P.T.A. Reject Marston Plan – Sept 19, 1962  

The Culver-Union Township P. T. A. met in regular session last evening, Sept. 18, with many of the members in attendance.

The most important order of business was reading the report of the committee on the Marston Consolidation plan, which will be voted on by all effected communities in the November election.

After reading of the report, a vote was taken to either accept or reject the report.

The P.T.A. voted unanimously to adopt the report. The report rejects the Marston Consolidation plan and gives concrete reason for so doing. The report in its entirety is as Follows:

Report of the PTA Committee For Studying The Proposed Marston Consolidation

The committee definitely recognizes that consolidation is necessary under law and also desirable for the better education of students of Union township.

Without a consolidated high school our community cannot hope to offer the facilities or the salaries to continue to attract good teachers, particularly in consideration of the new law which makes it necessary for all high school teachers to have a masters degree by 1968.

Since, at the present, only one high school academic classroom at Culver meets in minimum requirements of the state, we also have to realize the need of a new or revamped high school within six years.

The committee has assumed in making the following recommendations that the citizens of Union township desire a school consolidation which will provide the children of our area with the best possible education but at the same time one which will provide it by making maximum effective use of their tax dollars and with the maximum representation on the school board.

We have assumed that most citizens of Union township desire the consolidated school to be situated locally so that children will not have to travel a great distance to and from school. For these reasons and for the reasons listed below, the recommendation of the committee is to vote AGAINST the Marston consolidation in November. (The Marston consolidation would join Argos (Green and Walnut townships); Union township, and Aubbeenaubee).

REASONS:

1 With the existing school facilities, consolidation would be only administrative. It would be necessary for the Marston unit to administer diversified schools in Argos and Culver for an estimated minimum of six years.

With the knowledge that a new school would have to be built after a six year period, our school facilities during that time would probably not be improved or enlarged to allow them to draw better teacher or to offer a greater variety of course.

2. Under the Marston consolidation, although separate facilities at Culver and Argos would in all probability exist, it would be necessary for the taxpayers of Union and Aubeenaubee township to absorb a heavy indebtedness of the Argos school system.

As of March 1962, the grand total of obligations for the proposed Marston unit for 1963 through 1986 was $1,837,000. This would include Argos’ holding corporation lease-rent of $1,008,000 (principal and interest) and Argos’ school bonds of $136,400.

By contrast Aubbeenaubee’s Total debt was in March only $11,000.00. Under the Marston plan there is an additional estimated $500,000.00 to be spent at Culver and another $100, 000.00 to be spent at Argos for improvement of facilities.

3. The committee estimates that funds for a new school between Argos and Culver would not be available for at least six years. A six-year period is perhaps insufficient to accumulate enough cumulative building funds for a new building program. Meanwhile the unit would be paying the debt on the present Agros high school. It the state committee should insist upon combining student bodies of the Marston schools rather than allowing the two schools at Culver and Argos to exist separately, school officials feel that Argos has a better start toward a unified high school plant than does Culver, which would mean that until a school could be built between Argos and Culver, students at Culver might have to travel to Argos. Since the school plant at Argos is now being used to capacity, this would necessitate more building at Agros, adding to the already heavy debt of the Marston unit.

4A. We do not belive that the citizens of Union township should be satisfied with such a plan when it is obviously second best. The most natural consolidation in this area is on which would include Aubbeenaubee, Union and North Bend townships. The advantages of such a consolidation are many:

1 Union Townships schools are central.

2 We could realize a unified school much sooner than under the Marston plan.

3 We would avoid absorbing Argos’ heavy school debt.

4 Under such a consolidation the amount of money allotted per student would be high. 5 We would still satisfy the state’s requirement that a high school have a minimum enrollement of 300.

4B The above plan (Aubbeenaubee, North Bend and Union) is now hampered only by a refusal by Starke county to release North Bend, despite North Bend’s petition for release.

Before November elections there should be precedent for North Bend to bring legal action against Starke county for its release. If so, North Bend may well have its release before the county committee on consolidation meets again to propose an alternate plan.

If the Marston consolidation is defeated at the polls in November, this will give North Bend township additional time to try to obtain its release. If the plan is defeated, the county committee may not have to meet until the new legislature meets.

The candidates for trustee in North Bend township are both in favor of North Bend’s coming into the Aubbeenaubee, Union, North Bend consolidation. Their election as candidates indicate a sincere desire on the part of a great majority of voters of both parties in North Bend township to be a part of this consolidation.

5. There is a chance – only a chance that Monterey might also wish to become a part of consolidation including Aubbeenaubee, Union and North Bend. Id so, their inclusion would be to the benefit of a unified school and could not change the logical location of such a school.

6. The defeat of the Marston plan would not likely result in any less desirable consolidation being forced upon Union township. Even in the event that North Bend could not obtain release. Aubbeenaubee’s distance from Plymouth would almost surely keep us from being considered as a part of the Plymouth consolidation.

The committee, after studying all possibilities, feels that the worst which could happen in the case of failure of North Bend to obtain release from Starke county would be to have the state committee resubmit the Marston plan for another vote.

The time gained, however, by its defeat in November would mean that the Argos school debt would be somewhat diminished before the taxpayers of Union and Aubbeenaubee townships would have to contribute to it.

A plan may be rejected twice b y the voters. A vote against the Marston plan in November will insure us time to try to work our a far more convenient, more efficient, more inexpensive consolidation that that which is now proposed

Respectfully submitted
Mr. and Mrs Thomas E Walker
Dr. and Mrs. Oscar Wesson
Mr. and Mrs Hugo B. Anderson

Another item taken up atr the meeting was the time situation for the Culver schools. It was recommended that if Starke County stays on Central Standard Time, in order to eliminate, at least partially, the confusion caused by the two different time areas, the school would used the split hour system, instead of the full hour time arrangement. This means that the time between the two areas would be only of a half hour difference, which would eliminate the full hour change.