational development should be 
 considered bj* the school. They felt that some extension was 
 needed, particularly in the vocational departments. 
 
 The graduate respondents indicated that 31 per cent of their 
 number had received all needed help in deciding whether or not to 
 attend trade school or college and also in the matter of choosing 
 school subjects and out-of school activities. Only about 11 per 
 cent of the respondents reported receiving all the needed help in 
 

 
31. 
 
 preparing for college attendance and only 1| per cent in choosing 
 
 a college or trade school, if attendance at such was planned. In 
 
 the matter of study habits, only 7 per cent of their number reported 
 having received adequate assistance. 
 
 The Adult Program 
 
 A philosophy of education which holds that the school is 
 always at the service of the community and that a child does not 
 graduate from the school in the sense that the school will not do 
 any more for him, needs to be implemented by definite provision 
 for an adult program in the new school plans. The Moweaqua 
 schools are already carrying on an adult program, and plans are 
 made for an expansion of this program for the coming school year. 
 Six veteran classes are now being conducted in the school but this 
 does not adequately meet the adult needs in the community. There 
 are others who would like to benefit from extensions in the realm 
 of home economics, agriculture, commerce, and possibly shop. In 
 planning the building program, outside exits to rooms carrying on 
 this type of program must be provided, and sufficient facilities 
 to adequately carry on this type of program must be included, 
 
 Moweaqua has no building or room which can serve as a community 
 room for community activities. The school is tax supported and can 
 more economically provide a room for community activities and 
 services than can be provided for by any other type of construction 
 or planning. Community kitchens and meeting rooms, recreational 
 provisions and instructional provisions should be provided for in 
 any plans for future expansion of the school program. If these 
 are thought out in advance and are included in the planning stage, 
 fewer alterations will have to be made for them in the future. 
 

Chapter IV 
 3CH00L HOUSING FACILITIES 
 
 An early and important step in planning what physical 
 facilities iloweaqua should provide for its pupils, is the evalua- 
 tion of its present buildings and their equipment;, To accomplish 
 this, one member of the surveying staff with a number of the local 
 citizens committee, the superintendent, and two high school pupils 
 spent several hours going through the buildings and discussing what 
 they saw c Finally, they rated the sciiool plant by means of build- 
 ing score cards such as have been in common use for this purpose 
 for several decades. Those employed in this survey were recently 
 constructed by Dr„ Odell of the survey staff. The building score 
 cards used had been previously employed by him in a number of other 
 recent building survey s. 
 
 It is customary to employ different score cards for elementary 
 and secondary schools, because the facilities needed for the two 
 types of schools are not identical;, The situation is always com- 
 plicated when the same facilities serve both elementary and second- 
 ary pupils. The procedure followed in resolving this difficulty at 
 Moweaqua, was as follows: those portions of the buildings used only 
 by elementary pupils were scored as an elementary sciiool , Those 
 used only by secondary school pupils were scored as a secondary 
 school. Those serving both in common, such as the gymnasium, the 
 lunchroom, the office of the superintendent, the toilets, and the 
 grounds were scored for both, In discussing the buildings, and 
 presenting the ratings given; those facilities serving both will be 
 discussed just once for the two levels,, 
 
 The score card for elementary school buildings is divided into 
 five main sections. (See Tabic VI Page 33°) The number of points 
 allowed on each of these, as compared with the number that would 
 have been given an absolutely perfect building, is as follows: site 
 77 out of 132, building 70 out of I6I4., academic classrooms 158 out 
 of 276, general service provisions 71 out of 30l+, and service systems 
 73 out of 12u. Since five points additional were allowed for items 
 present but not needed, the total score given on the elementary 
 school score card was i&h whereas the perfect building would receive 
 a score of 1,000. The rating on the score card for secondary school 
 buildings yielded a total score of h9h, divided among the six main 
 divisions of the score card: site 61 out of 120, building 99 out of 
 I6I4, academic classroom 107 out of 156, special classrooms 60 out of 
 18)4, general service provisions 88 out of 256, service systems 73 
 out of 120, and six points for items present but not needed. 
 

33; 
 
 TABLE VI. MOyffiAQUA SCHOOL BUILDINGS 
 
 Elementary School 
 
 High School 
 
 Date 
 
 1890-1906 
 
 
 1906-1936 
 
 Present enrollment 
 
 2I4O 
 
 
 
 1J4O 
 
 
 Reasonable capacity as 
 
 2I4O 
 
 
 
 150 
 
 
 now used 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Score M 
 
 axirnum 
 
 Score 
 
 1 
 
 Maximum 
 
 Site 
 
 77 
 
 132 
 
 61 
 
 
 121 
 
 Building 
 
 70 
 
 16U 
 
 99 
 
 
 16U 
 
 Academic Classrooms 
 
 158 
 
 276 
 
 107 
 
 
 156 
 
 Special Classrooms 
 
 
 
 60 
 
 
 181* 
 
 General Service Provisions 
 
 71 
 
 30^ 
 
 88 
 
 
 256 
 
 Service Systems 
 
 73 
 
 12U 
 
 73 
 
 
 120 
 
 Items not needed -"- 
 
 
 
 6 
 
 
 
 Total 
 
 h$k 
 
 1,000 
 
 h9h 
 
 1,000 
 
 On items present but not needed allowance proportionate to 
 score on all other items is made. 
 
3U. 
 
 The total scores just given show that both as a plant to 
 house elementary and secondary pupils, the physical plant at 
 Mows aqua received somewhat less than half of the maximum number of 
 points o To assist in interpreting what such scores mean they may 
 be compared with those given school buildings in a number of other 
 Illinois cities which have been scored recently. These include 58 
 elementary schools and 16 secondary schools, (See Table VTI Page 
 35 o) Of the former about 3 per cent received scores of less than' 
 U00, 28 per cent scored IiOO up to 500, 55 per cent scored 500 up to 
 700, 12 per cent scored 700 up to 900, and none scored above 900. 
 Of the secondary schools none were rated below UOO, 19 per cent 
 scored 1;00 up to 500, 56 per cent scored 500 up to 700, and 25 per 
 cent scored 700 up to 900 and again none scored above 900, The 
 middle score of the elementary buildings included is approximately 
 565 and that of the secondary buildings 610. Thus it is evident 
 that the building facilities at Mowe&qua are distinctly below the 
 average of the group mentioned above „ Approximately one out of 
 six of the elementary buildings received ratings lower tnan that at 
 Moweaqua and likewise practically the same fraction of the secondary 
 buildings did so, 
 
 In general, buildings rated below U00 (see Table VII ) are E0 
 inadequate that they should be abandoned as soon as possibles They 
 are never worth spending any larger amounts of money upon than is 
 absolutely essential to maintain them for use until better facilities 
 can be provided, Those scoring from U00 up to 500 are in a doubtful 
 class a In many cases they should be abandoned quite soon, and in 
 only a few cases is it worth spending much upon thenw Buildings 
 where the scores are from 500 up to 700, are usually worth main- 
 taining in use for a considerable period of time, but need major 
 additions and modernization. Some of those that fall in this class 
 should not receive more than a very few years use What are gen- 
 erally thought of as excellent buildings usually score from 700 up 
 to 900 points and rarely is a building found so good as to receive 
 a score of above 900. 
 
 The accessibility of the site upon which the buildings are 
 located is rather good The pupils living in to\»m do not have too 
 great a distance to walk. It is undesirable but unavoidable that a 
 number of them must cross railroad tracks and a highway. The roads 
 upon which the busses that bring children from rural sections to 
 the school are good and the distance that must be covered by the 
 busses is not so great as to render the trips undesirably long e 
 The environment consisting of tiie residential section of town and 
 the open country is excellent. 
 
 Although the location of the site is very satisfactory, the 
 site itself does not rate very well. The very minimum size accept- 
 able is 3 acres of usable recreational space for a small elementary 
 school, and 10 acres for a small high school* The Moweaqua site 
 

 
 
 ' 
 
 
 
 
 .' 
 
