USA > Massachusetts > Worcester County > Douglas > Town Annual Report of the Officers of the Town of Douglas, for the year ending 1901 > Part 3
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He shall give no Town notes, except the same are ap- proved and countersigned by at least a majority of the Board of Selectmen. He shall prepare and deliver to the Board of Selectmen, on or before the fifth day of March of each year, a full statement, in detail, of all receipts and payments of money by him as Town Treasurer, showing the balance of his account on the first day of March, with a statement of the property of the Town in his possession, and all notes or other obligations given by him or by his predecessors, and outstanding against the Town on the first day of March of each year, stating to whom each note is payable, when due, and the rate of interest said note or other obligation is drawing. He shall keep all Town notes that have been paid and cancelled, and all cancelled bank checks, and all orders drawn by the Selectmen, and other valuable documents or papers belonging to the Town, or relating to the affairs of the Town in his depart- ment, which shall be always subject to the inspection and
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examination of the Selectmen ; he shall give his bond within five days after his election, to the Town Clerk for his custody and safe-keeping, which shall first be subject to the approval of the Selectmen endorsed thereon in writing.
SECTION 5. Money belonging to the Town, if deposited by the Treasurer or the agent, on the devise of Moses Wallis, shall be deposited in some bank or Trust Com- pany, allowing interest on daily balances, and the interest on said deposits credited to the town.
ARTICLE III.
CONCERNING TRUANT CHILDREN AND ABSENTEES FROM SCHOOL.
SECTION I. It shall be the duty of the School Com- mittee of the Town to appoint two suitable persons to be designated as "Truant Officers," who shall, under the direction of said Committee, inquire into all cases coming under this article, and shall alone be authorized, in case of violation thereof, to make complaint and carry into exe- cution the judgment thereof.
Truant officers so appointed shall at all times be subject to removal by the School Committee, and their compen- sation shall be fixed by the School Committee, and shall be paid from the Treasury of the Town.
SECTION 2. The Worcester County Truant School at West Boylston, Mass., is hereby assigned as the place of confinement, discipline and instruction of persons con- victed under the provisions of this article.
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SECTION 3. Any child between the ages of seven and fifteen years, who is an habitual truant, or is found wan- dering about the streets or public places of the town, hav- ing no lawful occupation or business, not attending school, or growing up in ignorance, shall, upon conviction thereof, be committed to the Worcester County Truant School at West Boylston, Mass., for such term as the Justice or Court having jurisdiction may determine.
SECTION 4. Truant officers appointed as herein pro- vided, are authorized and empowered to take into custody any such child, and place him in the school to which he shall have been assigned by the School Committee of the town.
ARTICLE IV.
PENAL LAW.
SECTION I. No person shall play at any game of ball or football, or throw ball, or stones, or snow-balls in the streets within the limits of the. East Douglas fire district.
Nor shall any person deposit within any street or public places any ashes, cinders, fish or any waste-matter what- ever, except by the consent of the Selectmen ; nor set or plant any trees within the limits of the streets or high- ways of said town, without the consent of the person having the care of said streets and highways.
SECTION 2. No person shall course, coast or slide upon the streets or sidewalks of the town upon any hand-sled, board, jumper, or otherwise, except at such places and under such restrictions and regulations as the Selectmen shall designate and require.
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SECTION 3. No person shall wheel, drive, or draw any coach, cart, hand-barrow, sled, bicycle, or other carriage of burden or pleasure (except children's hand-carriages, drawn by hand), or drive, or permit any horse, neat cattle, 01 sheep under his care to go or stand upon any sidewalk; or stand upon any street-crossing, so as to obstruct public travel.
SECTION 4. No person shall behave himself in a rude and disorderly manner, or use any indecent, profane or insulting language in any street, highway, or other public place in the town, or near any dwelling-house or other building not his own, therein, or be or remain upon any sidewalk or fence contiguous to a highway or street, or upon any doorstep, portico, or other projection from any such house or other building, nor in any church, meeting- house, railroad depot or platform, public hall or entrance thereto, to the annoyance or disturbance of any person ; nor shall any person, at, near, or upon any such dwelling- house, building, sidewalk, doorstep, portico, fence or pro- jection, or any such meeting-house, public hall, railroad depot or platform, or entrance thereto, commit any nui- sance, or by any noise, gesture, or other means, wantonly or designedly drive or frighten any horse in any street, highway or public place in the town.
