USA > Massachusetts > Middlesex County > Somerville > Report of the city of Somerville 1947 > Part 7
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Cognizant of its broad powers, important duties, and large discretion established by law, this School Committee gave its initial concern and attention to an intensive and thorough sur- vey of the housing facilities in which the educational program would be conducted. The summarization of the tabulations of the factors shown by the survey was by resolution forwarded to the Mayor and Board of Aldermen, setting forth the neces- sity for and the extent of the requirements to provide adequate housing accommodations suited in architecture, design, and equipment for modern educational needs and demands.
A beginning was made by the Commissioner of Public Buildings during the year 1946 with a limited appropriation. It could not be expected that the complete job, calling for an estimated cost of approximately a million and a half dollars, could be accomplished in one year. During the year 1947 the task was continued to a far greater degree of accomplishment, the extent of which will be discussed later in this report under the heading "Buildings and Repairs".
The second major concern was the suggestion of the Super- intendent, "that a thorough study be made of the administra- tive organization of the High School, to the end that a more closely knit and more effective unit will be developed". After careful and thorough study of the situation over a period of three of four months, the principles of the Superintendent's plan were approved in essence. The resultant administrative staff of a headmaster and two vice-headmasters, one of which assumes the direction of administration, and the other the di- rection of curriculum, has made effective an improvement in efficiency of administration and supervision.
The third problem attacked was that of increasing the teacher-pupil ratio to the nationally accepted standards, with-
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out in any way detracting from the effectiveness of the instruc- tion and the quantity and quality of accomplishment. A fair beginning was made toward increasing the teacher-pupil ratio by not filling several vacancies in the instructional force caused. by the retirement of several teachers, some of whom reached the compulsory retirement age, and others who voluntarily re- tired before reaching the retirement age because of the in- creased benefits of the new retiremnt law which became effec- tive in January of 1946. Another factor affecting the teacher- pupil ratio was the termination of employment of some of the married women teachers who had been continued in temporary. employment. It was evident then, and even in spite of the in -- creasing enrollment it is still unlikely during this or the next school year that the ratio of 1 to 27 will be reached.
The progress that was made in increasing the teacher-pupil. ratio made possible some financial savings. In consequence, the. School Committee was able to take some concrete action tend -. ing towards alleviation of the problem of scarcity of well trained, well qualified, competent teachers, by providing a: salary schedule for its employees which would allow them to live and work within proper standards. The members of the. School Committee, realizing that an inadequate, poorly fi- nanced, understaffed educational program offers the basis for- the development of serious social consequences, and believing that they would not be meeting their obligations as elected pub- lic servants unless they established a salary schedule which would provide a living wage for the employees of the school sys- tem, to the end that our standards may be retained and our children given their constitutional birthright - an adequate education-adopted a new salary schedule of the preparation- position type, to be effective in full on January 1, 1947. The ac- tion carried a provision that, because of a surplus in the appro- priation made for the year 1946, a portion of the increase be made effective as of October 1, 1946.
The new salary schedule was made operative in full on January 1, 1947, but that portion of the increase payable in October, November, and December, which the School Commit- tee believed to be within its powers legally to establish, has never been received by the employees affected. The suit, which was filed for payment by the teachers' groups in the Middlesex County Superior Court, has been "marked up" for hearing dur- ing the month of November 1947, but at the time of writing this report, the hearing has not as yet been held. The awaited deci- sion of the Court will be far reaching because it will definitely determine the legal rights and powers of all school committees
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within the Commonwealth and will provide ease of mind for the teachers whose importance to the welfare of the country has so long been unrecognized and ignored.
At the beginning of the second year of the stewardship of this School Committee in January 1947, William J. Shea was elected to serve as Chairman and John F. Fitzgerald was elected to serve as Vice Chairman for the year. Mr. Shea, who had been a member of the Committee for four years and had served one year in 1944 as Chairman and one year in 1946 as Vice Chairman, possessed a keen insight and understanding of the problems of the educational system, sufficient to assume again the task of leadership. Mr. Fitzgerald manifested during 1946 a determination to analyze thoroughly every problem of the Committee and the ability to lead his colleagues to a satis- factory solution, which would result in a betterment of the in- terests and welfare of the education of our future citizens. The effects of the cooperative endeavors of the members of the Com- mittee under the leadership of these two men will be shown in the following pages.
Near the close of the year 1946, it appeared that the School Committee of that year had so seriously devoted itself to the obligations of its responsibilities, had so sufficiently set up its goals for accomplishment during its stewardship, and had made such progress towards the attainment of its goals that its chief concern during 1947 would be to further develop and improve the postwar educational program which was set up in principle and partially made operative. It was suddenly dis- covered that their objective of giving their full attention to the scholastic and academic phases of their obligations was to have interference from several disturbing problems, financial and physical, which it had been anticipated would be solved without much controversy or difficulty.
