USA > Massachusetts > Norfolk County > Weymouth > Town annual report of Weymouth 1944 > Part 13
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Water Loan-Aug. 15, 1934
44,000.00
46,000.00
46,000.00
Respectfully submitted, Emerson R. Dizer, Town Accountant
-
Accounts Receivable : Water Rents Water Construction
136
FINANCIAL REPORT OF THE COLLECTOR FOR THE WATER DEPARTMENT From January 1, 1944 to December 31, 1944
WATER ACCOUNT
Balance Due January 1, 1944
$ 26,674.42
Charges to December 31, 1944
133,070.96
1
$159,745.38
WATER ACCOUNT CREDITS
Cash Received
$126,145.14
Abatements and Service Transfers
1,924.53
Transfers to Lien Account
3,547.03
Balances Due December 31, 1944
28,128.68
Paid to Treasurer
$126,145.14
$159,745.38
MATERIAL AND LABOR ACCOUNT
Balance Due January 1, 1944
$ 1,984.48
Charges to December 31, 1944
4,311.33
$ 6,295.81
MATERIAL AND LABOR ACCOUNT CREDITS
Cash Received
$ 3,985.28
Abatements and Service Transfers
277.32
Transfers to Lien Account
92.06
Balance Due December 31, 1944
1,941.15
Paid to Treasurer
$3,985.28 $ 6,295.81
Respectfully submitted, Ethel B. Ryan, Colllector
REPORT OF THE TREASURER FOR THE WATER DEPARTMENT FOR 1944
Water Rents
$126,145.14
Construction Account
3,985.28
Water Liens
4,566.44
Interest on Water Liens
107.18
Construction Deposits
2,471.75
Interest Granite Trust Savings Department
56.90
Interest East Weymouth Savings Bank
- 159.44
Interest South Weymouth Savings Bank
1,129.51
Refund Commonwealth of Massachusetts Gas Excise Tax
28.95
Treas. of U.S. Interest 214%
Treasury Bonds 1956-1959
September 15, Accrued Interest
$21.70
Interest $50,000.00
673.70
695.40
Checks issued for which "Stop Payment" was issued Granite Trust
37.10
Total
$139,383.09
Cash on hand January 1, 1944
155,193.74 .
$294,576.83
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PAYMENTS FOR 1944
Paid on Selectmen's Warrants for
Notes and Bonds 1944
$ 8,500.00
Interest on Loans
625.71
Collection Service
1,794.40
Sundry Appropriations
155,714.51
Total
$168,035.87
Cash on hand December 31, 1944
126,540.96
$294,576.83
CASH ASSETS 1
Amount due for Water Rents
$ 28,128.68
Amount due for Construction
, 1,941.15
$ 30,069.83
Cash on hand December 31, 1944
126,540.96
$156,610.79
Less outstanding checks
3,707.02
$152,903.77
Due from Granite Trust Co. Checking Account
$ 70,311.78
Due from South Weymouth Savings Bank
46,029.52
Due from East Weymouth Savings Bank Petty Cash Drawer
100.00
$130,247.98
Less outstanding checks
3,707.02
$126,540.96
WATER LOAN ACCOUNT
Serial Bonds and Notes due 1945, 31% percent
$ 1,000.00
Serial Bonds and Notes due 1945, 4 percent
1,000.00
Serial Bonds and Notes due 1945-1954, 212 percent
44,000.00
$ 46,000.00
Respectfully submitted,
Ethel B. Ryan, Temporary Treasurer of the Water Dept.
Weymouth, Mass. January 24, 1945
I have examined the accounts of the Treasurer's Department and the Collector's Department of the Weymouth Water Department and find them correct during the period when George E. Curtin was serving as Treasurer as well as during the period when Ethel B. Ryan was serving as Temporary Treasurer. The examination has been frequent and constant. Complete reconciliation of the accounts was made at least once a month during the year.
Respectfully submitted, Emerson R. Dizer, Town Accountant
138
1,401.25
Accounting Department
13,806.68
Annual Report
of the
SCHOOL COMMITTEE
-16
ES
BORAHELST VINCEA
MASSACHUSETTS
Weymouth, Massachusetts 1944
WEYMOUTH SCHOOL COMMITTEE Joseph W. Mahoney, Chairman Mrs. Arthur R. Taylor, Secretary
Clayton W. Nash 19 West Street, South Weymouth
Term expires March, 1945 Wey. 0740
Harold A. Spalding, M.D.
