Town annual report for the town of Duxbury for the year ending 1901-1910, Part 19

Author: Duxbury (Mass.)
Publication date: 1901
Publisher: The Town
Number of Pages: 1404

USA > Massachusetts > Plymouth County > Duxbury > Town annual report for the town of Duxbury for the year ending 1901-1910 > Part 19

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It is thought by some, and perhaps by many, that the schools of this town are costing too much. If this is true, then it must be true, to a still greater degree, concerning the schools of the state as a whole, for the average cost per pupil is much less than in the state at large. In making this comparison the re- port of the year 1900 is used, and the desire is to show just how heavily the burden of taxation for the support of its schools falls upon the citizens of the town.

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On page 13, Report of 1900, is noted the amount of $3,600 appropriated for the support of schools. On page 14, for in- cidentals $700 ; for repairs on schoolhouses, $400; for Superin- tendent of Schools, $250, making the entire amount raised by taxation, $4,950. It should be noted that in the case of each of the above accounts there was for 1900 an unexpended bal- ance, as follows : Support of schools, $262.85 ; incidentals, $88.81 ; repairs, $109.02; Superintendent, $166.66, making a total of $627.34 unexpended balance. When this balance is deducted from the amount appropriated, the difference in the average cost per pupil is still more marked. But as the amount appropriated represents the burden of taxation, these figures alone are taken.

The basis of expenses in the reports sent out each year by the State Board of Education, is the average attendance of all pupils. The average attendance in Duxbury for the last year was 215. Dividing the appropriation, $4,950, by this number, will give $23.03 as the average cost per pupil in the town for one year. On the same basis the average cost per pupil throughout the state last year was $26.49, or $3.46 more than in Duxbury. Would it not be wise to raise this to a point somewhat nearer the average in the state?

Excellence of schools is judged by those who have no inti- mate knowledge of them, almost wholly by the amount of money spent in their support. In a great degree this judg- ment is more or less correct. The more money appropriated to build a schoolhouse the better the schoolhouse may be. The more money applied toward the salaries of teachers, the better the teachers which it is possible to secure. The more money at hand for books and supplies the better equipped the schools may be.

The average cost, per pupil, in our schools, as shown above, is about $3.50 less than the average in the state.

Are we willing to admit that these figures properly represent the comparative merits of our schools? If not, where is the discrepancy ? In what respect does this low money output prove our schools inferior to the average? Answering the former of the last two questions, it is no more than fair to state that a part of this discrepancy, but not all, is accounted for in the fact that the high school (Partridge Academy) is but partially supported by taxation. Should the amount of money derived from private sources for Partridge Academy be raised

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for a high school, by taxation, as is necessary in a great ma- jority of towns in the state, the average cost per pupil would be somewhat nearer the average in the state. Somewhat nearer, but yet about two dollars per pupil below the average. Where then is the difference? Wherein are our schools losing financial support usually accorded those in other towns? Are the teachers underpaid ? A careful study of conditions in towns of about the size of this, convinces me that the difference is not here. If we ask ourselves, are our schools well supplied with enough materials, as books, stationery, etc., the answer must be in the affirmative.

The difference is not in the quality of teachers, nor in the quantity of supplies. A more earnest and conscientious corps of teachers would be hard to find. Supplies are abundant.

There is, however, one feature which thus far has failed to receive any support from the voters of the town. This feature has been alluded to in nearly every report for the last six or seven years, and these allusions have marked the end of the matter from year to year.

Drawing and music are practically ignored in our schools. An appropriation of four hundred dollars would place the schools on a par with those in other towns. Without it, or without a special vote of the town to employ special teachers in these departments, we must and do lack two features, im- portant and even necessary, in every school curriculum.

The petitioners who secured the act in 1870, which opened a new era in drawing in the schools of the state, said to the Leg- islature, "Every branch of manufacture requires some knowl- edge of drawing, and the arts of design." If this was true in 1870, it can certainly be none the less true today.