In order to offset the increasing cost of education due to conditions of the times, various bills had been submitted to the Legislature of the Commonwealth which would receive consid- erable attention and study during 1947, which would cause the State to bear a larger portion of the tax burden for education now upon the local communities. Such increased state aid for education would increase the present allowance to Somerville of approximately $100,000 by at least four times and eventually nearly twelve times. Such state aid would enable the local com- munity to bear more easily increased salary costs and other necessary expenses involved in the operation of a modern school system.
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Naturally the Somerville School Committee took action early in 1947 favoring the provisions of House Bill No. 486, presented by the Massachusetts Teachers' Federation, and up- on the recommendation of the Superintendent voted to endorse and use every means at its disposal to foster the support of all groups of citizens within the community in the interest of in- creased state aid for education to the communities of our Com- monwealth, such increased state aid to be based primarily up- on comparative assessed valuation of the community and pupil membership.
Another bill, House Bill 1393, filed for the Mayors' Club, while favoring increased state aid for education, was found to carry very serious provisions which, had they been accepted by the Legislature and written into law, would have deprived the school committees of the Commonwealth of their constitutional rights, powers, and jurisdictions over the educational systems. By this bill mayors and selectmen would be given the author- ity to veto any school committee actions involving finances.
This contemplated move on the part of mayors and select- men to usurp the powers of school committees, through the ef- forts of their powerful and influential lobby, caused the Somer- ville School Committee to take a stand and resolve to maintain vigorously the well founded tradition and conception of the un- hampered control of education by the School Committee, and exert its utmost influence to repel any encroachments upon the powers and jurisdiction of the School Committee which would result in detriment to the schools and the children.
It has always been the policy of those seeking to give serv- ice to the educational welfare of our communities by their elec- tion to the School Committee to avoid any semblance of po- litical interference with the country's largest and most impor- tant business,-its educational institutions.
It has been held by some that the school committees have been given too much power by the statutes of the Common- wealth, which created school committees as independent bodies with broad powers, important duties, and large discretion, sep- arate from other governing boards of the municipalities, and which placed the control of the public schools within the juris- diction of that body unhampered as to details of administration and as to acts performed in good faith, not subject to review by any other board or tribunal.
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On various occasions situations have been created which resulted in court litigations. These situations were set up by those who would, as they say, "clip the wings of the school com- mittees" by interfering with the financial problems of the schools. In all cases, except where some slight technicalities were found, the courts have invariably upheld the side of the school committees. Failing in their attempts to weaken the powers of school committees, they have kept a constant vigil to find a loophole through which their intent to tear down the wise provisions of the statutes could be consummated.
The supporters of House Bill 1393, professing to favor in- creased state aid for schools, but adding the joker previously mentioned, which would weaken the powers of school commit- tees, were not successful in obtaining a favorable report upon their bill from the subcommittee of the Legislature before which the bill was heard. In consequence they turned their guns upon the bill submitted by the Special Commission ap- pointed by Governor Tobin to study several educational prob- lems, one of which was that of increased state aid. In this bill, House Bill 1899, there was a recommendation to raise the nec- essary additional moneys for state aid by a so-called state sales tax. Playing upon the weak and erroneous cry that a sales tax would place the heaviest burden upon those persons least able to afford it, namely, those in the lower income brackets, the whole campaign was waged against the sales tax in such a man- ner that the major issue, increased state aid for education, was obliterated from view. In consequence of these tactics, no favor- able action on behalf of the cities of the Commonwealth re- sulted. Those who opposed most strenuously the sales tax method of raising`money for this purpose, namely, the Federa- tion of Tax Payers' Associations and the Retail Trade Associa- tion, when asked for suggestions as to how the moneys. which they contended they felt were necessary, could be raised other than by the sales tax, were very suddenly stricken speechless. Could this action indicate anything but an attitude to defeat state aid or have education hampered by the political machina- tions of the politicians ?
But if it be so, that fire must be fought with fire, there is no question but that the school committees of the Common- wealth composed of intelligent persons, can and will be able to convince the public of its serious and sincere intent to main- tain an adequate educational program, which requires state aid in order to relieve the tax burden now borne primarily by the home owner and indirectly by the rent payer. The method by
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which this money becomes available is the problem of our State Legislature.
