USA > Massachusetts > Berkshire County > Hancock > Town annual report of the officers of the town of Hancock Massachusetts for the year ending 1951 > Part 2
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5
39 61
7 65
31 96
1947 Per. Prop.
7 82
7 82
1947 Poll
6 00
6 00
1947 M. V. Excise
11 13
11 13
1946 Real Estate
7 91
7 91
Interest
364 96
*Plus $7.92 abated, but not refunded in 1950.
$35,001 78
643 71
125 56
36 14
23
TRUST FUNDS
As of December
Reynolds Fund
$ 244 86
Taylor Library Fund
373 84
Eldridge Fund 1,188 36
Hiram Whitman Fund
415 91
Noah Gardner Fund
127 00
Taylor Cemetery Fund
133 85
Central School Fund
6,127 54
Six Victory Bonds-$1,000.00
(Value as of February 10, 1951, $4,440.00)
Hancock Cemetery Lots Fund
240 00
Your Tax Collector wishes to take this opportunity to thank the taxpayers for their cooperation in a responsibility which is hard for all, but which all of us share.
To those who do not pay promptly, may I urge that an extra effort be made- not as a favor to your Tax Collector, but as a means of keeping your Town finan- cially strong.
Respectfully submitted,
JENNIE G. WHITMAN, Collector and Treasurer.
Trust Funds
Eldridge Fund
James F. Nelson, repairs to mower
$23 02
Hiram Whitman Fund
Floyd Barber, labor
30 00
Travelers Ins. Co.
173 80
Workmen's Compensation
Appropriation $150 00
Reserve Fund 23 80
24
ASSESSORS' REPORT For the Year Ending December 31, 1951
All
Number of persons Assessed
Individuals
Others
Total
On personal estate only
19
6
25
On real estate only
94
5
99
On both real and personal estate
86
86
Total number of persons Assessed
210
Number of polls Assessed
124
Value assessed personal estate
Stock in trade
$11,400 00
Machinery
97,650 00
Live Stock
48,060 00
All other tangible personal property
27,150 00
Total value of assessed personal property
$184,260 00
Value of assessed real estate
Land exclusive of buildings
$201,805 00
Buildings exclusive of land
276,990 00
Total value of assessed real estate
$478,795 00
Total value of assessed estate
$663,055 00
Tax Rate per $1,000-$41.00
Taxes for State, County, and Town purposes including overlay
On personal estate
$ 7,554 66
On real estate
19,630 60
On pools
248 00
Total taxes assessed
$27,433 26
Town Appropriations
Appropriations voted at annual Town Meeting
$43,672 96
Special Town Meeting of 1950
5,950 00
Dog Fund 1951
172 20
Total
$49,795 16
25
State Tax
State Parks and Reservation
$ 74 83
72
State Audit Mosquito Control
166 39
$241 94
County Tax
$2,158 04
$2,158 04
Overlay of Current year
1,985 97
Gross amount to be raised by taxation and estimated receipts
$54,181 11
Estimated Receipts
Income Tax
$5,214 29
Corporation Taxes
1,279 50
Reimbursement on account of public owned land
1,823 28
Old Age Tax (Meals)
77 02
Motor Vehicle and Trailer Excise
1,500 00
Licenses
1,524 00
Fines
40 00
Health and Sanitation
50 00
A.D.C.