 
 
 :■ 
 
 - 
 
35, 
 
 TABLE VII. BUILDING SCORES IN ILLINOIS SCHOOLS 
 
 Elementary Schools High School 
 
 Number Surveyed 
 Middle Score 
 
 58 
 
 16 
 
 565 
 
 6.10 
 
 Per Cent 
 
 Per Cent 
 
 3 
 
 
 
 20 
 
 19 
 
 55 
 
 56 
 
 12 
 
 25 
 
 
 
 
 
 Less thgn liOO points 
 U01 to 500 points 
 501 to 700 points 
 701 to 900 points 
 More than 900 points 
 
 Below I4OO abandon as soon as possible 
 
 UOO - 500 doubtful group 
 
 500 - 700 continue in use for some time 
 
 700 - 900 excellent 
 
 900 - 1000 rarely found 
 

 ■ 
 
 
 
 
 
36 , 
 
 has a total area of about 3 acres, but a considerable part of this 
 is covered by the various buildings and therefore is unusable for 
 recreational purposes. Moreover, the form of the site and the 
 placement of the buildings upon it is not such as to make the area 
 not covered by them so usable as it might be otherwise. The ideal 
 form of site is rectangular, with the building or buildings centered 
 near one end so as to leave as large an unobstructed space as 
 possible. The surface consists of some gravel and turf and is re- 
 ported as being very muddy and slow to become usable after a rain. 
 Ideally, school grounds should be largely covered with good turf 
 on a sandy loam that dries out quickly, and in addition, should have 
 an area of hard surface that dries very quickly after a rain. Im- 
 provements upon the site other than the buildings themselves are 
 quite scanty. There should be an adequate number of swings, slides, 
 teeters, giant strides, bars, ladders, and other such equipment,, 
 Fields, courts, and other grounds for different games sufficient 
 that at least half of the pupils enrolled can be actively engaged 
 at the same time without interfering with one another should be 
 provided. It is desirable that wherever recreational grounds 
 border private property or a street, particularly if there is much 
 traffic on the street, there should be a strong fence, preferably 
 of 2-inch wire mesh about 8 feet high and mounted on steel pipes. 
 There should be a small section of good lawn at the front, or 
 perhaps front and sides of the building. Shrubs completely around 
 the foundation where they do not interfere" -..d_th natural light enter- 
 ing windows or with walks, drives, and so forth, and a few trees, 
 none of which are close enough to reduce the amount of natural 
 light received by windows, are desirable At M owe aqua there is no 
 lawn, scant shrubs, and more than enough trees, a few of which 
 reduce natural light although not very seriously. 
 
 Discretion in scoring is complicated not merely by the fact 
 already mentioned that the buildings are used by both elementary 
 and secondary school pupils, but also by the fact that there are 
 several units of the building of different styles and types. The 
 main building of which the larger portion was constructed in 1890 
 and the remainder in 1906, is very typical of the style of con- 
 struction prevalent at that time. The. gymnasium unit, which also 
 includes a number of special classrooms, was constructed in 1936 
 but lacks much of being of the quality of most structures of that 
 period. It was evidently necessary to stretch the funds available 
 as far as possible with the result that the building 'was in many 
 ways quite poorly built 8 The three one-room rural schools which 
 have been moved to this site and set to the rear of the main build- 
 ing are typical frame structures used for that purpose and should 
 be considered only as tempory quarters until better ones can be pro- 
 vided, It was, however, wise to move them in, and does provide more 
 adequate quarters for some of the school's activities. 
 

 
37. 
 
 For most classrooms east and west light is preferable* In 
 the elementary classrooms, however, windows are upon the north and 
 south as are also a number of those in the rooms used by the high 
 school. The score on this point was therefore quite low. Like- 
 wise on architectual style no portion of the building would re- 
 ceive a very high rating in terms of present day standards of what 
 constitutes desirable appearance. The gymnasium is the best in 
 this respect but the cheapness of its construction is quite evident 
 and its general style is more rectangular and formal than is now 
 approved. There appears to be no possibility of worthwhile interior 
 modification of the main building. Some, though not a great deal, 
 might be made in the classroom section adjacent to the gymnasium. 
 Some addition could be made to the main building but not in a very 
 desirable way. The gymnasium building was constructed so that it 
 could conveniently be expanded „ The older building contains con- 
 siderable waste space in basement and attic whereas the gymnasium 
 unit has none. 
 
 Most of the items on external structure were given good 
 ratings. The old building appears to be essentially sound as also 
 are the outer walls of the gymnasium. There has been trouble 
 with leaking roofs and apparently they are not yet what they should 
 be. Modern thought does not approve more than one story in height 
 for an elementary school as small as this, but for a high school 
 two stories are acceptable. The old building really constitutes 
 a three story building e There are enough entrances and exits, but 
 it is unfortunate that the one to the high school portion of the 
 old building has too many steps out of doors where they are not 
 protected from the weather In the older building there is a need 
 of some pointing up of the brickwork and the cornices are in need 
 of attention. Even though it is structurally sound, the main build- 
 ing presents a distinctly old appearance when viewed from the out- 
 side. 
 
 Internal structure rated distinctly lower than external. 
 The two stairways from the first floor to the second in the old 
 building are quite unsatisfactory. They have wood treads, in some 
 cases covered with rubber, and so much other viood near them that 
 they would quickly become hazardous in case of fire close to them. 
 It is particularly important in buildings that are not thoroughly 
 fire-resistant that the stairs are so constructed as to constitute 
 a safe means of exit* They should be completely fire-resistive and 
 enclosed in fire-resistant wells The low headroom above the stairs 
 in the elementary portion of the building is also undesirable. The 
 construction materials in the corridors consisting of wood floors, 
 wainscoting and ceilings are" not acceptable in modern school build- 
 ings. At the present time, asphalt tile floors with glazed brick 
 or other wainscoting that is not easily soiled, acoustic ceilings 
 and upper wall are considered standard in corridor construction. 
 There is little in the corridors to make them attractive. The one 
 

 
 
30, 
 
 feature of this sort is the pair of display cases in the high school 
 portion. There are no separate lobbies and the corridors are too 
 snail to serve satisfactorily for this purpose „ There should be an 
 attractive main entrance to every school building, and also at the 
 entrance to such a feature as a gymnasium and auditorium, an ade- 
 quate lobby including display cases and bulletin boards, Tiiere are 
 vestibules at the doors as is desirable. Interior walls are fairly 
 good and the basement although much larger than it should be, and 
 used for undesirable purposes, is in reasonably good condition. In 
 quite a number of places in both the main building and the gymnasium 
 unit, the group examining the buildings observed cracks and even 
 holes in the plaster, peeling paint, warped and loose boards in 
 floors and ceilings, and other points in need of attention,) 
 
 The elementary school classrooms are of two sizes. If 900 
 square feet is taken as an acceptable minimum, and this fig-ore is 
 less than many educational authorities advocate, those of the large 
 size are only about 80 per cent as large as they should be and the 
 smaller ones only about 70 per cent. Classrooms for high school 
 use may well vary somewhat in size, but some should be larger than 
 any of those available:.. The classroom shapes are reasonably satis- 
 factory. The amount of window area in the various classrooms varies 
 from about two-thirds of what it should be, up to a satisfactory 
 area. If windows are properly placed and extend to the ceiling or 
 approximately so, they should have sufficient glass area to be some- 
 what more than 20 per cent as large as the floor area Window shades 
 are double as is desirable and in fairly good condition,, Some of 
 the rooms on the north have no shades which is an acceptable prac- 
 tice ; , Floors are wood, those in the high school rooms being some- 
 what better than those in the elementary school rooms "Wooden floors 
 are acceptable though asphalt tile is now usually considered the 
 ideal, "Jails are plaster as are ceilings in the high school portion, 
 whereas, in the elementary school portion they are of wood which is 
 not at all accepted for this purpose;, Every classroom in a none-fire- 
 proof building should have two doors situated well apart so as to 
 constitute separate exits therefrom in case of necessity,, Doors 
 should have clear glass in the upper portion and be hinged so that 
 when open they do not project into corridors, and diminish the area 
 of the corridor passing space,, In the elementary rooms, the doors 
 are all of solid wooci and four ox tiie rooms have only a single door. 
 The color scheme is buff throughout, a color which is satisfactory 
 in itself, Modern standards call for variation in color scheme from 
 room to room, with such colors as light blue, and light green, used 
 in rooms that receive large amounts of sunlight, and warmer colors 
 in rooms that receive less. Chalk boards are in general of proper 
 height and in good condition, but are all black. Because such 
 boards have such low refractive indices, modern standards call for 
 those of a light color perhaps green or even tan, yellow, or cream. 
 If black ones are used there should be provisions for covering them 
 with sliding light screens when they are not in use. The bulletin 
 board areas are very inadequate. There should be from 60 to 80 
 
39. 
 
 square feet in every room. Likewise the provision Tor built-in 
 closets, cases and cupboards is much less than is needed. Storage 
 facilities are more adequate in the high school than in the elemen- 
 tary rooms, but even there it cannot be considered satisfactory. 
 Some of the elementary rooms have old style cloakrooms not adequately 
 equipped, whereas in other cases, pupils must make use of hooks on 
 the corridor walls which is never a satisfactory procedure. High 
 school pupils make use of lockers placed in old style cloakrooms in 
 their portion of the building and also of built-in lockers in the 
 gymnasium. The latter are built of wood and not a satisfactory type. 
 