Regarding music, Secretary Hill says, "The value of music in the schools can scarcely be over stated." Eighty-five per cent of all the pupils in the state are under special teachers in music. Are the school authorities having charge of the train- ing of this great majority of the children of Massachusetts wrong? Are they throwing away the money thus expended when they give these children the benefits of special instruc- tors in drawing and music? If not, are the voters of Duxbury right in denying their children like privileges?

To the writer it is not a question of whether or not we can afford to do it, but can we afford not to do it.

May we not have an appropriation of four hundred dollars

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at the coming town meeting to maintain special instruction in these two branches ?

The opening of the new school in the village will mark an advance over present conditions. Not, however, as much as might have been desired.

The building just completed will house two schools better than they are now housed. When this is said, all is said. The grading of the schools needed improvement. This has not been changed at all.

To make possible such work as the Academy ought to do, two classes ought to be taken out and placed in the public schools, making a nine years' course before entering the Aca- demy. This would allow the Academy to do work belonging to a high school. As it is, two years of what is practically grammar school work is now done there.

The statictics regarding attendance to be found on the fol- lowing pages speak for themselves, and little comment is need- ed here.

The general average has dropped from 91.2 last year to 88.

Three schools, The Academy, Ashdod and Millbrook, show a slight increase over last year, while all of the other eight show a greater or less decrease.

Against 8,050 absences last year there are for this year 9,777. More tardiness and more dismissals are reported than last year. The reasons for these figures it might profit each parent to ponder.

Respectfully submitted, EDGAR LINCOLN WILLARD, Superintendent of Schools.

January 1, 1903.

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REPORT OF THE COMMITTEE ON THE RE- LATION OF THE PARTRIDGE ACADEMY TO THE TOWN.

To the voters of the town-

The following vote was passed at the last annual town meet- ing ;

"That the Moderator appoint a committee of three in regard to the relation of the Partridge Academy to the Town."

We the undersigned were appointed as the committee, or- ganized on the 18th of June, and chose officers as named. We have given much thought and time to the subject, and would make the following report, a simple statement of facts, as to the relation that the Partridge Academy at present stands towards the town.

Mr. George Partridge died in 1828, his will made in 1823 contained the following provision relating to the Academy :

"I give and bequeath to Rev. John Allyn, D. D., of Duxbury, Rev. Zephaniah Willis, of Kingston, Rev. James Kendall, of Plymouth, Samuel A. Frazar, Esq., of Duxbury, and John Sever, Esq., of Kingston, ten thousand dollars in the six per cent. stock of the United States, in trust, for the establishment of a school or academy in the town of Duxbury, and my will is that the said trustees and their successors keep the said sum at interest, and interest at interest, in some safe fund, the ac- cruing interest from time to time to be received until by ac- cumulation the fund shall be sufficient, in the estimation of the trustees, for the purchase of a lot of land and for the erection of a suitable building and accommodations for such school or academy, and for the support of the same respectably and ad- vantageously, with such aid as may be derived from assess- ments on pupils received from other towns. And for the maintenance of said trust it is my will and direction that, upon the death, resignation or incapacity of any of said trustees, the remaining trustees shall forthwith supply such vacancy by their election ; and when, by accumulation of the fund, it shall be thought expedient to establish and open said school or academy, the trustees then in being, shall add two more to their number, making seven, the full and complete board for putting

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this bequest into operation, and for the entire regulation and control of said institution, and all its interests and concerns, the said board of trustees to fill all vacancies in their number occasioned by death or otherwise, by election to be made by the surviving or remaining trustees, or a majority of them ; and to obtain and receive corporate powers for all the purposes of the institution, if an incorporation shall be thought necessary or expedient.

