USA > Massachusetts > Bristol County > Berkley > Town annual report of Berkley 1852-1887 > Part 9
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Expended on Town Farm, $471.82
POOR OUT OF ALMSHOUSE.
Baker & Evans, supplies to A. Shepard, $6.71
City of Taunton, supplies to S. D. Briggs, 2.00
6. 66 " Mary French, 10.00
A. Shepard, sawing wood for M. Newhall, 3.00
C. P. Knapp,
66 8.28
B. L. Burt & Co., supplies to
14.38
" C. B. Hathaway, 71.00
H. A. Dean, house rent, 66 45.00
B. L. Burt & Co., supplies to Dyer Paull. 12.86
Baker & Evans. 66
13.90
W. L. White & Co., “
66
5.52
D. H. Cahoon, 66 66 66
1.38
H. A. Dean, house rent,
9.50
Dr. Hathaway, medical attendance on C. B.
Hathaway,
2.00
$205 53
INCIDENTALS.
E. B. Babbitt. expenses to Tewksbury, $18.70
Town of Middleboro' care of fish,
20.00
B. C. Bank. note and interest. 363.12
C. E. Monroe, blank book,
3.85
H. Dean, care of Town Hall, (1873,)
5.56
B. C. Bank, interest one year on $1,200,
90.00
S. O. Dunbar, tax book.
2.50
E. Davol, printing report, (1873,) 26.00
Reed Brothers, printing posters. 5.25
Win: Babbitt, attending bridge case, 16.14
Geo. Marston, counsel on bridge case. 78.00
9
Mrs. Burt's tax abatement,
$3.49
Cox & Wardell, stove pipe for Town Hall, 8.64
J. W. Carpenter, cleaning pipe in No. 2, 1.00
Dr. Hathaway, medical attendance,
8.60
H. Bullock, guide boards,
25.00
Reed Brothers, printing voting list,
3.00
W. H. Fox, counsel,
31.00
E. B. Babbitt, serving dog warrant, &c.
10.00
Discounts, Abatements and Sinkages,
370.55
Collector's Bill,
50.00
J. A. Read, care of Town Hall,
5.50
Treasurer's Commission,
66.98
Deed for Old School-house at Bridge,
1.00
$1,213.88
REPAIRS OF HIGHWAYS AND BRIDGES.