 All elementary rooms except the first grade are equipped with 
 old style pupils' seats and desks, and there are some of this type 
 in the high school. These are fastened in most cases on strips of 
 wood. The latter is better than having them on the floor but 
 neither the type of the seat nor the practice of fastening them is 
 satisfactory. Modern practices indicate that individual moveable 
 seats, which may be arranged differently from time to time, best 
 conform to the activities to be carried on in a modern elementary 
 school. The arrangement observed was essentially formal in rows 
 all facing the front of the room, 
 
 The gymnasium which is also occasionally used as an auditorium 
 serves both schools. As usual, such a combined facility is less 
 satisfactory as an auditorium than as a gymnasium. The auditorium 
 should be attractive in appearance with good decoration features. 
 It should have permanent seats and good acoustic treatment. It 
 does have a stage with both overhead lights and footlights and 
 curtain but it is rather barren looking with little scenery, and 
 with no convenient dressing rooms. As a gymnasium, the main floor 
 is large enough and has a fair number of bleacher seats. It would 
 be better if the bleachers were of the folding type and could be 
 pushed back against the walls so as to make more floor space avail- 
 able for physical education activities^ One item in the poor con- 
 struction of the building was the floor. Consequently, there has 
 been considerable difficulty with its warping and rotting. It was 
 evident that it has been frequently patched, and it appeared doubt- 
 ful if the floor would last through the current school year. It is 
 desirable that drinking fountains were provided, but they are so 
 near the edge of the basketball playing floor, and are unguarded, 
 that it would easily be possible for players to injure themselves 
 by running against the side of the fountain. The shower and dress- 
 ing facilities are very inadequate. There is a single room which 
 includes a shower booth with three shower heads, no lockers, a 
 toilet stool, a lavatory, and one long bench. Apparently, the only 
 place to leave clothes is on the bench or on the floor. Because of 
 the crowded conditions, when the whole class is using this small 
 room and the very poor shower booth, it was reported, that there is 
 great difficulty in getting pupils, particularly girls, to make use 
 of these facilities. There is no corrective room, examination room 
 or swimming pool. 
 

 
 ■ 
 
Uo« 
 
 The high school library consists of shelves across the rear 
 of the room now used as a study hall, These shelves are well filled 
 with books. It is planned to free this room from the old tjqpe desks 
 and seats with which it is now equipped and provide tables and chairs. 
 If this is done and a librarian's desk, a magazine rack and a few 
 other articles provided it will make a. fairly good reading room 
 There should be adjacent to it, a workroom for use of the librarian 
 and a conference room for small groups of pupils wishing to use 
 library materials, but needing to carry on conversations that might 
 disturb those working in the library proper. In the elementary 
 school, the only library facilities existing were some shelves with 
 books in the eighth grade room. The cafeteria is located in the 
 basement of the old building, The room is equipped with long, rather 
 narrow, tables, and benches v/hich are not a satisfactory type of 
 furniture. It has a poor ceiling, little daylight, and even though 
 some attempts have been made to improve it, it is far from providing 
 attractive surroundings in which to eat, Adjacent to it is a small 
 kitchen only fairly well equipped. There is no pantry or convenient 
 storage space for supplies. 
 
 The high school makes use of two laboratories in the group of 
 rooms included in the gymnasium building. One of these serves for 
 general science and biology, and the other for physics and chemistry. 
 These have wood floors, which is fairly satisfactory in the first 
 case, but is distinctly not so in a room used for chemistry. Such 
 a room should have a floor of terrazzo or some other material highly 
 resistant to acids. The same is true of all equipment in such a 
 room. The general science biology laboratory is equipped with a 
 small aquarium, a demonstration table, a sink, tables and chairs, 
 and a fair number of cases and cabinets. There is no work bench, 
 or combined work bench and drawing table, along one side of the 
 room, and as a result there is little opportunity for pupils to 
 participate in actual activities appropriate to such sciences. 
 The physics and chemistry laboratory is equipped with gas, and 
 water, some enclosed and some open shelving, and one fuel burner. 
 This apparatus has a vent at the top but relies upon natural ven- 
 tilation, Likewise, the whole laboratory needs better ventilation 
 than it has c 
 
 The foods and clothing laboratories are also situated in this 
 building. Both are small and they are unfortunately across the 
 corridor from each other rather than adjacent. The food laboratory 
 has a wood floor whereas it should have linoleum or perhaps some 
 other smooth material, It is not adequately provided with unit 
 kitchens for the accommodation of the number of girls in the class. 
 There are two stoves and a single sink,. The clothing room has an 
 adequate number of both power and treadle machines, a triple mirror, 
 and tables and chairSc There is, however, no fitting room and very 
 little of the amount of space available can be screened off for this 
 purpose. The natural light is good but the artificial light is very 
 
ia. 
 
 poor. On the whole, neither the food or the clothing laboratory 
 can be considered up to average. Other homemaking rooms such as 
 living and dining rooms are totally lacking. No use is made of 
 these rooms by the elementary pupils. Neither the high school or 
 elementary school offers anything in the field of industrial arts. 
 The elementary school has no special facilities for either science 
 or art, and the high school has nothing for the latter. One of 
 the rural schools that has been moved to this site is in process 
 of being made into a band and chorus room. Several raised uiers 
 have been installed for seats, false ceilings have been put in 
 and there are three small rooms that will be made into two offices 
 and a storage room for band instruments. At present, the building 
 is quite unattractive but if the work is properly completed and the 
 oil heating unit installed as is planned,, it should provide rather 
 adequate quarters for both types of music c It is to be used by 
 both high and elementary schools. The chief objection to it, will 
 be -the necessity of pupils going out of doors to reach this roonu 
 The same condition exists with regard to going from the main build- 
 ing to the gymnasium unit, and also to the other rural buildings 
 ■which have been moved in« 
 
 One room in the high school is used for typewriting and 
 stenography,, Though some work in bookkeeping is given there are 
 no special facilities for it„ A combined agricultural laboratory 
 and classroom is now in the basement of the high school portion of 
 the old building. The room itself is quite unsatisfactory but the 
 amount of equipment is distinctly good. Farm mechanics is housed 
 in a rented private garage near the school grounds. It is planned 
 that the two at present, unused frame school buildings at the rear 
 of the main building are to be remade to serve the agricultural 
 department. If this is well done, the quarters should be adequate 
 as a temporary facility. 
 
 Reference has already been made to the combined study hall 
 and library in the high school. The study hall appears to be ade- 
 quate in size for the number of pupils who need to use it. Seats 
 are old style fastened to the floor. This, however, is not so ob- 
 jectionable in a study hall as in a classroom. The study hall, the 
 agricultural laboratory and classroom, and one elementary room are 
 equipped for audio-visual use. In addition to these, the gymnasium 
 should be so equipped and many educators believe that every room 
 should have dark blinds and outlets so that pictures and slides can 
 be used therein. 
 
 Administrative offices consist of a combined general office - 
 reception room which is merely a portion of the second floor oorridor 
 of the high school partitioned off by a counter under which there is 
 storage space, a private office for the superintendent at the rear 
 of the office just mentionedo An office for the high school princi- 
 pal is located on the first floor of the high school portion of the 
 building, one for the coach in the gymnasium, another in the same 
 

 
 
 - 
 
 
 ■ 
 
 
 
 
 
 ■ 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
12 m 
 
 building used by the band director, and what was formerly the 
 principal's office on the second floor of the elementary portion 
 of the building. Of these the superintendent's and principal's 
 office are pleasant rooms fairly well equipped except that they 
 have no toilets or lavatories. The other offices are not satis- 
 factory, There is no supply room, no book room, although the 
 school handles books, and no vault. Teachers have no rest rooms 
 and the only workroom is a very small one in the elementary por- 
 tion of the building containing a duplicator, and one or two other 
 small items of equipment,, There are no special pupils' rooms, no 
 health suite, no sink and storage closet for the custodian and quite 
 inadequate storage space throughout the buildings. The main storage 
 space for large articles is in the attic which must, be reached by 
 means of a ladder, certainly a very inconvenient arrangement. - 
 
 The two boilers which are situated together in the old build- 
 ing are inadequate to furnish sufficient heat in cold weather s There 
 are no room thermostats and it is apparently difficult to furnish 
 sufficient heat even in fairly mild weather to some portions of the 
 building without overheating others,, The gymnasium and the room 
 used for typing and stenography were reported as being frequently 
 coldo Ventilation is entirely by opening windows, and a gravity 
 system which is never satisfactory at many periods of the year in 
 this climate. Artificial lighting adequacy varies in different 
 portions of the building., but in general in those rooms used by 
 pupils there is approximately half as much as standards call for 
 Some unshielded florescent lights have been installed, which are 
 not desirable. The water supply appears to be entirely satisfactory 
 as to purity and amount. Drinking fountains are of a good type and 
 there are some outside of the building as is quite desirable, but 
 they are not sufficiently accessible at all places within the build- 
 ing. More lavatories for pupils use and more sinks are needed, 
 Toilets are in the basement of the old "building, a location only 
 better than out-of-doors. The rooms themselves were rated no better 
 than average. There are scarcely enough fixtures in them, they re- 
 ceive little natural light and sunshine, the cement floors are good 
 but not ideal, and the walls and wooded partitions between stools 
 are not sufficiently impervious. Moreover, they need special ven- 
 tilation. The main building has brick inner, as well as outer 
 walls, but the classroom portion of the gymnasium unit is of lath 
 and plaster on the inside. Thus both buildings are far from being 
 fire-resistant in their construction. Sufficient number of ex- 
 tinguishers are scattered through the building and they had been 
 recently inspected. There is a fire gong but no fire hose Several 
 serious fire hazards were observed. The most serious is that in 
 several places of the main building there are small closets under 
 stairs in which combustible materials are stored^ Such materials 
 should by all means be removed from these closets. The ceiling 
 above the boiler is not of sufficiently sturdy construction. It 
 should be several inches of cemento The chimney is surrounded by 
 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 - 
 