875 Main Street, South Weymouth
Term expires March, 1945 Wey. 1770
Joseph W. Mahoney 21 Pierce Court, North Weymouth
Term expires March, 1946 Wey. 0650
William F. Shields 41 Glendale Street, Weymouth
Term expires March, 1946 Wey. 1610-W
Wallace H. Drake, M. D.
88 Sea Street, North Weymouth
Term expires March, 1947 Wey. 0450
Term expires March, 1947
Wey. 2354
ADMINISTRATION
Charles R. Thibadeau, Superintendent of Schools 14 James Road, East Weymouth
Wey. 0837
Office
Weymouth High School Wey. 1460
89 Middle Street, East Weymouth
Helen G. Tonry, Secretary Wey. 0966
79 Chard Street, East Weymouth
Myrtle L. Rice, Assistant Secretary Wey. 1543-M
79 Front Street, Weymouth
Wey. 0361-W
Kathleen W. Weir, Assistant Secretary 27 Fore River Avenue, North Weymouth Office Hours - 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. on all school days; 9:00 a.m. to 10:00 a.m. on every week day, except Saturday, when schools are not in session; at other times, by appointment.
SCHOOL CALENDAR 1944-1945
First Term: Opens September 6-Closes December 22
Second Term: Opens January 2-Closes February 16
Third Term: Opens February 26-Closes April 13
Fourth Term : Opens April 23-Closes June 21
Holidays: Columbus Day, Thanksgiving Day and day following, Good Friday, Memorial Day
Opening Day for 1945-1946: September 5, 1945
GENERAL ANNOUNCEMENTS
Meetings of the Committee
Regular meetings of the School Committee are held on the. first Tuesday of each month at the High School Building at 8:30 p.m.
Entrance Age
No child shall be admitted to school in September unless he has reached the age of five years on or before the first day of April preceding.
A birth certificate is required for entrance to the first grade. Children entering for the first time will be admitted only during the first two weeks of school.
143
Mrs. Arthur R. Taylor 44 Tower Avenue, South Weymouth
Vaccination
No child shall be allowed to enter the first grade without a certificate of successful vaccination.
Employment Certificates
Employment certificates, educational certificates, and newsboys' badges are issued at the office of the Superintendent of Schools in the High School Building from 9 a.m. to 10 a.m. every week day, except Saturday. All persons must make personal application and present a birth certificate.
"NO SCHOOL" SIGNAL Adopted September 1, 1944
All "No School" signals are sounded on fire alarm box 222 (three rounds), and are interpreted according to the following schedule :
7:15 a.m. No school all day
A11 schools
7:30 a.m. No morning session
Grades I through VIII
7:45 a.m. No morning session Grades I through IV
11:45 a.m. No afternoon session Grades I through VIII
12:00 noon No afternoon session Grades I through IV
In addition to the fire alarm signal, announcement will be made over Radio Station WEEI whenever possible.
SCHOOL DEPARTMENT ROLL OF HONOR
Date of leave . 1941
Branch of Service
Jan. 15
RICHARD F. ZEOLI
Army
1942
Feb. 15
WILLIAM J. DOYLE
Army
Feb. 26
FRANCIS X. KELLY
Army
Apr. 24
EDWARD F. TRACY
Army
May 11
ROBERT E. MITCHELL **
Navy
July 13
DANIEL ' A. JOHNSON, JR.
Navy
July 13
CHARLES E. WINTERMEYER
Army
Oct. 12
GEORGE H. KLAY
Navy
Nov. 3
KATHARINE M. HALE
Navy
Nov. 16
WALTER C. GUTTERSON **
Army
Dec. 31
JAMES H. POLLARD, JR.
Army
1943
Feb. 11
PATRICIA A. LYONS
Navy
Feb. 22
CATHERINE J. NOLAN
Army
Feb. 22
WILLIAM M. HUGHES
Navy
May 28
NELLIE G. BEATON
Navy
June 30
PAUL C. CLEAVES
Army
Aug. 16
STEFANI KONRAD*
Navy
Aug. 20
THOMAS L. STETSON ***
Army
Nov .. 18
GERALDINE R. COLLIGAN
Navy
Nov. 26
HARRY ARLANSON
Navy
1944
Jan. 10
NORMAN D. LOUD
Army
* reinstated October 18, 1943 following military discharge
** reinstated November 9, 1943 following military discharge
*** reinstated November 7, 1944 following military discharge ** * reinstated December 5, 1944 following release
144
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REPORT OF THE SCHOOL COMMITTEE
To the Citizens of Weymouth:
The School Committee submits its report for 1944, together with the Annual Report of the Superintendent, Mr. Charles R. Thibadeau.