Albert Burt,
$17.00
E. Wilbur,
7.00
D. Paull,
3.60
H. Dean,
1.16
J. Cummings,
.16
J. Hathaway,
4.12
D. Sanford,
.16
C. P. Knapp,
141.80
D. Caswell,
11.10
Wmn. Seymour,
7.00
Otis Haskell,
21.00
C. French,
16.20
David Strange,
9.90
T. Seekell,
39.43
J. T. Townsend,
46.60
Silas Norcutt
13.00
N. H. Strange.
37.70
J. F. Richmond, 3
4.80
10
Thomas Terry,
7.00
H. W. Clark,
6.80
N. G. Bowen, 33.80
Alvin Briggs,
27 00
Wm. Macomber,
5.50
Samuel Norcutt,
3.00
T. T. Burt,
16.00
W. K. Evans.
46.56
B. Norcutt,
13.00
S. Phillips,
5.00
J. Puffer,
3.50
G. Westgate,
20.50
J. R. Elsbrec, 5.00
R. H. Babbitt, 4.00
J. C. Cranc.
4.40
A. Cummings,
14.00
J. W. Thrasher & Son,
9.40
A. Babbitt,
8.00
G. L. Leach,
14.00
1. Babbitt,
8.00
W. H. S. Crane,
10.60
J. Read.
9.50
N. Hathaway.
10.00
F. Newhall,
17.00
H. A. Haines,
1.00
Davis Allen,
6.20
.W. H. S. Crane,
4.00
S. Covel,
2.00
J. II. Covel,
2.00
C. Haskins,
3.80
A. Cummings,
4.05
Israel Chace,
11.30
E. Briggs,
7.00
I. & G. Harmon,
13.68
J. B. & J. D. Dillingham.
18.53
11
Enoch Boyce,
9.00
E. Belcher,
3.30
E. Maguire,
2.00
S. Nichols,
5.70
T. F. Dean,
10.50
A. E. Dcan, 12.80
E. Dean,
4.60
James Maguire,
13.80
P. L. Chace,
12.80
John Boyce,
11.00
J. Pierce,
3.00
J. H. Macomber, 5.80
Aleck Gray,
1.00
B. F. Chace,
2.80
B. Luther,
3.20
F. Luther,
3.00
J. Grinnell,
5.00
J. T. Dean,
1.50
B. F. Coombs,
6.00
C. A. Davis,
5.50
T. J. Tew.
1.36
D. Phillips,
2.70
E. Terry,
6.00
Otis Haskell,
18.09
J. Staples.
7.50
C. O. Thrasher,
10.05
Apollos Seekell,
8.00
W. K. Evans,
1.00
J. H. Covel.
2.00
B. H. Thrasher,
30.00
D. Webster,
2.00
Hercules Dean,
22.02
George Strange,
4.80
Alfred Pierce,
4.00
P. L. Chase,
3.40
12
T. F. Dean, 2.90
A. E. Dean, 2.70
B. H. Thrasher,
15.00
S. Huckins,
7.00
F. Newhall and others
6.00
$1,049.85
ATTENDING BRIDGE.
J. C. Standish,
$67.50
Thomas D. Standish,
33.75
$101.25
Expended on highways and bridges,
$1,130.73
Property belonging to the Town of Berkley.
Town House,
$1,000.00
Town Farm, 3,500.00
Valuation of stock, provisions, hay, farm- ing utensils, &c., on Town Farm,
1,054.40
Iron safe for use of the town,
75.00
Book Case,
18.00
Two Fish Notes due June 1st, 1875,
143.00
Eleven Oyster Notes, due June 1st, 1875, '76, '77, '78, '79, '80. '81. '82, '83, '84 and '85, 13,460.00
State Aid due from State, 126.00
Cash in Treasury, April 8th 11.01
$19.387.41
Indebtedness of the Town.
B. C. Savings Bank Note, $1,200.00 James Webster, note renewed April 1, '74, 350.85 Interest on the same, 25.61
Enoch Boyce, note renewed April 1st, '74,
233.79
Interest on the same, 17.06
$1,827.31
JOHN A. REED, Treasurer of Berkley.
1
SCHOOL REPORT
OF THE
TOWN OF BERKLEY, 1874-5.
Fellow Citizens :-
In presenting to you their Report of the Schools for the year just closed, your Committee would congratulate you on the fact that your School-house No. 5, an elegant and convenient building, was completed in the Fall, and entered upon at the commencement of the Winter, and has, with other schools been run with success until the close of the year.
At the commencement of the year, owing to the large num- ber of candidates for the office of teacher, your Committee insti- tuted a written competitive examination of all the candidates, including those who had previously been employed in the town as teachers ; and they are happy to state that the most success- ful competitors were our own teachers. These they of course employed, and others as they were needed throughout the year.
TEACHERS.
The teachers employed during the year have been the following : Mrs. Nellie R. Strange has taught No. 1 dur- ing the summer terms, and No. 5 during the winter. No. 2 has been taught during the year by Miss Annie E. Carpenter. No. 3 has had the services of Miss Delia T. Standish during the two summer terms, and seven weeks of the latter part of the winter term. Miss Josephine Thaxter taught No 3 dur- ing the first nine weeks of the winter term. No. 4 has been taught during the summer terms by Mrs. Sarah A. Balcom, and
4
14
by Miss Delia T. Standish during the first nine weeks of the winter term, and by Mr. Charles F. Cole, a graduate of Bridge- water Normal School, during the last seven weeks of the term. No. 5 has been taught during the winter by Mrs. Nellie R. Strange ; and No. 6 has been taught by Miss Hattie E. French during the summer term ; by Miss Abbie II. Harris during the fall term ; by Mr. J. W. Fairley the first nine weeks of the winter, and by Miss Annie B. Wilbur during the remaining ser- en weeks.
Your Committee by no means approve of changing a teach- er Ircm one school to another in the same year, nor yet of the employment of new teachers at different times in the same year ; but the course they have pursued has been a matter of necessity. One teacher they dismissed at the end of the fall term ; another in the middle of the winter term, at her own request.
SCHOOL TIME.
Five of your schools have been in session during the year. seven months and a half, or thirty weeks in all. This time has been divided into the following terms : Short summer term of six weeks, commencing on the first Monday in May. Fall term of eight weeks, commencing on the first Monday in September ; and a winter term of sixteen weeks, commencing on the first Monday after Thanksgiving. No. 5 has been run sixteen weeks in the Winter, and four scholars from that district were paid for at neighboring schools during the Summer. These of course must be deducted from the number attending No. 5 school. as they are accounted for elsewhere.