 
 
13 , 
 
 wooden wainscotingc Particularly in view of the fact that the 
 chimney felt distinctly warm to the touch, this also constitutes 
 a fire danger. The main building has three fire escapes? two of 
 the slooping tubular type on the two sides of the elemenuay por- 
 tion of the building, one of the tower type at the rear of the 
 high school portion. The two slooping ones run immediately along- 
 side the walls of the building passing by several windows, so that 
 a fire in the downstairs rooms adjacent might easily heat them 
 and make them unusable,, The exit from the one at the rear is un- 
 fortunately located.- It was apparently at least five or six feet 
 above grade level originally. Moreover the exit is so close to 
 the corner of one of the rural schools that has been moved there 
 that a pupil coming out with too great force might easily injure 
 himself by hitting it. 
 
 There is a telephone in the superintendent's and principal's 
 offices. Additional telephone facilities should be installed in 
 the gymnasium building. There is a centrally controlled program 
 system for the high school c The rooms in both schools have clocks, 
 but they are not synchronized,, No special power provisions are 
 needed „ Cleaning is by brooms, brushes, and mops, no vacuum cleaner 
 being used, There are no stokers for the boilers but there is an 
 electrically operated truck for the removal of ashes,, A boiler 
 meter is provided, 
 

 • 
 
Chapter V 
 FINANCING THE SCHOOL BUILDING PROGRAM 
 
 The consideration of the financial aspects of the Moweaqua 
 Community Unit Schools involves the sources of income, the ability 
 to support schools, local effort to support education, expenditure 
 pattern and trends, and the bonded indebtedness. 
 
 As the Moweaqua Unit is in its first year of operation, figures 
 of income and expenditures over a period of years are not available. 
 It is fortunate that the former high school district coincides 
 roughly with the new unit district and figures and reports of the 
 former are complete and available. They will be used in this 
 section, as will available figures of the Moweaqua elementary school 
 district. 
 
 While past trends aid in the prediction of probable future 
 trends, the primary emphasis of this section is based on the 
 school district, as it now exists, and its financial potentialities 
 for providing adequate modern school building facilities. 
 
 The Sources of School Income 
 
 In the State of Illinois the financial support of public 
 education is provided from two principal sources. The major source 
 of income is from the ad valorem taxes on local property levied by 
 the local board of education within a limit prescribed by state 
 law, according to the needs of the district*, Ever since the 
 establishment of the first constitution, state funds have been 
 provided for the operation and maintenance of public schools. How- 
 ever, state funds have not been available for building purposes. 
 Included in the distribution of state funds have been minor amounts 
 granted indirectly through the state by the federal government. 
 
 While the financing of public education has been characterized 
 by a shared support of local and state collected taxes, the princi- 
 pal burden has been the responsibility of the local community. 
 Table VIII indicates the amount and percentage of income received 
 from various sources according to the annual budget of the Moweaqua 
 schools for the fiscal year 19US-19U9. The percentage of funds 
 received from local sources exceeds 90 per cent of the total income 
 with less than 10 per cent being received from all other sources. 
 The smaller percentage represents income from state and federal 
 funds plus tuition receipts. The income from tuition for the 
 present year will probably diminish in the coming years, as fewer 
 tuition students are in the schools this year than ever before. 
 After several years, and the stabilization of school district 
 
U0c 
 
 TABLE VIII. SOURCES OF INCOME* 
 M01EAQ1A COMMUNITY SCHOOLS 19hQ-h9 
 
 Amount Per Cent 
 
 State and Federal $ 11,727c 88 7.2 
 Local Funds lk6 t 230*Sh 90*9 
 
 Tuition 3,066,13 1.9 
 
 Total $161,02U,55 
 
 From Annual Budget Figures, Board of Education, Mo we aqua 
 Community Unit, 19u8. 
 

It6„ 
 
 boundary lines, the income from this source will probably be 
 negligible,, 
 
 Due to increased transportation facilities in the district 
 and the use of state aid funds for exceptional children, the 
 diminishing income from tuition sources will probably be offset 
 by a slight increase in income from state tax funds. 
 
 Present indications are that the school income from state 
 and federal sources will be increased to some degree in the future. 
 State and federal legislation, now in progress, points toward 
 increased state and federal aid to schools^ Present legislative 
 programs, however, are designed to aid districts with limited 
 local resources, -and as the Moweaqua district resources are fairly 
 adequate no material degree of increase of federal or state funds 
 can be anticipated,, It is reasonable to assume that the proportion 
 of income received from other than local sources will not be 
 materially increased and the major financial support of public 
 education will continue to be derived from local ad valorem 
 property taxation. 
 
 The Ability to Support Schools 
 
 In judging the ability of the local district to support public 
 education, several factors need to be considered., The principal 
 factor is the taxable wealth of the district expressed as the total 
 assessed valuation. The number of resident pupils to be educated 
 in the schools is the second factor f In order to secure a figure 
 for comparison with other districts, the total assessed valuation 
 has been divided by the pupil enrollments, resulting in assessed 
 valuation per pupil, In Table IX the total assessed valuations, 
 pupil enrollment, per capita wealth, and rank of ten comparable 
 unit districts are enumerated. These districts have been selected 
 on the basis of the following criteria: first, they are all of 
 similar pupil enrollment sizes ranging from uiO to E>25 pupils ; 
 second, they are of similar geographical area, only the Stewardson- 
 Strasburg unit exceeding 100 square miles; and last, all are unit 
 districts located within the counties of which the Moweaqua district 
 
 The total assessed valuation of tie various districts range 
 from $9, 183, £63 to fall, 85U,008, with the Moweaqua district valu- 
 ation representing approximately the mid-point between the two 
 extremes. A comparison of the per capita valuation indicates a 
 similar tendency. The lowest per capita valuation shown is 
 17,576.05 and the highest ';■; 30,614.1,06, The rankings of the various 
 districts indicate that the Moweaqua district ranks seventh in 
 the comparison of per capita assessed valuations of the group. 
 Compared with other similar districts, it is apparent that the 
 Moweaqua unit is not in as favorable a position to support public 
 education as some of the neighboring units. 
 
 ■, 
 

hi. 
 
 TABLE IX PER PUPIL ASSESSED VALUATION IN MOYEAQUA 
 COMMUNITY UNIT DISTRICT AND NINE SIMILAR COMMUNITY UNIT 
 
 DISTRICTS 191+8-1+9 
 
 District 
 
 County- 
 
 Total Per Pupil 
 
 Assessed Enrollment Assessed 
 
 Valuation Valuation 
 
 Rank 
 
 Argenta 
 
 Macon 
 
 Assumption 
 
 Christian 
 
 Blue Mound 
 
 Macon 
 
 Edinburg 
 
 Christian 
 
 Macon 
 
 Macon 
 
 Moweaqua 
 
 Shelby-Ch: 
 Macon 
 
 Niantic 
 
 Macon 
 
 Steviardson- 
 
 Strasburg Shelby 
 
 Stonington Christian 
 
 Windsor Shelby 
 
 $ll+,851+, 008,00 
 
 5oo 
 
 $29,708.02 
 
 2 
 
 11,678,221.00 
 
 1433 
 
 26,970oli9 
 
 3 
 
 13,175,657.00 
 
 U30 
 
 30,61+1,06 
 
 1 
 
 9,183,563.00 
 
 U25 
 
 21,608.38 
 
 8 
 
 12,723,3U7.00 
 
 1+65 
 
 27,362.0ii 
 
 li 
 
 11,017,967.00 
 
 U97 
 
 22,168.914 
 
 7 
 
 10,507, 89!+. 00 
 
 1+88 
 
 21,532.56 9 
 
 9,227,1+30.00 
 
 525 
 
 17,576.06 
 
 10 
 
 9,696,1+10.00 
 
 1+10 
 
 23,61+9.78 
 
 5 
 
 2,032,320.00 
 
 512 
 
 23,500,63 
 
 6 
 
 From Christian, Macon and Shelby County Tax Figures of April 1, 19l;9. 
 
' 
 
 
 
 . 
 
 ■ 
 
 
 '. 
 
 . 
 
 
 
 ' - 
 
13. 
 