A new bill has been prepared and has been submitted to the Legislature for consideration during 1948 by the Massachu- setts Teachers' Federation, calling for distribution by the State of approximately twenty-five million dollars for the purpose of increasing state aid for education. The formula for the distribu- tion will be based on the assessed valuation of the community and the school population. The Somerville School Committee will again exert its utmost efforts to foster the support of all organizations and individuals in the interest of the passage of this bill to provide increased state aid for our schools. Unfor- tunately, another bill, similar to that submitted for the Mayors' Club last year, has already been presented by City Manager Atkinson of Cambridge. It is likely that other bills of the same nature will also be presented to the General Court of 1948. All of these bills will have the intent of encroaching upon the pow- ers and jurisdictions of school committees, as set forth in the statutes.
This local activity for unhampered increased state aid will be vigorously accelerated by all of the school committee groups affiliated with the Massachusetts Association of School Comit- tees. This organization came into being in the early weeks of January of 1947. For some time it had been felt that more uni- form procedures, policies, and attitudes should be used by the school committees in the 351 communities of the Common- wealth. As a result of this feeling and of a common desire to improve the practices and accomplishments of the directorates of the school systems in the interest of bettering and furthering the educational welfare of the children through the pooling of the best thought of school committee members throughout the State, a preliminary meeting was held in Somerville and attend- ed by members of some forty school committees of eastern Massachusetts. The preliminary meeting indicated so much in- terest in the necessity of such an organization, not only to im- prove school committees, but to protect their powers as set forth in the statutes, that it was decided to invite all the com- mittees of the State to affiliate.
Mrs. Mary E. Wholey of the Somerville School Committee was a member of the committee to draft a constitution and by- laws, and after the organization of the state association she served very actively with Mr. Lawrence of the School Commit- tee of Peabody as the Legislative Committee.
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More than seventy per cent of the committees are now members of the organization, which during the first year of its existence has made much progress along the lines of its primary purpose and gives promise of becoming a very potent factor in all problems involving the educational systems of the Common- wealth.
Early in the year the School Committee renewed its activ- ity in the interests of the alleviation of the unhealthy, unsan- itary, and unsafe conditions of the educational housing units, and gave further impetus to its previous requests to the Mayor and Board of Aldermen to use every influence possible to speed a beginning on the building project accommodations presented earlier to the Federal Works Administration.
During 1946 no progress was evident with relation to the proposed new building projects, but beginning in the summer of 1947 much extensive repairing, replacing of boilers, convert- ing of heating units to oil, and redecorating of practically every school building in the city was made possible through the au- thorization by the Board of Aldermen of a remodeling and re- construction loan for schoolhouses and municipal buildings of $867.000.
No progress has been evidenced during the year on the urgent requests for suitable bleacher accommodations in the High School gymnasium, or upon the very necessary provision for a stadium or athletic field with a sufficient seating capacity to allow our athletic contests to be played at home instead of having all of our football games played away from home, as has been the case for several years. Much criticism is pointed at what appears to be a lack of school spirit among the pupils in connection with support of the athletic teams, but it is difficult for our teams to be successful when they are sent to other com- munities to play all their games, and it is likewise difficult for the students and the public to show enthusiastic spirit unless our teams are successful in a fair proportion of their contests.
Late in the year of 1946, the Evening Vocational School, which had been inoperative for several years, was again opened in the interests of those veterans of World War II who needed refresher courses in certain trades, or were forced to learn new trades, due to changes in the industrial world. The courses originally offered were Auto Repairing, Painting, and Printing. When the school was opened at the beginning of the calendar year 1947, provision was made for the establishment of three
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other courses, namely, Carpentry, Electrical Work, and Ma- chine Shop Practice.
Another problem to which the School Committee directed much thought, time, and energy was the very important phase of our postwar educational program, namely, an adjustment of the High School curriculum to meet the needs of the postwar world. Various factors indicated that study periods were not utilized to full advantage; therefore, the available study pe- riods for pupils were reduced to a minimum, thus allowing for an extension of the length of the actual time spent in recita- tion work. Further investigation seemed to indicate that less and longer recitation periods would increase the efficiency of the instruction. In consequence, a recommendation of the Cur- riculum Committee of the High School faculty, that a five- period day replace the six-period day previously in operation, was given tentative approval by the School Committee, to be effective at the opening of school in September. The plan hav- ing been in operation but three months has not provided suf- ficient evidence to allow the formulation of any definite con- clusions, but a statement of the changes in the curriculum and of the apparent increase in effectiveness of the five-period day will be discussed later in this report.
