the pts witnessed a drastic increase (500%) in the number of residents between its initiation in 1923 and 1959, at which time the school housed around 1,400 children. as oversight of the school became obscured, the pts sought to expand its employee base. however, because most psychologists dreaded working in a mental institution, the pts's efforts to recruit qualified staff faced numerous shortcomings. it did not help that the school was situated in red deer, a prairie town of around 30, 000, where the number of skilled applicants was minuscule. in these times of desperation, le vann once hired someone with no professional experience to fill the position of head psychologist. this person was responsible for the iq tests that were part of the assessment protocol for admission to the school. the resulting, arbitrary procedure caused numerous able-minded children to be admitted to the school. an ex-employee of the pts revealed, "your qualification was grade twelve and they hired just about anybody, as long as they didn't have a criminal record". le vann even went so far as to endorse admitting high-functioning children in order to exploit their abilities as forced labour.