 The report of the State Advisory Commission on School 
 Reorganization of March 15, 19U9, including 197 new community unit 
 districts indicates an average assessed valuation per pupil of 
 $21,329.liw The Moweaqua unit average assessed valuation per pupil 
 of £>22,l68.9l4 indicates that on a state wide basis the Moweaqua 
 unit is in a better than average position to support public schools. 
 
 An examination of the total assessed valuation of the Moweaqua 
 Community High School shows that a trend toward a slightly in- 
 creasing assessed valuation exists in the district. As the Community 
 Unit District boundaries and the former Community High School Dis- 
 trict boundaries are similar, this comparison is reasonable. Table 
 X indicates the assessed valuation of the Community High School 
 District for the years 1939-19U9. During the period 1939-19U3 the 
 assessed valuation was stable and was followed by a sizable increase 
 in the year 19l;3-19l44-. After this a decrease occurred but did not 
 return the assessed valuation to the original 1939 figure. The 
 19U7-19UB increase is attributed to the state legislation to 
 equalize assessment ratios throughout the state. The 19l;8-19l}.9 
 figure represents a gain of approximately one-half million dollars 
 over the previous year. 
 
 The assessed valuation for the coming tax year (19U9) will 
 show a gain due to the opening of the oil field in eastern Christian 
 County which is located within the school district boundaries. 
 Yl/hile the exact nature of the increase in valuation of the school 
 district is not known, conservative estimates indicate that the 
 additional valuation from this source Tall raise the total assessed 
 valuation of the school district by at least $2,000,000. 
 
 Local Effort to Support Education 
 
 Although the assessed valuation of the district in relation 
 to the number of pupils enrolled is an indication of the local 
 ability to support schools, the extent that local funds can be 
 secured is limited by two factors. One of the limiting factors is 
 the statutory limitations of legal enactments in the form of 
 maximum tax levies, and the other is the willingness of the local 
 community to extend sufficiently high levies to assure good educa- 
 tional facilities. The maximum rates which may be extended for 
 community unit districts against the valuation without referenda, 
 are as follows: educational fund rate, $1.00 per ^100.00 of 
 assessed valuation, and building fund rate, 25 cents per $100.00 
 of assessed valuation. An educational fund rate of 83.6 cents and 
 a building fund rate of 2$ cents (12.5 cents bond retirement and 
 12.5 cents building fund) has been extended over the Moweaqua 
 district for its 19i|8-19l9 financial support. 
 
 A comparison of rates extended in similar districts is present- 
 ed in Table XI v/hich shows tax rates extended for educational funds 
 
k9. 
 
 TABLE X. TOTAL ASSESSED VALUATIONS FOR THE 
 MOWEAQUA COLE.IUNITY HIGH SCHOOL DISTRICT FOR THE YEARS 1939-19h9 
 
 Year Valuation 
 
 1939-hO $ 3,172,085.00 
 
 19U0-U1 3,178,085,00 
 
 19hl-h2 3,178,085-00 
 
 19h2-h3 3,178,085,00 
 
 19h3-hh 3,920,058.00 
 
 19UU-U5 " 3,900,000.00 
 
 19U5-U6 3,500,000.00 
 
 19U6-J47 3,370,000.00 
 
 19U7-U8* lo,5U7,359.oo 
 
 191&-U9** 11,017,967.00 
 
 -»- Increase to 100 per cent valuation by Butler Bills 
 -:h;- Community Unit District Total Assessed Valuation 
 Source: Lloweaqua Schools Annual Reports 
 
■ 
 
 
5o. 
 
 TABLE XI. TAX RATES FOR EDUCATIONAL AND BUILDING 
 
 FUNDS IN MOWEAQUA COMMUNITY UNIT AND NINE SIMILAR 
 
 COMMUNITY UNIT DISTRICTS, 19U 8-1 9h9 
 
 Education 
 
 Building 
 
 Bonds 
 
 District 
 
 Rate 
 
 Rank 
 
 Rate 
 
 Rank 
 
 Rate 
 
 Rank 
 
 Argenta 
 
 .701,0 
 
 10 
 
 .0072 
 
 Assumption 
 
 1.0000 
 
 1 
 
 .1870 
 
 Blue Mound 
 
 .9000 
 
 7 
 
 oiUUo 
 
 Sdinburg 
 
 1„0000 
 
 1 
 
 .2250 
 
 Macon 
 
 .9920 
 
 5 
 
 .1170 
 
 Moweaqua 
 
 .8360 
 
 9 
 
 .1250 
 
 Niantic 
 
 ,8500 
 
 8 
 
 .2365 
 
 Steward son- 
 
 1.0000 
 
 1 
 
 .0625 
 
 Strasburg 
 
 
 
 
 Stonington 
 
 ,9$ho 
 
 6 
 
 .2250 
 
 Windsor 
 
 1.0000 
 
 i 
 
 .2050 
 
 .0 
 
 .0090 
 
 8 
 
 5 
 
 .0050 
 
 9 
 
 
 
 — _— _— 
 
 10 
 
 2 
 
 .0250 
 
 h 
 
 8 
 
 .0110 
 
 7 
 
 7 
 
 .1250 
 
 2 
 
 T^ 
 
 .0135 
 
 6 
 
 9 
 
 .2580 
 
 1 
 
 c 
 
 0O150 
 
 5 
 
 k 
 
 ,oU5o 
 
 3 
 

 
51. 
 
 and building (divided into building and bond rates) funds. The 
 range of the educational fund rates is from 5'6 cents per )100.00 
 of assessed valuation to the maximum provided by law« Eight 
 districts have levied educational fund rate extensions larger than 
 that of Moweaqua. However, additional educational funds can be 
 secured for the Moweaqua schools when such are needed. Building 
 fund extensions range from 1 cent per .$100 .,00 of assessed valuation 
 to 32 cents per ''^lOOaOO of assessed valuation for the combined bond 
 and building fund rate For the bond rate, Moweaqua ranks second 
 among the units compared and seventh in the comparison of building 
 fund rate* In the comparison of total building fund extensions 
 Moweaqua and five other districts enumerated levied the maximum 
 ^building fund rate. 
 
 The trend toward increasing tax levies is indicated in Table 
 XII which shows the average tax levies made by common school dis- 
 tricts of the Moweaqua area over the period 1938-19U6. The Table 
 shows a constantly increasing average tax levy through the years 
 until 19hB-19h6 y when it decreased slightly e The increase in 
 average tax levies for these districts indicates the willingness 
 of the schools to increase local support of education when 
 necessary. In the village of Moweaqua, tax levies for the elementary 
 schools have been at the maximum level established by law, or after 
 a special referendum, above that figure. 
 
 Expenditure Patterns and Trend: 
 
 Incomplete records of common school districts, plus the 
 circumstance that the Moweaqua unit is contained in three counties, 
 causes some difficulty in assembling data on sciiool costs. Inasmuch 
 as nearly $0 per cent of the present Community Unit District enroll- 
 ment is resident in the village of Moweaqua, figures from the 
 Moweaqua schools are a reasonable index of expenditure patterns and 
 trends,, 
 
 Table XIII shows the per capita cost of public education in 
 the Moweaqua elementary school over a period of years. No regular 
 pattern has been established over a period of years and fluctuations 
 in per capita cost do not conform to the rise in prices experienced 
 during the war years. The unusually large increase in 19h7-19k& s 
 is attributed to the provision for additional facilities under an 
 elementary school reorganization program. The additional facilities 
 included provisions for the transportation of all students living 
 at a distance from school. 
 
 Table XIV indicates the per capita cost from 1939-19UO to 
 19U7-19U8 in the Moweaqua Community High School. The trend ex- 
 pressed parallels generally the increase in wages, teachers' 
 salaries, and supplies experienced generally during the period 
 1939-1°U8, The cost of education per secondary school student 
 was doubled during the ten year period. 
 
 U. OF ILL L13. 
 

 
52 ; 
 
 TABLE XII. AVERAGE TAX LEVIES IN CCMION SCHOOL DISTRICTS 
 MOW A PART OF THE MOWEAQUA COMMUNITY UNIT 
 
 Year Average Education and 
 
 Building Fund Rates 
 
 1938-39 ,3U 
 
 1939-hO .ho 
 
 19iiO-Ul ,U8 
 
 19kl-k2 .57 
 
 19h2-h3 ,66 
 
 19h3-hh .76 
 
 19UU-U5 .83 
 
 19U5-U6 .825 
 
53 < 
 
 TABLE XIII. PER CAPITA COSTS FOR THE 
 MOWSAQUA ELEMENTARY SCHOOL 
 
 Year Per Capita Cost 
 
 1938-39 $ 85,60 
 
 1939-1:0 128o73 
 
 19U0-U1 108.72 
 
 19U1-U2 86.16 
 
 19U2-U3 75.69 
 
 I9k3-kh 69.19 
 
 19hk-hS 82.07 
 
 19U5-U6 99.89 
 
 19U6-U7 98.2 8 
 
 19U7-li8 -x- 1U7.01 
 
 * Operated as a consolidated school 
 
$k< 
 
 TABLE XIV. PER CAPITA COSTS FOR TIE 
 MOYGAQUA COMMUNITY HIGH SCHOOL 1939-U8 
 
 Year Per Capita Cost 
 
 1939-hO 
 
 £ 123o28 
 
 19U0-U1 
 
 I62.OJ4 
 
 19U1-U2 
 
 17U.59 
 
 19h2-k3 
 
 I59c9l4 
 
 19k3-hk 
 
 203.80 
 
 19Uu-h5 
 
 226,00 
 
 19U5-U6 
 
 209,00 
 
 19U6-U7 
 
 210.00 
 
 19U7-U3 
 
 251.00 
 
#. 
 
