Ministers Defend the High School
Seattle clergy take to their pulpits to advocate for the continuation of high school education amidst a budget and legal crisis.
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The closing of the Seattle high school became a theme for pulpit discourses by several prominent ministers. The general opinion appeared to be that the difficulty was temporary, and that it could be smoothed over by the extension of the school curriculum. Rev. Dr. W.P. George argued that it was the duty of the state to educate children, while Dr. Alison noted that the high school was a 'common' school supported by the public purse for the common good. Dr. Clark Davis spoke of the need for moral and civic convictions in the youth, and argued that if the school were not what the public wanted, it should be reformed rather than abolished. The ministers feared that the city's reputation and its ability to attract families would suffer if Seattle became the only city of its size without a high school.
“What are the first two things that a country advertises to make it attractive? Churches and schools. Nobody in these days wants to live where the best of either is lacking.”
Education funding battles and the scope of the public school curriculum are evergreen issues in Seattle. The 1893 debate over 'abolishing' the high school mirrors modern anxieties about school levies and the boundaries of public education.
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