WHOLE NUMBER FNROLLED
The whole number in our town, of school age, is one hun- dred and twenty. The whole number enrolled as scholars for the year, has been one hundred and nineteen. Of these twenty- two are over fifteen, and four under five. These deducted from one hundred and nineteen, leaves the whole number of enrolled scholars of school age, ninety-three ; showing that there are in the town twenty-seven children, or nearly twenty-three per cent.
1'5
of the whole number whose school education is being neglected. Three of these have been at school in another town, which makes the percentage of neglectors a little less, a little over twenty-two.
The following table prepared with more or less accuracy, will show the whole number of scholars (nrolled, with the aver- age attendance at each school, and the per cent of attendance, together with the cost of each scholar :
No. of school.
Whole No. Enrolled.
Average Attendence.
Per Cent. of Attendence.
Cost per Scholar.
No. 1
24
21
872
$11 802
No. 2
26
22
85
11 27
No. 3
27
22
81
11 27
No. 4
21
17
81
14 58
No. 5
9
7
78
21 40
No. 6
12
9
75
27 55
119
98
814
$16 312
If the whole number of scholars enrolled had attended every day, the cost for each scholar per day would have been about 7 3-4 cents. But 3150 days were lost through absence, which makes the cost of each scholar, a little over nine cents per day ; so that through absence, whether through wilfulness or neces- sity, $383.50 were thrown away, or more than would have run another school thougout the whole year. But something besides money was lost to the town.
Supposing each child in the school gets one new idea in the day, there is a loss to the town of 3150 ideas. Let the money go ! But the ideas-can the community afford to lose them ?
In putting the matter in this way, your Committee think they make a stronger appeal to parents, children and teachers, than all the moralizing found ir. all the school reports of the state. Let our teachers aim at. at the very least, one new idea
16
in the day, and let parents aim at the same thing, and we may then look for a generation of men and women of thought and not of parrots.
Respectfully submitted, SAMUEL FAIRLEY, HERBERT N. DEAN, Committee. BENJAMIN F. CHASE,
REPORTS
OF THE
SCHOOL COMMITTEE
AND
TREASURER
OF THE
TOWN OF BERKLEY,
1875-6.
TAUNTON : PRINTED AT THE REPUBLICAN STEAM PRINTING ROOMS. 1876.
REPORTS
OF THE
SCHOOL COMMITTEE
AND
TREASURER
OF THE
TOWN OF BERKLEY,
1875-6.
TAUNTON : PRINTED AT THE REPUBLICAN STEAM PRINTING ROOMS. 1876.
Report of the Treasurer of the Town of Berkley for the Year ending April 1st, 1876.
-
RECEIPTS.
Cash in Treasury April 1st, 1875,
$11 01
State, County and Town taxes,
4370 46
B. C. Savings Bank note,
700 00
C. L. Lovering,
500 00
1 Oyster note,
400 00
2 Fish . «
143 00
State Treasurer for State aid,
126 00
" Nat. Bank tax,
210 48
66
" Corporation tax,
14 32
66
" State paupers,
2 40
66
66 " School fund,
224 06
County 66 " Dog fund,
106 19
City of Fall River on account C. B. Hathaway and family,
88 00
$6,895 92
EXPENDITURES.
State and County taxes,
1015 35
Highways and bridges,
1220 80
Notes and interest,
813 25
Public schools,
1916 11
Repairs of school houses,
166 53
Support of poor out of almshouse,
197 48
Clearing snow from highways,
.
160 45
State aid,
172 50
Selectmen,
81 00
Assessors,
72 00
School Committee,
77 00
Incidentals, discounts and abatements,
1003 45
$6895 92
4
EXPENDITURES IN DETAIL.
State tax, $540 00
County tax,
475 35
NOTES AND INTEREST.
B. C. Savings Bank note, 66 interest,
113 25
Expended for notes and interest, $813 25
SELECTMEN.
William Babbitt,
56 75
Peter L. Chase,
10 50
Isaac Babbitt, Expended for Selectmen,
13 75
81 00
SCHOOL COMMITTEE.
Samuel Fairley,
50 00
Benj. F. Chase,
15 00
H. A. Dean, Expended for School Committee,
12 00
77 00
ASSESSORS.