 Available figures concerning expenditure trends of the 
 Moweaqua Community High School are presented for the six year 
 period ±9h2-19hQ in Table XV. This data is for the educational 
 expenditures and shoves the same pattern indicated in study of per 
 capita costs. Expenditures for instruction and salaries show 
 the most marked degree of increase , 
 
 Present price trends indicate that both the price of goods 
 and wages are tending to become stabilized at the present time. 
 Should this tendency continue, it is reasonable to expect that 
 the costs of school supplies and teachers' salaries will not in- 
 crease. Due to the increased enrollment in the schools and the 
 provisions being made for additional services and facilities in 
 the schools, it is most likely that the cost of public education 
 will continue to increase. 
 
 Bonded Indebtedne ss 
 
 The total bonded indebtedness of the Moweaqua Community Unit 
 District at the present time is shown on the bond amortization 
 schedule listed as Table XVI, The total amount of bonds to be 
 paid as of the year 19l;9 totals £169,000.00. The former high 
 school district bonds were issued in 19U6, for the purpose of 
 constructing a new high school building, A site has been purchased 
 and improved with a portion of these funds, and the balance remains 
 to be used for construction of the building. Additional bonds 
 for the amount of £8,000 issued by former District Number 177 also 
 are a debt of the unit. 
 
 Each Illinois school district is limited by statute to a 
 maximum bonded indebtedness no greater than 5> per cent of the total 
 assessed valuation. Since the assessed valuation of the present 
 unit district is $11,017,967.00, the district is limited to the 
 maximum bonded indebtedness of $5!?0,898,33>o Under ordinary 
 circumstances, it would be unwise to bond the district for the 
 full amount. Considering that the district assessed valuation 
 will probably be increased during the next fiscal year by nearly 
 20 per cent it would not be unreasonable to bond the district to 
 the full statutory limit at this time. Table XVII indicates a 
 projected amortization schedule for the amount of $380,000.00 
 which in addition to the present bonded indebtedness would make 
 a total bonded indebtedness of £$1i9,000.00 for the district. 
 The amortization schedule extends over a period of 20 years at 
 an interest rate of 2§ per cent. The present and projected amorti- 
 zation schedules are combined in Table XVIII. 
 
 According to Mr, I, D, Baker, Superintendent of Schools, 
 approximately £155,000 remains of a previous bond issue to con- 
 struct a new high school building. This sum added to the projected 
 
A . ■■■ 
 
 
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 cm 
 
 co 
 
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 NO 
 
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£ 
 
 7. 
 
 TABLE XVI. PRESENT BOND AMORTIZATION SCHEDULE FOR 
 MOWEAQUA COMMUNITY UNIT DISTRICT 6A 
 
 
 
 
 
 Total Levy 
 
 Year 
 
 Old District 
 
 Old District 
 
 Total 
 
 Needed for 
 
 
 191 
 
 177 
 
 
 Bonds and 
 
 Interest 
 
 19U9 
 
 & 8,000 
 
 $2,000 
 
 $ 10,000 
 
 $ 13,!i60 
 
 1950 
 
 8,000 
 
 2,000 
 
 10,000 
 
 13, OhO 
 
 1951 
 
 8,000 
 
 2,000 
 
 10,000 
 
 12,830 
 
 1952 
 
 8,000 
 
 2,000 
 
 10,000 
 
 12,520 
 
 1953 
 
 8,000 
 
 
 8,000 
 
 10,260 
 
 195U 
 
 8,000 
 
 
 8,000 
 
 10,100 
 
 1955 
 
 8,000 
 
 
 8,000 
 
 10, 9h0 
 
 1956 
 
 8,000 
 
 
 8,000 
 
 10,760 
 
 1957 
 
 9,000 
 
 
 9,000 
 
 10,580 
 
 1958 
 
 9,000 
 
 
 9,000 
 
 n,Uoo 
 
 1959 
 
 9,000 
 
 
 9,000 
 
 11,200 
 
 I960 
 
 10,000 
 
 
 10,000 
 
 11,000 
 
 1961 
 
 10,000 
 
 
 10,000 
 
 10,800 
 
 1962 
 
 10,000 
 
 
 10,000 
 
 10,600 
 
 1963 
 
 10,000 
 
 
 10,000 
 
 io,uoo 
 
 1961* 
 
 10,000 
 
 
 10,000 
 
 10,200 
 
 1965 
 
 10,000 
 
 
 10,000 
 
 10,000 
 
 1966 
 
 10,000 
 
 
 10,000 
 
 10,000 
 
 Totals 
 
 $161,000 
 
 :' o,ooo 
 
 $169,000 
 
 $200,090 
 
 The original bond issue for district 191 was for approximately 
 $16S,000„ 
 

58. 
 
 TABLE XVII c PROJECTED BOND AMORTIZATION SCHEUDLE FOR 
 MOIEAQUA COMMUNITY UNIT DISTRICT 6A 
 
 
 Bonds 
 
 Interest 
 
 —" — -~ 
 
 Year 
 
 Due 
 
 Due 
 
 Total 
 
 1950 
 
 13,000.00 
 
 9,500.00 
 
 $ 27,500.00 
 
 1951 
 
 13,000.00 
 
 9,050,00 
 
 27,050,00 
 
 1952 
 
 18,000.00 
 
 8,600,00 
 
 26,600.00 
 
 1953 
 
 18,000.00 
 
 8,150.00 
 
 26,150,00 
 
 195U 
 
 18,000.00 
 
 7,700.00 
 
 25,700.00 
 
 1955 
 
 18,000,00 
 
 7, 25o t oo 
 
 25,250.00 
 
 1956 
 
 13,000.00 
 
 6,300.00 
 
 2U, 800.00 
 
 1957 
 
 19 j 000. 00 
 
 6,350,00 
 
 25,350,00 
 
 1958 
 
 19, 000 „ 00 
 
 5,875.00 
 
 2k, 875.00 
 
 1959 
 
 19,000.00 
 
 5,Uoo.oo 
 
 2l|.,U00,00 
 
 I960 
 
 19,000,00 
 
 U,925cOO 
 
 23,925.00 
 
 1961 
 
 19,000e00 
 
 U,)45o.oo 
 
 23,U5o.oo 
 
 1962 
 
 19,000.-00 
 
 3,975.00 
 
 22,975.00 
 
 1963 
 
 20,000,00 
 
 3, 5oo,„oo 
 
 23,500.00 
 
 196U 
 
 20,000.00 
 
 3,000.00 
 
 23,000.00 
 
 1965 
 
 20,000.00 
 
 2 ',500 e 00 
 
 22,500.00 
 
 1966 
 
 20,000.00 
 
 2,000,00 
 
 22,000,00 
 
 1967 
 
 20,000,00 
 
 1,500,00 
 
 21,500.00 
 
 1968 
 
 20,000.00 
 
 1,000c 00 
 
 21,000,00 
 
 1969 
 
 20,000,00 
 
 500,00 
 
 20,500,00 
 
 Total 
 
 $380, 000c 00 
 
 £;102,025eOO 
 
 $1*82,025.00 
 
c 
 
 9. 
 