In regard to the conduction of the affairs of said school or academy, I rely on the prudence and intelligence of the trus- tees, who will determine the objects and modes of instruction. My desire and intention is to provide in my native town for a higher degree of instruction in the mathematics, geography, history, languages, and other branches of good learning than the common schools supply, but not to provide a substitute for such schools so important to be constantly maintained. The trustees will, therefore, regulate the age at which scholars should be received in said school or academy. It is my direc- tion that they be not admitted under ten years of age, and the trustees are at liberty to assign a different limitation, not ex- ceeding twelve years of age, for the time of admission. They will also direct whether the institution shall be open for the reception of the youth of both sexes, or be confined to boys. In regard to the location of the school or academy, my will is that it be in such part of the town of Duxbury as I may, in writing, under my hand designate and leave with one of the trustees above named; and if no such designation be left by me, then the location to be in such place in the town of Dux- bury as a majority of the full board of seven trustees shall de- termine. I further will and direct that, in case of applications for admission into said school or academy being at any time be- yond the regulated number, the applications from the town of Duxbury shall have priority ; and scholars from said school or academy free of assessment or expense, excepting fuel and for books, paper and other materials necessary in their educa- tion, and not belonging to the institution."

An act was passed by the Legislature in 1829 called an "Act to Incorporate the Trustees of Partridge Academy in Dux- bury." In 1843 the Academy building was built, and the first session of the school was held in 1844.

The number of trustees was then increased to seven, in con- formity with Mr. Partridge's will. The school at this time

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was the best in this part of Plymouth County, and continued self supporting till the year 1881, when it asked its first con- tribution from the town. The sum at first contributed was $300, $150 from a town appropriation, $150 from the State school fund. This amount has been gradually increased until the present year, when the appropriation was $1,000. The following letter has been received from the Secretary of the School Committee.

Duxbury, Aug. 18th, 1902. Mr. Wm. J. Burgess, Secretary, etc.

DEAR SIR .- In reply to your letter of August 12, asking what action the school committee take in the affairs at the Partridge Academy, I would say that we have no voice in the election of teachers, but all other matters we decide in joint committee, for instance, the examination of all pupils for ad- mission, and the decision in doubtful cases of pupils entering under conditions.

I enclose a copy of a vote taken at a meeting held April 3, 1890, pertaining to the school superintendent.

"At a meeting of trustees of Partridge Academy and Chair- man of School Committee the following vote was taken :

Voted-That the Superintendent of Schools be invited to visit the Academy and High School of the town, examine any classes and methods of instruction, discipline, and other mat- ters pertaining to the welfare of the school, and report to joint committee of trustees and school committee.

H. E. SMITH, Clerk, Board of Trustees."

In closing, I would say, that the trustees of Partridge Aca- demy are very willing to act in unison with the school commit- tee on all questions pertaining to the welfare of the school.

Yours truly, WM. J. ALDEN, Secretary School Committee.

These academies, of which ours is one, were founded in dif- ferent parts of the State, mostly in the early part of the past century, although a few of them were started the latter part of the 18th century, soon after the Revolution. They always received the fostering care of the state, and often its financial

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aid, principally in grants of land to partially support them, but it was not then considered that they could be supported by taxation, as it was not thought at that time the State should educate its children, without cost to themselves, above the grade of district schools.

The academies varied in the amount of tuition which each pupil paid, but in the greater number of them the pupils paid something.

About the middle of the past century the first high schools were started, supported wholly by taxation, and these dealt a crushing blow to many of the academies, in fact, all of those that charged tuition. About this time a fear was spread abroad that some of the powerful religious associations were intend- ing, in some localities, to get control of the school fund for sec- tarian purposes. This fear became so strong that in 1855 an amendment was passed to the Constitution of the State, for- bidding money raised by taxation to be expended, except un- der the "order and superintendence of the Town Authorities," and in 1869 the Supreme Court of the State, in a suit brought by some citizens objecting to the town in which they lived, partially supporting one of the academies, affirmed the Consti- tutionality of the amendment and restrained the town.

The State Board of Education, which exercised a super- vision over the schools of the Commonwealth, defined by the statutes, in its report of 1897, submits the opinion of the At- torney General on matters bearing on this subject, which is here given in full.

Approval of Academies-Under chapter 94, Acts of 1895, certain academies were approved by the Board for the purpose therein stated. In view of an important opinion by the At- torney-General, the Board has not deemed it expedient to take further action under this law.

Attorney-General's Opinion .- This opinion has so import- ant a bearing in several directions that it is here given in full:

Office of theAttorney-General, Boston, March 18, 1896.

Hon. George P. Lawrence, President of the Senate.