Thomas C. Dean,
24 00
Enoch Boyce,
24 00
Noah H. Strange, Expended for Assessors,
24 00
72 00
STATE AID.
T. P. Burt, 18 months,
108 00
Lewis Green, 15 "
45 00
Bildad Williams, 13 "
19 50
Expended for State Aid,
172 50
PUBLIC SCHOOLS.
Balance of previous appropriations unexpended, $535 31
Town appropriations for 1875, 1200 00
State School fund, 224 06
County dog fund,
. 106 19
Total for schools,
$2065 56
EXPENDED FOR TEACHERS.
Nellie R. Strange, 1874,
128 00
Delia T. Standish, 66 128 00
$700 00
5
Annie E. Carpenter, 1874,
56 00
A. B. Wilbur 66
56 00
Sarah A. Balcom,
66
56 00
Walter D. Nichols,
113 75
Nellie R. Strange,
216 00
Frank Copeland,
216 00
A. B. Wilbur,
168 00
Annie E. Carpenter,
216 00
Delia T. Standish,
216 00
Sarah A. Balcom,
96 00
Susan E. Babbitt,
48 00
Expended for Teachers,
$1713 75
FUEL AND INCIDENTALS.
Frank Nichols, building fires,
3 25
Everett Pierce, 66
5 10
Frank Copeland, pail and chalk.
1 28
W. D. Hathaway, building fires and getting in wood, 5 50
S. Knapp, for wood, 4 25
T. L. & J. H. Church, "1874,"
20 73
26 00
C. O. Thrasher, sawing wood,
2 50
Thomas F. Dean, for wood,
8 25
Gideon H. Babbatt, for wood,
30 00
G. W. Caswell, building fires,
4 00
Wm. G. Hathaway, rebinding dictionary,
3 50
C. P. Knapp, for wood, Annie E. Carpenter, dipper and school crayons,
45
S. Knapp, for wood,
16 50
H. A. Dean, for wood and sundries,
8 75
Noah H. Strange, for wood and cutting,
23 50
Nellie R. Strange, chalk and dipper,
35
Frank Copeland, for broom,
45
B. & H. F. Macomber, sawing wood,
17 00
Geo. K. Paull, sawing wood,
3 00
Lewis D. Terry, building fires, 1874,
4 00
B. F. Coombs,
4 00
Fred'k Macomber, building fires and getting in wood, 5 00
Expended for Fuel and Incidentals, 202 36
Total expended for Teachers and Incidentals, 1,916 11
149 45
Balance unexpended,
5 00
6
REPAIR OF SCHOOL HOUSES.
Thomas G. Chase, houses No. 1, 2 and 4, John A. Reed, 9 53
152 00
N. G. Case, 5 00
Expended for Repairs,
166 53
CLEARING SNOW FROM HIGHWAYS.
Noah H. Strange,
1 80
John F. Richmond,
2 00
Henry W. Clark,
3 60
Rollin H. Babbitt,
2 40
Adoniram Babbitt,
1 60
Horace Babbitt,
95
Cyrus Hathaway,
1 40
Francis Newhall,
1 40
Isaac Babbitt,
1 30
John C. Crane,
1 20
Giles L. Leach,
2 40
William W. French,
80
Simeon Briggs Jr.,
60
Alexander E. Burt,
60
Samuel Covel,
45
James H. Covel,
90
Henry Haines,
80
Charles O. Thrasher,
1 20
W. H. S. Crane and George Roberts,
3 70
Adoniram Cummings,
70
B. H. Thrasher,
2 00
Enoch Macomber and others,
35 60
Joseph T. Cummings,
4 50
Sumner Knapp,
11 80
Stephen A. Burt,
1 30
Elijah Wilbur,
2 00
Lewis Green,
2 80
Nathan G. Case,
1 90
Amos H. Allen,
60
Green,
45
Seth Briggs,
1 60
George Paull,
30
Willard Hathaway,
45
Henry Hathaway,
2 20
David Hoxie,
60
Jethro Ashley,
60
7
J. Q. Dillingham and others,
38 75
H. P. French,
3 20
William Caswell,
2 40
Thomas H. Seekell,
3 60
Charles Phillips,
1 20
John T. Townsend,
10 20
Cassius E. Viall,
1 00
Daniel Caswell,
80
Arthur Jones,
80
Expended for Clearing Snow, $160 45
REPAIRS OF HIGHWAYS AND BRIDGES.