We have passed through our third full year of World War II, and our Weymouth School System has naturally been affected by it. Twenty- one members of our Department have been granted a leave of absence to join the armed forces. We have been fortunate in having many of these vacancies filled by married women who formerly were teachers. Their experience has been a real asset in these difficult years. Of the twenty-one members who have been actively engaged in the country's war effort, four have returned and have resumed their places in our school system.
It has been the desire of the School Department to develop a plan in regard to the early dismissal of pupils from the high school to enter the armed forces that would be fair to every one, but which would not lower our standards. Our policy on this important matter is as follows:
1. Any senior who leaves school to enter military service after February 1, and who has completed his work for the balance of the year and received satisfactory grades, will be granted a diploma.
2. Any senior who has earned his junior year credits, and who leaves before earning a high school diploma, should forward to the high school certified copies of all credits received for courses taken while in military service so that they may be evaluated and credited towards the high school diploma.
The School Committee realizes that several problems in our Depart- 1 ment are not being solved as quickly as many Weymouth citizens would like. Transportation of our pupils to and from school is among these problems. This has been given a great deal of study, and we hope that a solution will be found. The company which now transports our students is beset with manpower shortages and the inability to replace equipment. Because of the war an immediate remedy does not appear to be in sight. It is our intention to make every effort to improve our transportation facilities.
We believe that Weymouth has a good school system, but we know that it can be improved. This improvement is our goal as we feel that education is more important for the future of our nation now than ever before. Changes in educational methods and basic changes in our system are sure to develop after the war. We intend to be prepared for them if possible.
The last three years have been particularly difficult ones in which to run a school system efficiently. We have attempted to keep our standards up in every respect. As our personnel left to take their places in the war effort, we have "plugged the gaps" with capable substitutes. We think that our system has suffered very little, and we trust that we can keep it on its present high level.
The following figures show the School Department expenditures for 1944 and the estimates for 1945:
Expenditures Estimates
1944
1945
Administration
$ 14,461.62
$ 18,261.25
Teachers' Salaries
377,043.35
400,639.32
Textbooks and Supplies
15,592.72
18,975.00
Transportation Support of Truants
18,600.00
18,700.00
115.71
300.00
Tuition
466.58
600.00
Janitors
41,439.60
40,755.45
Fuel
13,292.58
13,000.00
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Light, Power, Water
6,546.72
7,500.00
Maintenance
43,125.99
32,400.45
Other Expense
1,911.29
2,200.00
Day Household Arts
5,384.10
4,355.68
Day Industrial
47,807.51
48,597.00
Americanization
25.80
168.00
Traveling Expense :
Out of state
103.53
250.00
In state
34.65
200.00
TOTALS: 1944 Expenditures
$585,951.75
1945 Estimates
$606,902.15
Respectfully submitted,
Joseph W. Mahoney, Chairman
Ethel G. Taylor, Secretary
(Mrs. Arthur R.)
Wallace H. Drake, M.D.
Clayton W. Nash
William F. Shields
Harold A. Spalding, M.D.
REPORT OF THE SUPERINTENDENT OF SCHOOLS
To the School Committee:
As Superintendent of the public schools of Weymouth, I respectfully submit my fifth annual report, the fifty-ninth report in such a series.
For the past three years it has been necessary, because of the difficul- ties encountered in the purchase of printing service, to condense the annual reports of the town departments. This year the need of further condensation is stressed by the Board of Selectmen because of costs and inability to obtain long reports from the printer in time for distribution. In its effort to cooperate, the School Department has omitted from its report such materials as would seem to be less important because of their preservation in other documents and files.
Schools in Peace - We must not for one moment lose sight of the contribu- tion that the schools have made in the war effort, and we must not dimin- ish that contribution nor fail to make, within the limits of our abilities, further contributions as needs arise until the war is won. Our total respon- sibility, however, will not be discharged unless at the same time we plan for the "Schools in Peace." The problems of peace will avalanche upon us with such rapidity and from so many directions at the same time that the effective meeting of them will make necessary the development of workable plans in as many areas as can be anticipated.