DEAR SIR :- I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of a copy of an order adopted February 18, 1896, requestin~ the

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"opinion of the Attorney-General upon the following import- ant questions of law :"-

"First. Is it constitutional for a town to grant and vote money to pay the tuition of children attending an academy in said town in accordance with chapter 94 of the Acts of 1895?

"Second. Is it constitutional for a town to grant and vote money to pay the tuition of children attending an academy out- side of said town ?"

I. The act referred to in the first question (Stats. 1895, chap. 94) is as follows : "Section I. Any town in which a high school is not maintained, but in which an academy of equal or higher grade is maintained, may grant and vote money to pay the tuition of children residing in such town and attending such academy : provided, such academy is approved for that purpose by the state board of education."

So far as this act is in the exercise of the general power conferred by the legislative department to raise money by tax- ation for public purposes, there is no reason to doubt that it is within the authority of the Legislature. The education of the young has been from the earliest times regarded as one of the highest and most useful public purposes for which taxes may be levied. But the method by which money raised and appropriated for educational purposes may be expended was regulated and limited by the eighteenth arti- cle of the amendments to the Constitution, which is as follows : "ART. XVIII. All moneys raised by taxation in the towns and cities for the support of public schools, and all moneys which may be appropriated by the state for the support of com- mon schools, shall be applied to, and expended in, no other schools than those which are conducted according to law, un- der the order and superintendence of the authorities of the town or city in which the money is to be expended; and such moneys shall never be appropriated to any religious sect for the maintenance, exclusively, of its own schools."

I am of opinion that the statute in question purports to au- thorize the expenditure of money raised by taxation in a man- ner prohibited by this article, and is therefore unconstitutional.

I assume that by the word "academy" is meant a school, in- corporated or otherwise, which is not under the control of the municipal authorities. If the control is vested in the town to such an extent that it is "conducted according to law under the order and superintendence of the authorities of the town,"

Duxbury

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then it becomes a public school, and tuition may not be col- lected from the children of the town in whose control it is vested ; but if the control of the schools is not vested in the au- thorities of the town, it is a private school, against which the prohibition of the constitutional amendment was plainly directed.

Public Statutes, chapter 44, section 2, provides that "Every town may, and every town containing five hundred families or householders according to the last public census taken by the authority either of the Commonwealth or of the United States, shall, besides the schools prescribed in the preceding section, maintain a high school," etc. It has been held by the Su- preme Judicial Court (Jenkins vs. Andover, 103 Mass. 94, 97, 98) that high schools are a part of the system of public schools which the towns of the State may be required to provide for and maintain. The Legislature, however, has seen fit not to require of certain towns the duty of maintaining high schools. The obvious purpose of Statutes 1895, chapter 94, is to provide a means of high school education for the children of such towns. This purpose is accomplished by authorizing the pay- ment of money raised by taxation for the high school educa- tion of the children in any such town in a private educational institution of equal or higher grade, which is approved by the State Board of Education.

The academy so approved, therefore, becomes in such a town a part of the system of education of the children of the town. It takes the place of the high school. For all practi- cal purposes it is the high school of the town, supported, so far as the pupils of the town are concerned, by money raised by taxation. But it is still a school which is not "under the or- der and superintendence of the authorities of the city or town in which the money is to be expended."

It is of no consequence that the tuition of such pupils may not be paid from money especially appropriated by the town for the support of its public schools. The question is not one of mere appropriation. The purpose of the constitutional amendment was to prohibit the use of public funds for the ed- ucation of the children of the Commonwealth in any institu- tion, however conducted, and whether sectarian or not, the control of which is not in the municipal authorities. If the expenditure be for the purpose of the education of the children of the town, it is within the spirit of the prohibition of the amendment. (Jenkins vs. Andover, 103 Mass. 94.)

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Undoubtedly the statute in question may be in some cases of great benefit to the children of small towns, and incidentally to the tax-payers of the towns, who are thus relieved from the disproportionate expense of maintaining a high school estab- lished for the benefit of a few pupils. The question, however, is not to be determined by considerations of mere convenience in special cases. If this statute is allowed to stand, the policy of paying the tuition of school children may be further ex- tended ; and it might even be possible to provide for the educa- tion of all the children of a town in sectarian schools and at the public expense,-a proposition which the people of the Com- monwealth would be slow, I apprehend, to accept, and against which, indeed, the amendment in question may be said to have been principally directed.