Appropriation by the town, Additional appropriations,
20 80
Total,
1,220 80
Allen Gray, for labor,
3 80
Peter L. Chase,
66
17 25
Benj. F. Chase, 66
6 00
Jeremiah Pierce,
3 60
Enoch Boyce,
66
12 00
John Boyce,
66
8 00
Obediah Lawton,
66
5 00
George Boyce,
66
1 00
Elisha Belcher,
66
3 00
Peter L. Hathaway est., labor,
6 25
John Macomber, labor,
5 00
Ebenezer Dean,
4 00
Albert Dean,
4 00
Thomas F. Dean,
7 60
Calvin Belcher,
1 00
W. D. Nichols,
66
13 50
J. T. Dean,
66
4 35
B. F. Coombs,
.6
10 40
Benj. Luther,
66
6 60
James Maguire,
66
6 40
Darius Phillips,
66
6 00
Frank Luther,
8 00
T. J. Tew,
66
6 00
John Grinnell,
5 00
Charles Davis,
7 75
E. D. Dillingham, gravel,
11 00
J. Q. Dillingham, labor,
2 50
$1200 00
8
John F. Richmond, labor,
3 00
Evander L. Strange, "
3 60
Thomas B. Dean, 66
16 00
Enoch Macomber, 66
62 78
Wm. Macomber, 66
19 72
Barnard Norcutt, 66
9 10
Frederick Macomber 66
4 00
George Westgate,
66
2 40
Alvin Briggs,
8 70
James Macomber, 66
3 00
Thomas 'T'. Burt,
5 40
George Macomber, 66
1 00
Frank Puffer, 66
2 60
Shepard Phillips,
66
6 60
H. A. Dean, 66
20 18
Henry Westgate, 66
3 00
Fremont Babbitt, 66
1 00
N. G. T. Bowen,
14 60
Silas Norcutt, 66
7 80
Sumner Knapp, 66
4 75
Samuel Norcutt,
66
3 00
Miles S. Dean, 66
4 00
King Evans,
gravel,
52
Thomas C. Dean,
66
1 00
Cyrus Haskins, labor,
24 00
Alfred Pierce, 66
8 00
Albert W. Allen, 66
7 70
John F. Richmond,
2 25
Evander L. Strange, "
3 60
Apollos Webster, 66
19 00
A. H. Strange,
11 80
David T. Strange, 66
8 00
Christopher P. French,
17 00
John T. Townsend, "
54 00
N. G. Townsend,
41 50
Isaac Seymour, 66
12 00
William Caswell, 66
4 00
Horace Green, 66
4 00
Cassius E. Viall, 66
3 20
Israel Chase, 66
6 36
B. F. Cheeney,
66
3 80
Joseph Staples, 66
6 60
Job Hamer, 66.
4 00
Eben Dean,
gravel,
2 28
Jason Cummings, 66
96
Wm. H. Evans, labor-
2 28
9
Joseph T. Cummings labor,
63 90
Sumner Knapp,
66
29 10
Bildad Williams,
4 80
Albert Burt, 66
8 00
Henry Hathaway,
5 00
Stephen B. Allen,
15 30
David Hoxie,
66
9 40
Austin J. Roberts, 66
4 00
Elijah Wilbur,
66
6 00
Thomas Burt,
66
9 00
Martin Alden,
66
8 00
Nathan G. Case,
3 00
Benj. Paull,
66
6 00
66 66 gravel,
50
Daniel Crane, labor,
7 80
D. S. Briggs,
7 85
John A. Reed,
66
6 00
Hercules Dean,
2 36
Rollin H. Babbitt,
66
20 20
Isaac Babbitt,
11 60
John D. Babbitt,
7 60
Adoniram Babbitt,
11 60
Edward Babbitt, 66
9 60
Adoniram Cummings "
9 60
Joseph Cummings,
5 00
Francis Newhall, 66
7 60
John C. Crane, 66
4 80
gravel,
3 50
Samuel Covel,
labor,
12 80
Nathaniel Hathaway "
4 60
Giles L. Leach,
14 60
Wm. W. French,
3 60
Simeon Briggs, labor,
5 60
Samuel Cudworth, 66
4 00
Jonathan W. Thrasher, labor.