The implications in this challenge are legion. The schools of tomorrow will not be the schools of yesterday, nor, for that matter, the schools of today. The needs and demands of society in the postwar world will differ from those of the prewar period. In the field of secondary education there must be more intensive planning and working out of possible solutions for meeting the educational needs of our boys and girls. The meeting of these needs may well require that we improve our secondary education by extension and through adaptations. There is also room for improvement at the elementary level through new emphases and additions directed to the achievement of new objectives consistent with the require- ments of a changing society.
We have had sufficient experience during the depression decade of 1930 to 1940 to convince us that, if the local and state structure of educa- tion is not sufficiently flexible and adaptable to meet the needs of our boys and girls in a new and changing world, the federal government itself is likely to operate parallel and competitive educational services for youth.
146
This concept of operating within the framework of local and state educa- tional systems does not exclude the desirability-even the necessity-of federal participation in public school support. It does, however, emphasize the desirability of federal participation in public school support within the structure of the established channels; that is, the federal government making its allotment to the Federal Office of Education; the Federal Office of Education, to the state departments of education; the state departments of education, to the local communities, through formulas that are determined objectively.
Local control of education has from the beginning of our national history been a part of the cherished concept of our system of free public schools. It should continue to be held as a fundamental in democratic ideology, even though the services of the schools are extended in meeting the needs of the people they serve to a point which requires additional aid and support from the state and federal levels of government.
The schools should revitalize the curriculums so as to provide for the necessary experiences to meet the realities of democratic living in a complex modern society-a society which will have to be more and more concerned with its proper function within the broadening concept of international organization. As society changes, so must education change. We cannot hope to produce a competent generation of youth "trained in historical rather than modern ways of life." There must be a positive program of education, with all the implications of modifications, adaptations, and extensions to meet the needs of a changed economy. There must also be a positive program to "wage" a peace and improve racial under- standings and respect for religious differences.
What Our Schools Are Doing - Our schools are making a start by con- sidering the needs implied and stated in the preceding discussion. At the opening of school in September, our entire teaching staff recognized and dis- cussed the need for a positive program of education. Every teacher is en- gaged in the preliminary work essential to the evaluation of our school sys- tem to the end that adaptations and modifications can be made and ex- tensions recommended. They are also developing methods and techniques for improving racial understandings and respect for religious differences. The teachers are vitally aware of the part the schools must play in meeting the needs of youth and what should be the relationship of the local, state, and national levels of government in that task. At one and the same time they are giving serious attention to the evolving global concept and the implications for education therein.
Our schools in the past have been good schools. Our schools in the present are good schools. Our efforts in the areas described above are directed toward keeping our schools good in the period ahead. That can be done best by planning now for the changes which are inevitable and which can be reasonably anticipated. Knowing where we are is essential to the setting of a course to where we are going. This our teachers are endeavoring to do while they are carrying on with the business of meeting the problems of the day.
Trends - There are definite trends which will extend the scope and structure of our public school organization; for example:
1. The period of compulsory education extended to 18 years of age, or high school graduation, whichever occurs first;
2. Extending the public school system by providing oppor- tunity to prepare for occupations requiring limited training beyond the secondary school;
3. Providing curriculums to meet the needs of all youth, the needs of adults, and the needs of returning servicemen; 4. Providing an adequate guidance program with all that the term implies.
147
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Supervisor of Attendance - Such a position has been created in the public school system. . During the past few years there has been a distinct tendency away from legalistic enforcement of school attendance. All state attendance laws provide exemptions. Under the old concept, any child legally excused ceased to be a problem for the attendance officers. Under the new concept, such a child becomes at once the personal responsibility of the Supervisor of Attendance, on the grounds that he needs the friend- ship and guidance of one who understands and knows how to deal with youth. The modern attendance worker knows that there is a reason for bad attendance. He has learned that there may be a series of reasons, and he attacks the problem by trying to discover why individuals have been nonattenders and helps to remove such hindrances.
Transportation - This is one area of service which is extremely unsatisfac- tory. There are many factors contributing to this condition; such as, shor- tage of rolling stock, manpower deficiencies, press caused by increased need of warworker transportation, and regulations of the Federal Office of Defense Transportation and Office of Price Administration. The School Committee and the Superintendent of Schools have tried in every practical way to improve this service, even to the extent of attempting to interest other transportation companies to take over the work. The solution is difficult and the results are still unsatisfactory.
Music - The entire program shows promise of excellent achievement. Enroll- ments in instrumental classes in the elementary schools indicate that a successful program in this area will be continued in the High School. In all the work the interest of the pupils, teachers, principals, and music supervisors is high. From such a beginning, successful results may be expected.