SECTION 5. PENALTIES. Any person violating any of the provisions of the preceding by-laws, shall be punished by a fine not exceeding ten dollars ($10) for each offence, to be forfeited and paid to the Town, unless when differ- ent provision is made by the laws of the Commonwealth.
SECTION 6. These By-Laws may be altered, amended or annulled at any meeting called for the purpose, by a vote of two-thirds of those present and voting thereon.
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SECTION 7. If these by-laws be adopted by the town and approved by the Court, all by-laws heretofore adopted by the Town and now in force, inconsistent with these by- laws, shall become null and void.
These by-laws shall be in force when approved by the Court.
A. F. BROWN, WILLIAM ABBOTT, 1 Committee. JOHN M. RAWSON,
DOUGLAS, MASS.
Adopted April 26, 1897. C. H. BACHELER, Town Clerk of Douglas.
By a vote at the same time and place Mr. William Abbott was authorized to present these by-laws to the Court for approval.
C. H. BACHELER, Town Clerk.
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Annual Reports
OF THE
School Committee
OF THE
Town of Douglas,
FOR YEAR ENDING
March 1, 1901.
LA.
S
INCOR
1746
PRESS OF CHARLES J. BATCHELLER, EAST DOUGLAS, MASS. 1901.
School Committee.
Chas. P. Pierce,
Chas. S. Caswell,
Term expires March 1, 1903 - 1903
Paul F. Ela, 1903.
S. F. Root, 1902
A. J. Thayer,
1902
Fred A. Place,
1902- 1901 -
W. W. Brown, C. J. Batcheller,
1901 -
M. M. Luther,
1901
The Committee met March, 1900, and organized as follows :
President, Chas. J. Batcheller.
Clerk, Fred A. Place.
S. F. Root,
Superintending Committee, C. J. Batcheller, Paul F. Ela.
Purchasing Agent,-C. J. Batcheller.
ยง F. F. Young, Truant Officers,- 3 M. H. Balcome.
Teachers.
George H. Stoddard, Caro Wyman,
Rosa M. Bumstead,
Euna L. Buffington,
Mary A. Wyman,
Edith M. Abbott, Etta H. Johnson, Laura E. Brown, K. Helena Wixtead, Mary J. Lawlor,
Gertrude Smith.
190 4
Appropriations and Receipts.
Appropriation for public schools, and for
transportation of pupils, Mar. 1, 1900, $5,000 00 Books and supplies, 300 00
State school fund, 328 58
Town School fund, (interest), 56 48
Received for school books sold, 4 63
New books and supplies on hand, 172 22
Balance unexpended, 58 81
$5,920 72
Expenditures.
Teachers, $3,901 50
Truant officer,
15 00
Care of school houses,
416 70
Purchasing agent,
25 00
Books and supplies,
$328 43
Decrease in supplies on hand, $32 78
Books and supplies sold, 4 63- 28 05-
Total cost of books and supplies, 356 48
Fuel, 437 56
Coal on hand at new school house,
81 00- 356 56
Transportation of pupils,
637 00
Superintending committee,
150 00
School census,
10 50
Work on diplomas,
1 00
General school expenses,
100 36
$6,050 10
Statistics.
Number of persons in the town Sept. 1, 1900, be- tween 5 and 15 years of age, 304
Number of persons in the town Sept. 1, 1900, be- tween 7 and 14 years of age, 224
Number of different pupils in all the schools for the year ending June 15, 1900, 383
Number attending school under 5 years of age,
8
Number attending school over 15 years of age,
18
Number attending school between the ages of 7 and 14, 291
Average membership of all the schools,
282
Average attendance of all the schools,
243
The per cent. of attendance based on the average membership, 86+
Aggregate of months all the schools have been kept during the year, 89
Average number of months all the schools have been kept during the year, 8.9
9
Whole number of female teachers,
1
Whole number of male teachers,
Average wages monthly of female teachers, $35 66
Average wages monthly of male teachers, 90 00
Report of the School Committee.
Your school committee respectfully submits the following re- port :
IN GENERAL.
Schools have been maintained this year as last year, in East Douglas, Douglas and South Douglas, pupils being transported from other districts.