 TABLE XVIII. COMBINED PRESENT AMD PROJECTED 
 AMORTIZATION SCHEDULE FOR 
 LIOTEAQUA C0L21UNITY UNIT DISTRICT 6A 
 
 Year 
 
 Bonds Due 
 
 Interest Due 
 
 Total Payments 
 
 19k9 
 
 $ 10,000 
 
 $ 3,^60 
 
 y, 13,)! 60 
 
 1950 
 
 25,000 
 
 i2,5Uo 
 
 Uo,5Uo 
 
 1951 
 
 20,000 
 
 11,880 
 
 39,880 
 
 1952 
 
 28,000 
 
 11,120 
 
 39,120 
 
 1953 
 
 26,000 
 
 10,UlO 
 
 36,UlO 
 
 195U 
 
 26 j 000 
 
 9,300 
 
 35,800 
 
 1955 
 
 26,000 
 
 10,190 
 
 36,190 
 
 1956 
 
 26.000 
 
 9,560 
 
 35,560 
 
 1957 
 
 28,000 
 
 7,930 
 
 35,930 
 
 1958 
 
 28,000 
 
 8,275 
 
 36,275 
 
 1959 
 
 28,000 
 
 7,600 
 
 35,600 
 
 I960 
 
 29,000 
 
 5,925 
 
 3h,925 
 
 1961 
 
 29,000 
 
 5,250 
 
 3U,250 
 
 1962 
 
 29,000 
 
 1^575 
 
 33,575 
 
 1963 
 
 30,000 
 
 3,900 
 
 33,900 
 
 196U 
 
 30,000 
 
 3,200 
 
 33,200 
 
 1965 
 
 30,000 
 
 2,500 
 
 32,500 
 
 1966 
 
 30,000 
 
 2,000 
 
 32,000 
 
 1967 
 
 20,000 
 
 i,5oo 
 
 21,500 
 
 1968 
 
 20,000 
 
 1,000 
 
 21,000 
 
 1969 
 
 20,000 
 
 5oo 
 
 20,500 
 
 Total 
 
 051i9,ooo 
 
 "133,115 
 
 0682,115 
 

60. 
 
 issue of $380,000 would result in a total of approximately 
 $535,000 available for construction purposes. This amount is 
 suggested in the concluding section of the report as an estimate 
 of the projected construction and alterations. 
 
Chapter VI 
 MAJOR CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS OF THE STUDY 
 
 The basic information compiled during the survey is embodied 
 in the preceeding five chapters of the report. The major conclusions 
 of the study are derived from this data and are presented in this 
 section, and form the basis for the proposed building program. 
 
 The conclusions and recommendations are presented on the basis 
 of the present area and needs of the district. Alterations of the 
 district area or program of the school, might necessitate a change 
 in the nature of the building program. The need for flexibility in 
 the proposed program and structures should constantly be kept in 
 mind 
 
 The Major Conclusions 
 I a The Community 
 
 1. The Moweaqua Community consists of the town of Moweaqua 
 and the surrounding agricultural area with a total popu- 
 lation of approximately 3,000 persons, 
 
 2. The economic livelihood of the people is derived chiefly 
 from agriculture. 
 
 3. The community is somewhat conservative in nature, but has 
 demonstrated a willingness to provide for the educational, 
 religious, and cultural needs of the people. 
 
 In Except for a period following the closing of the coal mine, 
 the community lias shown a steady normal growth in popu- 
 lation. 
 
 5. The majority of the people are of similar ancestral back- 
 grounds. There are no colored people, and only a few foreign 
 born residents in the community, 
 
 II, The School Popul ation ~ 
 
 1. The area of the school district will probably remain as it 
 is with little possibility of increase or decrease in school 
 population additions or detachments of territory, 
 
 2. A total of U08 students were residents in the district 
 during the school year 19ii8-Ji9, Of these 1±3.U per cent 
 
 were urban residents and 56.6 per cent were rural residents. 
 

 
62. 
 
 3. Of the high school population, all are within a ten mile 
 
 radius of the high school. Only lh per cent of the resident 
 elementary school students live beyond a five mile radius 
 of the Moweaqua Elementary School o 
 
 h» The school population may be expected to reach a peak en- 
 rollment of U£0 pupils in grades 1-6, in 1953-5U. In 
 grades 7-12, the peak enrollment of 350 pupils will probably 
 be reached in the school year 195-9-60. 
 
 5„ Should kindergarten facilities be provided in the schools, 
 the elementary school enrollments will bo increased by 
 approximately 100 pupils of which probably 80 will attend 
 kindergarten. 
 
 Hie The Educational Program 
 
 1. The stated philosophy of the Moweaqua schools shows a 
 tendency in keeping with modern educational practice s 
 The possibilities of effecting a modern school in Moweaqua 
 have been limited by physical plant limitations and in- 
 adequate equipment o 
 
 2. The type of grade organization most effective according 
 to the size of the unit, and financial ability would be 
 the 6-6 or 1-12 plan, Arrangements for separation of 
 building areas for grades 1-6 and 7-12 inclusive with 
 mutual sharing of common facilities such as cafeteria, 
 auditorium, gymnasium, special rooms and services, would 
 result in considerable economy of building space. 
 
 3. The addition of kindergarten classes to the school services 
 should be anticipated and provisions made for this service 
 in the building program. 
 
 ]j. The elementary school program does not include a sufficient 
 number of activities, now considered essential in the 
 modern elementary school, and this is attributed principally 
 to a lack of space. The elementary classroom should contain 
 at least 900 square feet but few of the present rooms con- 
 tain more than 7S>0. 
 
 3. The extension of educational facilities should include 
 additional provisions for the education of exceptional 
 children. 
 
 6. The development of the educational program in the high school 
 necessitates provisions for more adequate facilities in ex- 
 plorative courses at the junior high school level* 
 

 
 
63. 
 
 7. Questionnaire studies reveal that only 23> per cent of the 
 graduates enter college and a need exists for more adequate 
 courses to prepare the other 75 per cent with a means of 
 earning a livelihood,, Other replies indicate a need for 
 additional facilities for developing an effective personal- 
 ity, for living healthfully and safely, managing personal 
 finances wisely, spending leisure time wholesomely and 
 wisely, taking an effective part in civic affairs, preparing 
 for marriage, hoinemaking and parenthood, and making effective 
 use of educational opportunities. 
 
 8. The modern school should provide facilities for education 
 of the adult members of the community according to their 
 needs, desires, and abilities. 
 
 9. Adequate facilities should be provided by the school for 
 the conducting of community activities, especially when 
 such facilities do not exist elsewhere in the community. 
 
 IV o School Housing Facilities 
 
 1. The present school housing facilities are inadequate to 
 carry on a modern program of education. The rating of the 
 buildings (IjOO to 500) indicates that there is serious 
 doubt as to their continued usefulness. Buildings included 
 in this group generally should be abandoned quite soon, 
 and in only a few cases is it wise to spend funds improving 
 them. 
 
 2. The present school site is well located in a residential 
 and county area- Hovrever, the site is too small in size 
 for a modern school. The accessibility of the site for 
 rural and urban students is excellent. 
 
 3. The present school buildings contain definite fire haaards 
 and the fire escape facilities should be improved, 
 
 [i. Auditorium, gymnasium, and cafeteria facilities are in- 
 adequate for the present school needs. In an expanded 
 program they would become even more inadequate. 
 
 5. Facilities for the specialists of the modern school, such 
 as the school nurse, speech correctionist and counselor are 
 lacking in the present school buildings. 
 
 V. Financing The School Building Program 
 
 1, The principal source of income of the school district is 
 derived from local ad valorem property taxation to the 
 extent of 90 per cent of the total income, in contrast to 
 10 per cent from all other sources. This proportion is 
 not likely to change to any marked degree in the future. 
 

 
 
 
 
61u 
 
 2. The assessed valuation of the district, $11,017,967.00, in 
 relation to the number of pupils in the district is adequate 
 to support a modern program of education. Moweaqua ranks 
 below average in per pupil assessed valuation when compared 
 with neighboring units, but above the average in comparison 
 with community unit districts in the state as a whole, 
 
 3. The total assessed valuation of the district will likely be 
 increased by nearly 20 per cent in the coming tax year, due 
 to the development of an oil pool within the district. 
 
 k. The community indicates a willingness to lend financial 
 
 support to public education, as is evidenced by increasing 
 tax levies, and favorable voting on school propositions 
 presented to the electorate in the past. 
 
 5. In comparison to similar units the tax levies for educational 
 and building funds are below the average rate, and only in 
 the tax levy for bond retirement has Moweaqua ranked above 
 average. 
 
 6. School costs have been nearly doubled during the past 10 
 years, and this trend is exhibited in Moweaqua, The 
 present trend is toward a stabilisation of expenditures at 
 approximately the present level. 
 
 7. Projected additional facilities for needed special services 
 in the schools will cause a slight increase in future school 
 costs. 
 
 8. The present bonded indebtedness of the Moweaqua unit totals 
 ^169,000.00 and of this amount approximately 0155,000,00 
 is yet unexpended, 
 
 9. The constitutional limitation of bonded indebtedness of the 
 district amounts to $550,898.13. 
 
 10. The survey staff believes that the newly formed unit may 
 safely bond its property over a 20 year period to provide 
 for a 0535,000.00 building program. 
 
 A Building Program For 
 The Mo weaqua Community Unit District 
 
 Following a careful consideration of the underlying factors 
 of the previous section, the survey staff recommends the long term 
 building program which follows. The program is designed to meet 
 adequately, as far as finances will permit, the needs of the district. 
 It is designed to furnish children with modern functional housing 
 

 
65. 
 
 and yet to utilize to the greatest possible degree the present 
 physical plant 
 
 Every program of building expansion and improvement should 
 be presented in the form of a long term program. For this reason 
 the recommendations are presented in the form of immediate and 
 future needs. 
 