4 00
George Crane,
labor,
3 80
Joseph Elsbree,
5 40
Cyrus Hathaway,
8 00
Arthur Jones,
2 00
Chas. O. Thrasher,
1 80
Wm. H. S. Crane,
66
. 12 70
Alvin Briggs,
1 20
Clarence Dean,
66
1 20
Walter Phillips,
1 20
Fremont Babbitt,
66
1 20
stone,
1 00
10
William Babbitt, 66
3 60
gravel,
1 75
John F. Richmond, labor,
2 75
J. D. Dillingham, 66
19 00
Rollin H. Babbitt, 66
6 40
Adoniram Cummings "
2 00
Francis Fewhall,
1 60
Joseph T. Cummings "
26 80
Hercules Dean, gravel,
2 32
B. H. Thrasher, labor,
9 00
W. F. Babbitt and Frank Puffer,
7 20
E. D. Briggs, labor,
20 00
Edward Westgate, 66
7 30
Henry W. Clark,
66
22 25
John Harmond,
6 00
Edward Terry,
4 00
Thomas H. Seekel, 66
12 00
Charles Staples, 66
3 90
Philip H. Fletcher, gravel,
3 44
Thomas Terry, labor,
15 40
Philip H. Fletcher, 66
36 00
David T. Strange,
66
2 00
Frank Puffer, 66
1 20
Total for Repairs on Highways and Bridges,
$1,220 80
SUPPORT OF POOR OUT OF ALMSHOUSE.
City of Boston, aid to Chris'r Hammon and fam'y $30 10 B. L. Burt & Co., groceries to C. B. Hathaway and family, 110 00
C. O. Thrasher, sawing wood for M. Newhall, 50
B. L. Burt & Co., groceries, :6
14 38
H. A. Dean, house rent, C. B. Hathaway and family,
12 50
City of Taunton, aid to S. D. Briggs, 15 00
B. L. Burt & Co., groceries to John E. Adams, 3 00
G. H. Babbitt, wood for M. Newhall, 5 00
City of Taunton, aid to J. E. Adams, 3 00
" S. D. Briggs. 4 00
Expended for aid out of Almshouse,
$197 48
11 INCIDENTALS.
William Babbitt, for cash paid out, 18 16
T. P. Burt, Town Clerk, 1874-5, 43 60
B. H. Thrasher, half expense of boundary stone between Taunton and Berkley, 3 50
Gazette Office, printing Town Reports,
22 00
Calvin Belcher, balance due in settlement of Town Farm account of 1874,
78 15
J. C. Standish, tending draw of B. & D. bridge, 9 months, 90 00
Town of Middleboro, care of fish at E. Taunton, 20 00 J. P. Peabody, zinc and tacks, 1 65
Thomas C. Dean, cash paid for sundries,
78
H. Bullock, for guide boards,
9 00
John A. Reed, guide board posts and setting,
5 50
S. B. Allen, sundries, 18 25
1 25
G. H. Lincoln, wagon for Town Farm,
75 00
State Treasurer, overpayment of Nat. Bank tax, 1874, 73 60
W. H. S. Crane, sundries,
11 50
Collector's commissions, 50 00
Treasurer's 66
36 81
Discounts on taxes for early payment,
397 00
Sinkages and abatements, 47 70
Expended for incidentals and discounts, $1003 45
PROPERTY BELONGING TO THE TOWN OF BERKLEY.
Town House,
1000 00
Town Farm, 3500 00
School Houses,
4000 00
Valuation of stock, provisions, hay, farming utensils, &c., on Town Farm,
1057 64
Iron safe for use of the town,
75 00
Book cases,
18 00
Two fish notes due June 1st, 1876,
200 00
Ten oyster notes due June 1st, 1876, '77, '78, '79, '80, '81, '82, '83, '84, '85, 13060 00
State aid due from State, 157 50
$23068 14
Enoch Boyce, "
12
INDEBTEDNESS OF THE TOWN.
B. C. Savings Bank, note, 1200 00
James Webster, note dated April 1st, 1874,
350 85 Enoch Boyce, 66 66 233 79 66
C. L. Lovering, 66 Dec. 22, 1875, 500 00
Interest on above notes to April 1st, 1876, 94 49
$2379 13
SCHOOL REPORT
OF THE
Town of Berkley.