II. For the reasons already stated, I am of opinion that it would be unconstitutional for a town to grant and vote money to pay the tuition of children attending an academy outside of said town.

Very respectfully, HOSEA M. KNOWLTON, Attorney-General.

There are now in the state fifteen academies whose funds will not permit them to give free tuition to their pupils, or in other words, are not self-supporting, and that serve as high schools under various degrees of joint control of trustees and school committee. The trustees in some managing and con- trolling only their funds, in others, where the schools are large, the teachers teaching high school studies are under control of the school committee, and studies outside of high school re- quirements, taught by teachers under the control of trustees.

Your Committee, at the request of the Chairman of the Trus- tees of the Partridge Academy, loaned to them the informa- tion we had collected, and would here acknowledge their polite- ness in loaning us documents on the same subject.

Respectfully submitted, LAURENCE BRADFORD, Chairman, ELISHA PETERSON, WILLIAM J. BURGESS, Secretary.

PARTRIDGE ACADEMY.

To the School Committee of Duxbury-

GENTLEMEN-The period covered by this report is the cal- endar year 1902, rather than the school year 1901-1902.

During the winter term the work of the school was seriously interrupted. The school was closed for nearly three weeks on account of an epidemic of measles, and when sessions were re- sumed it was with only seventy-five (75) per cent. of the pu- pils present. During the two remaining terms of the year there has been little to interrupt the regular work. In the middle of the fall term a second assistant was employed for half-time. With this addition to the teaching force it has been possible to have longer recitation periods, and at the same time to have more recitations per week. With this change it necessarily followed that the time in school for study was les- sened. In order to prepare for their work properly, pupils of high school grades should study out of school quite as many hours per week as they have for study in school, exclusive of recitation periods. Parents and guardians can aid very much by so regulating the hours for recreation that time may be left for necessary study. During the high school course, the school-work should be the pupils' chief occupation, and if other matters were postponed until the course was completed, there would be less pupils who failed to do the required work. It is impossible for the average high school pupil to do his work properly, and at the same time to devote a considerable por- tion of his time to other matters, which may be harmless or even desirable in themselves. Should the present arrange- ment between the town and the Academy be continued, the course of study should be such that it would include four years of high school work. In my last report to the committee I referred to this matter at considerable length, and I will sim- ply repeat the recommendation there made. If the course should be so modified that it included one year of elementary (grammar) work and four of high school work, the second as- sistant should be employed for full time. The work in draw-

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ing at the Grammar school is a decided help to the classes en- · tering the Academy from that school, but until the pupils of all the schools have had instruction in that subject, it is impossi- ble for the Academy to do the work in drawing that it should do. The same is true of music.

The report for the attendance is for the year ending June, 1902. In spite of the sickness referred to above, the per cent. of attendance is a little higher than for the preceding year. Al- though there has been a decrease of more than forty (40) per cent. in the number of cases of tardiness, the number is still larger than it should be. In the absence of any means of giv- ing a signal for no session, it is my practice to have a session on all days that it is possible to do so. I feel that the suspen- sion of school now and then would naturally give rise to more or less uncertainty in all unpleasant weather. In towns that have come under the writer's notice the no-session signal did not apply to the high schools. If the bell in the meeting-house of the First (Unitarian) Parish was properly hung, a signal could be given that might be heard by a considerable number, perhaps all, of the pupils. The pupils in the upper part of the town ride to the Academy, providing their own means for transportation. Often pupils from two or more families come in the same team. It would seem as if some arrangement might be made by which pupils in the lower part of the town might ride to school in stormy weather at a small expense.

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Town annual report for the town of Duxbury for the year ending 1901-1910, Part 19

Author: Duxbury (Mass.) Publication date: 1901 Publisher: The Town Number of Pages: 1404

Author: Duxbury (Mass.)
Publication date: 1901
Publisher: The Town
Number of Pages: 1404