The courses of study have been maintained as in the past. In the graded schools at East Douglas progress has been made toward simplyfying the confusion of grades resulting from the changes into the new school house two years ago. It is thought that by the beginning of the fall term the several teachers will find their work more correctly defined in accordance with the standards in general use in the state, so that instead of teaching parts of two, or even three grades in one room, the grades will be really separated. The change is being brought about by the cordial co-operation of the several teachers extending through- out the last two years.
SCHOOL HOUSES.
The town is to be congratulated on the excellent conditions in the new school house at East Douglas. Such a school build-
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ing renders every school in it more efficient, and the spirit re- quired to ensure keeping it in good condition is itself a means of education to all concerned.
The school house at Douglas was built many years ago, and leaves much to be desired. One lack is the absence of black- boards. Those now in use do not give so much surface as should be in a school having so many pupils of different grades.
At South Douglas, owing to the small number of pupils, the school house answers its purpose fairly well. The out-buildings should be repaired.
TRANSPORTATION.
There were two men employed to transport pupils to East Douglas, Messrs. Bosma and Guertin, who carried pupils from districts south and north of the village respectively. At the be- ginning of the last term, as there was only one pupil north of the village who required and used the means of transportation, the committee, with the consent of the family interested, discon- tinued this route at a saving of ten dollars per week.
STATISTICS.
As last year, the statistics for the school year are made up from Sept. 1st. to Sept. 1st.,according to the present school law.
SUPPLIES AND SCHOOL BOOKS.
There should be a good unabridged dictionary in the schools at Douglas and South Douglas, and in the four higher schools in East Douglas. Those in use at present are almost destroyed by long use, and should be replaced. The funds in the hands of the purchasing agent have not been sufficient this year to en- able him to make these necessary additions.
Imperative need compelled the purchase of new geographies, readers, Latin text books and algebras, as most of the older books were completely destroyed by long use. The change in
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geographies has not been completed, as the larger books of the new series were not published in time to begin the fall term. Money will be needed for this purpose the ensuing year.
CHANGES IN TEACHERS.
Last March the committee found itself face to face with a va cancy in the grammar school caused by the resignation, after more than ten years of efficient service, of Miss Lincoln. Miss Caro Wyman was selected to fill the situation, and the school has gone on with no loss in efficiency.
At the beginning of the fall term, in order to ensure the ser- vices of Miss Bumstead for another year, the committee granted a leave of absence which was accidentally lengthened by the failure of a trans-Atlantic steamship company to supply trans- portation according to its contract with passengers. The com - mittee was fortunate in being able to fill the temporary vacancy by Mrs. Carpenter's services. At the end of the term, however, an offer of a school in Everett caused Miss Bumstead's resigna- tion here, and the committee secured Miss Mary A. Wyman to fill the position the rest of the year.
It would not have been surprising if so many changes had se- riously damaged the school, both as regards discipline and scholarship. The committee is pleased to note, however, that notwithstanding the disadvantageous conditions, the grade of work done seems to have suffered no loss, and the discipline of the room is excellent.
SUPERINTENDENCY.
Members of the committee acting as individuals, secured the insertion of an article in the town warrant to see if the town would instruct the school committee to unite with some other town in employing a superintendent of schools.
There is no doubt that the employment of a trained superin- tendent would increase the efficiency of our school system in many ways. Thorough supervision is impossible under our
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present system. Under the law of the state, on or before July 1st, 1902, a superintendent must be employed, either by this town alone, or in union with another one or two towns as may seem best. The law further makes provision where the assessed valuation is below $2,500,000, for reimbursing the additional ex- pense, providing the number of schools is not less than 14. We have only ten schools, but by uniting with some other town and bringing not less than 25 schools under superintendency, we may have a trained man without materially increasing the ex- pense to the town.
Another alternative is the employment of a high school prin- cipal to act as superintendent in addition to his work as teacher. This would make it necessary to employ an additional teacher in the high school, or suffer a loss of efficiency in that impor- tant department.
This year the visiting member of the committee has visited the schools two or three times per term, and has met the teach- ers in a teachers' meeting informally and at irregular intervals. The other members of the committee have attended to financial and disciplinary matters as occasion demanded.
PAUL F. ELA, S. F. ROOT, C. J. BATCHELLER,
Superintending Committee.
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