FELLOW CITIZENS,-Our schools have been in session during the year 1875-6, thirty-one weeks in all; sixteen weeks during the summer and fifteen during the winter. Each school has had the same length of time, and each one has had the same amount of money paid to its teacher. This seems to the Committee to be hardly the right thing, but they do not see how it can be otherwise. The number of our schools is so many in proportion to the aggregate number of scholars, that the wages paid to each teacher is necessarily so small, that the Committee cannot hire com- petent teachers for any less money than that paid to the teachers of our largest schools. But it does not seem fair that the teacher of a school with an average attendance for the year, of seven scholars, should be paid as much as the teacher of a school with four times that number in aver- age attendance. We do not complain of this, for we are glad to see that Berkley is not behind many of her neigh- boring towns in the aggregate amount which she raises for schools, annually, according to her population. The diffi- culty lies in the overstocking of the town with schools out of all proportion to the number of scholars.
The number of children in the town between the ages of five and fifteen, according to the returns of the Assessors
14
in May last, was 145. The whole number in actual attend- ance during the year, as shown by the school registers has been 122. Of this number seventeen are over fifteen years of age, and seven under the age of five. These de- ducted from the one hundred and twenty-two registered scholars, leaves ninety-eight of the regular school age in actual attendance. This number, according to the Asses- sors' returns, leaves forty-seven of school age who are re- ceiving no public education. From this number four must be deducted who are attending schools in Taunton, which will reduce the number of neglectors to forty-three. But still this number is alarmingly large, being nearly one- third of the entire school pupulation. We shall return to this afterwards, and endeavor to point out some of the probable causes that may account for such a sad state of things.
The following detailed account may not be uninteresting to some of the readers of this report :
SCHOOL No. 1.
Scholars registered during the Summer Term 29, aver- age attendance 25; Fall Term 20, average attendance 16. Whole average for the summer, 24} ; whole average attend- ance for the summer, 21}. Winter Term 18, average at- tendance 15; whole average for the year 22}, average at- tendance for the year 19.
SCHOOL No. 2.
Whole number Summer Term 31, average attendance 23; Fall Term 23, average attendance 19. Whole aver- age for the summer 27; whole average attendance 21. Winter Term registered 23, average attendance 20; whole average for the year 26; whole average attendance for the year 21.
15
SCHOOL No. 3.
Whole number Summer Term 24, average attendance 212 ; Fall Term 27, average attendance 23; whole average number during the summer 26, average attendance in the summer 21. Winter Term 33, average attendance 27; whole number for the year 28, average attendance 24.
SCHOOL No. 4.
Registered Summer Term 17, average attendance 16; Fall Term 18, average attendance 17; average registered Summer 172, average attendance 162. Winter Term 27, average attendance 20; whole average for the year 21, average attendance for the year 18.
SCHOOL NO. 5.
Summer Term registers 9, average attendance 6; Fall Term 9, average attendance 5} ; whole number during the summer 9, whole average attendance 5}. Winter term re- gistered 11, average attendance 7; whole average for the year 10, average attendance 6.
SCHOOL No. 6.
Summer Term 12, average attendance 8; Fall term 12, average attendance 9. Whole number in summer 12, aver- age attendance 8₺. Winter Term 16, average attendance 12} ; whole average for the year 132, whole average of at- tendance 10.
The following brief abstract will bring the above under the eye at once : Number registered in all the schools dur- ing the summer 116, average attendance 93}; number re- gistered during the winter 128, average attendance 101; registered for the year 122, average attendance for the
16
year 98. Number of scholars over 15 years of age 17, un- der 5 years 7; total not of school age 24.
When we vote money in town meeting for the support of our schools, few have any idea of the relative amount of tax each is called upon to pay for so small results in the ag- gregate. It will hardly come into the mind of the honest tax-payer that he contributes more than three times the amount for the education of each child, in the town of Berkley, than is contributed in the city of Boston. That city, according to a statement a few days ago in the New York Tribune, pays for the education of each child, $4.30. We have expended during the past year the sum of $1468 .- 63. This includes the salary of teachers, and the inciden- tals necessary for the keeping of the schools in running order, and makes the cost per scholar, $14.98₺. The fol- lowing tabular statement shows the cost per scholar in each one of the schools :
No. 1 cost per scholar,
66 $12.88 | 11.65.
$13.60
46 2 66
66
" 3
10.20
5 66 6 No. 4 cost per scholar, 66 66 40.76₺
24.47
School houses have been built within the last three years, in No. 3 and No. 5, at a cost respectively, in round num- bers of $2400 and $1200. Reckoning the interest on this money at 7 per cent., and adding it to the yearly expense of the schools, it raises the cost of each scholar in No. 3 from $10.20 to $17.20, and in No. 5 from $40 76 to $54.76.
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