Agriculture - This department places considerable emphasis on the labora- tory method; that is, the best training is conceded to come from actual practice in agricultural situations, which means that for certain parts of the year our pupils are actually working on farms, dairies, etc. Formerly the academic work for these students has been provided in the regular academic classrooms, which, due to program difficulties, resulted in there being only a few agricultural pupils in each of several class divisions. Prolonged and frequent absence from classroom situations has resulted, because of structure, in academic loss to the pupils. To correct this situation, the School Department has assigned an academic teacher to supplement the agricultural staff in that department. Experience during the past four months has indicated this to be a desirable adjustment.
"No School" Signal - Beginning in September the new policy governing "No School" signals was adopted. It was also decided not to resort to exces- sive closing of schools for bad weather. The law states that municipalities shall operate high schools for a minimum of 180 days each school year. School calendars are prepared with this requirement in mind, but with the generally established vacation periods and holidays there are usually not more than 184 school days between the Wednesday following Labor Day and the third week of June. A free use of the "No School" signal for bad weather may result in an extension of the school year through the fourth week of June.
Budget - The estimates for the 1945 financial needs of the School Depart- ment include amounts for extended service only as indicated. The amount of each major division in the budget is determined by combining the costs of the items included under that heading. Each item so included is within the framework of accepted policies and practices of the School Department. The needs for the fiscal year beginning January 1 are as noted in the report of the School Committee. The differences in the amounts of the various divisions as compared with previous budgets are the result of the general increase in salaries of $200.00 on April 1, 1944,
148
regular salary increments, and increases in costs of replacement, repairs, supplies, and materials. In this budget there are included additional amounts for the following purposes :
1. A Supervisor of Attendance
2. The extension of the new penmanship program to Grade VI
3. An amount sufficient to pay retirement assessments of teachers in military service, as required by law
4. Extension of health service
5. Estimate for the salary differences between substitutes and the salaries of teachers who may return from military service
Edward B. Nevin School Subsurface Filter Bed - A letter received from the Board of Health called attention to the fact that the sewage from the Edward B. Nevin School was contributing to the contamination of Whit- man's Pond and urged that the situation be corrected. The School Com- mittee took corrective steps resulting in the construction of a subsurface sand filter bed.
Promotion of Health - For the past three years the School Department has been concerned with the problem of extending the health service in the schools, because the health of the pupils is an obligation of the schools and wartime strains and stresses intensify the need of such service. The plan which has been adopted is modest in its inclusion and as essential to postwar needs as to those of the present emergency. Such a program is the minimum which the public schools of Weymouth should provide. Briefly, the plan provides for :
1. Annual examinations to be completed in September for all pupils in grades I, III, V, VII, IX, XI, and the Special Classes,- such examinations to include heart, lungs, nose, throat, feet; and hernia, for boys
2. Annual examinations of eyes and ears (with the most modern equipment), supplemented by the examinations of the school dental hygienist
3. Continuation of the several clinics which have been conducted through the cooperation of the Board of Health
4. A more intensive program in correction, prevention, and follow- up; for example, pupils discovered by examination as needing corrective treatment to be visited in their homes for the purpose of explaining the needed treatment, daily inspections to be made in rooms where contagion exists, careful and complete records on health cards, and continued re-examination and check, as ne- cessary
5. Increased nursing service
Additional Classrooms - Two additional classrooms were opened during the year. To provide for increased enrollment in September at the Edward B. Nevin School, a large double room in the new wing originally designed for domestic science was divided into two classrooms by the construction of a partition. Increased enrollment in North Weymouth created the need for a new first grade room at the Athens School and for making rather extensive changes in the lines of the Bicknell and Athens districts.
A reassignment of pupils between the James Humphrey and Jefferson Schools resulted in the closing of one classroom at the James Humphrey and a transfer of teachers.
Gifts - The Superintendent is pleased to report that an enlarged photograph of the late Mr. Parker Tufts Pearson, former Superintendent of Schools, presented to the School Department by the Weymouth Teachers' Asso- ciation, has been placed in the corridor of the High School Building oppo-
149
site the entrance to the School Committee rooms.
The photograph of the three High School principals who served the town from the date of the erection of the present building until August, 1937, has been framed and placed in the Principal's office. This gift was made to the High School by Mr. Clarence L. Pratt.
Two beautiful oil paintings presented by Mr. Leon Brooks in memory of his wife are hanging in a permanent and specially illuminated space near the entrance to the auditorium.
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