 The recommendations suggest in general terms the nature and 
 types of buildings proposed. The details of arrangement and con- 
 struction should result from a scries of conferences of teachers, 
 administrators and citizens in consultation with the School Board 
 and the architect. Public funds expended for improved educational 
 facilities remain in the community and are returned in the form 
 of an improved and enlightened citizenry of the future. 
 
 Recomm endations 
 
 General 
 
 Io It is recommended that the grade organization for the Moweaqua 
 unit be a grade 1-12 or modified 6-6 type of organization with 
 the entire physical plant at a single site. The following 
 advantages in this type of organization will be gained: 
 
 1„ Duplication of facilities such as home economics, shops, 
 art and drawing and library is avoided. The cafeteria, 
 gymnasium, auditorium, health and special services can be 
 shared, resulting in an efficient and economical use of 
 facilities, 
 
 2 . The maintenance and operation cost of a single plant at the 
 same site will result in greater economy 
 
 3 o Transportation of students to the same site will result in 
 diminished transportation expense s 
 
 lie Travel expense of administrators, supervisors and special 
 teachers' such as music and physical education will bo 
 eliminated and a saving in teachers time devoted to travel 
 can be advantageously used in additional student instruction. 
 
 j 
 
 5" . By judicious planning and scheduling the elementary and 
 
 secondary school areas can be maintained as separate schools 
 within the same building. 
 
 6 . The transition from elementary to high school life can become 
 an easy, gradual, evolutionary process resulting in fewer 
 pupil drop-outs under this plan* 
 
66 6 
 
 7. Equal and improved educational facilities are more 
 easily attained when all students are educated at a 
 central unit schools 
 
 II, It is recommended that the present site be expanded to the east 
 and north and remain the permanent location of the Moweaqua 
 Elementary and High School. A total acreage of 20 acres is 
 considered desirable., This recommendation is justified by tho 
 following conditionso 
 
 L The presort site is high and dry and has adequate sewer and 
 water connections. The proposed High School site to the 
 north of the town is located adjacent to the highway and 
 railroad,, and these conditions would result in hazardous 
 crossings of pupils. In addition., a certain amount of 
 noise would cause distraction in the school,, The site is 
 on lew ground and in wet weather, water constantly s Lands 
 on parts of the play area, 
 
 2 ,, The environment of residential and country area is quiet 
 
 and free from traffic hazards, 
 
 3 a It is nearer the geographical center of the district and the 
 
 village resulting in greater convenience to all students, 
 
 lit, Retention of the present site would make possible the 
 convenient use of any existing facilities by eitner 
 elementary or high school students until the time that 
 improved facilities arc available, 
 
 Building (Immediate) 
 
 III It is recommended that a secondary school building unit designed 
 to accommodate approximately 325 students in grades 7 to 12 
 inclusive be constructed on the expanded site a short distance 
 east of the present building, 
 
 1. The building should be a one story unit of the modern 
 utilitarian type of expansible design and contain approxi- 
 mately 22 rooms, in addition to an auditorium and cafeteria, 
 and have a capacity of 325 students, 
 
 2, The building should include the following facilities: 
 
 a. An auditorium, capable of seating U00 persons, accessible 
 for community as well as school functions, Complete 
 stage facilities and dressing rooms should be provided. 
 
 b Cafeteria and kitchen facilities to provide service for 
 200 persons. Provisions for student and community social 
 gatherings should be considered in planning the cafeteria. 
 

67. 
 
 By careful planning and selection of equipment these 
 rooms can serve the functions needed. 
 
 c. An industrial arts shop equipped with hand tools and simple 
 machines for the presentation of general shop courses, 
 
 d. An agricultural shop equipped to teach such skills as are 
 needed in maintaining the buildings and equipment used in 
 general farming, 
 
 c. An agricultural classroom, 
 
 f , A combination art and mechanical drawing room equipped and 
 located so as to be accessible for aU grades, 
 
 g, A commercial department consisting of a bookkeeping and 
 typewriting room, plus adequate storage space, 
 
 h, A home economics department including clothing and food 
 
 laboratories, dressing room and dining space and equipment, 
 
 i. A science department consisting of one laboratory and a 
 classroom equipped with a demonstration desk, 
 
 j. A music department consisting of a central room. with 2 
 adjacent small practice rooms and space for instrument 
 storage, 
 
 k, A library equipped with student tables and chairs accommodat- 
 ing 75 students. An adjacent library workroom for marking, 
 , preparing and cataloguing books should be provided e 
 
 1 A health suite consisting of examination room, nurse's 
 office, and student resting or isolation rooms should be 
 included, 
 
 m. An office suite consisting of waiting room, general office, 
 workroom, and private offices for the high school principal 
 and unit superintendent, 
 
 n, A teacher's lounge with conveniently located rest rooms, 
 
 o. Adequate facilities for using visual aids selected accord- 
 ing to a plan best suited to local needs. To so equip 
 each classroom would be ideal but prohibitively expensive, 
 A number of strategically located classrooms equipped for 
 visual aids plus the auditorium, should be satisfactory to 
 carry on the visual aids program, 
 
 3, It is estimated that the cost of this building would total 
 approximately $500, 000 at the present price of construction. 
 
63, 
 
 IV 8 It is recommended that the present school building be 
 reconditioned at a minimum cost to provide more adequate 
 temporary educational facilities for the elementary school 
 No major alterations should be made; however, certain moans 
 should be taken to insure the health and safety of the 
 pupil So 
 
 l a The changes necessary are as follows: 
 
 a, The installation of more adequate lighting fixtures 
 to provide a sufficient degree of artificial light 
 to insure healthful conditions for student vision, 
 
 b, The installation or renovation of heating and ventilat- 
 ing facilities to meet minimum health requirements- 
 
 c, The reduction of fire hazards at present existing in 
 the building; 
 
 2, It is estimated that the cost of these alterations and 
 improvements will be 020,000.00, 
 
 Building (Future) 
 
 V, It is recommended that an elementary school unit be added to 
 the high school unit described in Recommendation III* 
 
 1. The building unit should bo of modern utilitarian type of 
 expansible design connected with and structurally comparable 
 to the high school. 
 
 2, It should contain 15 classrooms of not less than 900 square 
 feet each, and accommodate a pupil load of approximately 
 1+00 students in grades 1 to 6 inclusive, plus the kinder- 
 garten enrolling approximately 80 students, 
 
 3c In addition it should include the following features: 
 
 a. A large gymnasium arranged for a division by folding 
 doors into two smaller gymnasiums, providing separate 
 facilities for boys and girls of both elementary and 
 high school o 
 
 b. An activity room for use as a small auditorium equipped 
 with stage, and seating approximately 50 persons, 
 
 c. An activity room equipped with simple shop tools to be 
 used in constructing larger projects of the elementary 
 school. 
 
69. 
 
 do A curriculum library with storage provisions for 
 equipment and materials used occasionally in 
 elementary teaching units 
 
 U» The cost of this project is estimated at approximately 
 &5>00,000 at present building costs. 
 
 Outcomes of the Program 
 
 The ultimate objective of the building program is to secure 
 a modern school plant, providing equal educational opportunities 
 for all pupils of the district at a reasonable cost. This can 
 most easily be attained, without duplication of equipment and 
 services, by the centralization of educational facilities at a 
 point nearest to the center of total pupil residence,, 
 
 Completion of the entire program would result in a single 
 building housing all pupils. The building would be a one- story 
 structure of such design as to utilize all facilities to the best 
 advantage. One unit of the building would contain the rooms and 
 services for grades 1 to 6, and the kindergarten, and used by the 
 elementary school only. A corresponding unit would contain those 
 features used by the high school only. The central portion of the 
 building would include those facilities used jointly by the elemen- 
 tary and high school such as, offices, auditorium, gymnasium, and 
 cafeteria. 
 
 Present crowded conditions of the Moweaqua schools would be 
 relieved upon the completion of the unit described in Recommendation 
 III. All students in grades 1 to 12 of the district could then be 
 housed at the central site, 
 
 The increased facilities available would assure a modern 
 secondary school program for grades 7 to 12 inclusive, A program 
 of adult education could be initiated and adequate facilities 
 would be available for community functions. 
 
 The improvements of the present school building would result 
 in an increased . number of rooms available for grades 1 to 6 inclusive. 
 Class sizes could be reduced and crowded rooms relieved so that 
 additional time and space would bring more modern elementary educa- 
 tional practices. It is possible that space would then be available 
 to initiate a kindergarten program, 
 
 The completion of the secondary unit would permit the establish- 
 ment of additional needed services, such as those of the school nurse, 
 speech correctionist, and art and music supervisor. 
 
 The completion of the elementary school unit would give the 
 community a physical plant adequate to provide a modern program of 
 
70. 
 
 education for all grades with provisions for a kindergarten and 
 an adult education program. Space and facilities for community 
 meetings and entertainments would also be available,, 
 
UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS-URBANA 
 
 3 0112 084223079