With the opening of the schools in September, the impact of another problem gave the School Committee much concern. The birth rate, which had been falling gradually but steadily for several years, soon after the opening of the last war began to increase. The increased birth rate would not affect the school population for at least five years, but this happened to be the year for the first influx of the five-year-olders. The Cutler School kindergarten, which approximated 100 to 105 pupils an- nually, had an enrollment this past September of 175, all eligi- ble by age for admission. The previously employed device of remedying an overcrowded Cutler School, by changing the dis- trict lines and sending some of the pupils to the Hodgkins School, would not in this case work; consequently, it became necessary to use another room in the Cutler School in which to house a second kindergarten.
The Forster, Bingham, and Proctor district presented a similar problem, requiring the establishment of a kindergarten in the Proctor School where none had previously been in ex- istence. At this time it appears that during the early part of 1948 it will be absolutely necessary to make provision for the establishment of a kindergarten in the Pope School.
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It can readily be seen that this increased kindergarten en- rollment means an overcrowding of the first grades next school year. From this point on, the elementary school enrollment will increase successively for a period of years, with a resulting necessary use of the rooms which have been vacant during re- cent years and a consequent increase in the number of elemen- tary school teachers required.
Some years ago the State Department of Public Safety, through the Registry of Motor Vehicles, proposed and recom- mended the establishment in secondary schools throughout the Commonwealth of pre-driving courses for students who were of the proper age to apply for and obtain automobile driving licenses. The Department outlined the course and caused a textbook to be published. An early survey of the number of students who might be interested in pursing such a course of instruction did not indicate a sufficient demand for the estab- lishment of courses for the ninth grade pupils. Some club ac- tivity in the junior high schools, however, was carried on.
Two years ago there appeared to be a growing demand in the High School for instruction of this sort. One of the teach- ers in the school voluntarily organized a group of students to pursue the course after school hours. The work became quite popular, the progress was fast, and the students responded en- thusiastically because the practical application of the course was so manifest. In consequence, the School Committee, realiz- ing the advantages of such instruction, has just recently es- tablished the course on a one-half point credit basis, and is at the present time considering accepting the gift of a dual control automobile for use in giving road instruction in connection with the course.
The federally subsidized Hot Lunch Program, which has been carried on for several years in two of our elementary schools, starting under the auspices of the W. P. A. and later placed by Congress under the jurisdiction of the Federal De- partment of Agriculture, has been a cause of considerable con- cern due to the changed regulations of the control, the in- creased cost of labor and food, and the reduced subsidy from the federal government, resulting in a constantly increasing cost to the City of Somerville. The program was extended in 1944 by the addition of units in the high and three junior high schools, subsidized by the government, but causing no expense to the City. Late in 1947 the School Committee was concerned about the situation, and it believed in the necessity for a con-
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tinuance of the program in spite of a reduced appropriation by Congress. The Superintendent of Schools was directed to com- municate with Congressman John F. Kennedy, in whose dis- trict the elementary school project is operating, requesting that he give his endorsement and urging his earnest consideration to influence the Congress to increase the appropriation so that the subsidy to schools, which had been reduced from nine to seven cents, might be increased from seven to twelve cents for each meal served. The Congressman's reply gave assurance of earnest endeavor on his part towards the request. A later re- ply from the Congressman indicates that no encouragement can be given regarding additional assistance from the federal gov- ernment at this time.
When the School Committee established the preparation- position type salary schedule, which became effective January 1, 1947, it was quite evident to the members that their action had simply provided a general increase, which was commonly re- ferred to as a $500 increase for all. This action, while provid- ing a step in the right direction, made a schedule which was neither comparable to the salaries paid to the teachers and other school employees of neighboring cities and even towns, nor sufficient to retain our best teachers and prevent our neighbors from obtaining the advantages of the abilities, preparation, and efficiency of those best teachers.
The new salary schedule gave to the elementary school teacher a basal maximum salary of $2550. That salary today is worth approximately $1594 in prewar dollars. Prior to 1939 teachers, as local and state employees, were not required to pay a federal income tax. A typical teacher (e. g., a single person with one dependent and a gross income of $2550) today pays at least an income tax of $250, leaving the remainder of the $2550 worth $1438 in prewar dollars. In other words, in spite of the recent increases in salaries paid, the teacher is about where he stood in 1939 in his ability to purchase goods and services. Such figures indicate that there is still a long distance to go before the problem of adequate compensation for school employ- ees is solved.
The School Committee consequently was not particularly surprised to receive from the salary committees of the two teachers' organizations, the Somerville Teachers' Club and the Somerville Schoolmens' Club, a request for consideration of a proposed new salary schedule of the single salary type, the dif- ference in levels being based on degree of preparation and years of experience with a maximum basal salary set at $3700.
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