741 78
Old Age Assistance (Other than Federal Grants)
2,598 16
Schools
5,408 56
Interest
93 24
Old Age Assistance Tax (Meals)
67 39
Gas and Electric Franchise Tax
2 41
$20,419 63
County Tax (over estimate 1950)
$ 200 32
Mosquito Control (over estimate 1950)
5 70
Voted from Available Funds
6,122 20
$ 6,328 22
Total Available Funds
$26,747 85
Total Amount to be Raised by Taxation
$27,433 26
Received from Polls
$ 248 00
Received from Tax on Personal Estate
7,554 66
Received from Tax on Real Estate
19,630 60
$27,433 26
26
Motor Vehicle Excise
Number of cars assessed
Value of cars assessed
Excise tax
193 $68,420 00 3,179 89
Number and Kind of Live Stock Assessed
Horses (1 year old, or over)
39
Neat Cattle (1 year old or over) Cows (Milch)
300
Bulls 16, Oxen, Yearlings, steers, heifers, 40
57
Swine (6 months old or over)
1
Sheep (6 months old or over)
8
Fowls
775
All others, Goats
5
Number of acres of land assessed
17,261
Number dwelling houses assessed
142
Respectfully submitted,
C. WELLS CONKLIN HOWARD D. WHITMAN HENRY O. RODDA
Assessors of Hancock
27
TOWN CLERK'S REPORT For the Year Ending December 31, 1951
VITAL STATISTICS
Marriages
James A. Maston-Marguerite A. Langlois
January 20, 1951
Charles H. Christiansen-Geraldine C. Conklin
August 18, 1951
Francis R. Gagnon-Elizabeth C. Clancy
August 25, 1951
Chandler W. Brown-Frances Glenn Reed Wadlund
August 29, 1951
Births
Nancy Lou Southard
January 17, 1951
Susan Eva Hartwell
March 18, 1951
Terry Marvin Gerald Demary
April 21, 1951
Sharon Ruth Koepp
April 22, 1951
Gloria Jean Williams
June 6, 1951
Lauralie Jean MacDonald
August 2, 1951
LeRoy Harvey LaPier
October 9, 1951
Francis Joseph Gagnon
October 26, 1951
Mark Dorman Gould
November 28, 1951
Charles Wells Christiansen
December 10, 1951
Deaths
Barbara Slayton Brown
January 22, 1951
Emerald Jones
January 18, 1951
George Edward Hadselle
February 12, 1951
Curtis White
February 21, 1951
Charles E. Kellyhouse
September 20, 1951
LeRoy Harvey LaPier
October 9, 1951
At the close of registration on January 15, 1952 there were two hundred and thirty-eight (238) registered voters in the Town of Hancock.
The 1950 Census of the Town of Hancock was four hundred and forty-five (445).
28
Hunting-Fishing-Trapping Licenses 1951
No. 1 Resident citizen's fishing licenses
15
$26 25
No. 2 Resident citizen's hunting licenses 40
70 00
No. 3 Resident citizen's sporting licenses 36
108 00
No. 4
Resident citizen's minor and female fishing 8
8 00
No. 5 Resident citizen's minor trapping licenses
0
No. 6 Resident citizen's trapping licenses
0
No. 7 Special non-resident fishing licenses
0
No. 8 Non-resident citizen minor fishing
0
No. 9 Non-resident citizen's fishing licenses 3
15 00
No. 10 Non-resident citizen's hunting licenses
7
70 00
No. 11 Non-resident citizen's sporting licenses
0
No. 11 Non-resident citizen's trapping licenses
1
15 00
No. 12 Duplicate licenses
1
50
No. 14 Non-resident Military or Naval sporting
0
No. 15 Resident citizen's sporting free
5
No. 16
Resident citizen Military or Naval sporting
free
0
No. 17 Resident citizen fishing Old Age free
2
$312 75
Paid Division of Fisheries and Game, Boston
Dog Licenses
Number of licenses issued
91
Number of males
58
Number of females
13
Number of spayed females
19
Kennel licenses
1
Paid Town Treasurer, Dog License
$224 00
Respectfully submitted,
PERRY A. WHITMAN,
Town Clerk.
118
$312 75
29
REPORT OF AN AUDIT
April 27, 1951
To the Board of Selectmen Mr. Henry Blair, Chairman Hancock, Massachusetts
Gentlemen:
I submit herewith my report of an audit of the books and accounts of the town of Hancock for the period from July 31, 1949 to February 10, 1951, made in accordance with the provisions of Chapter 44, General Laws. This is in the form of a report made to me by Mr. Herman B. Dine, Assistant Director of Accounts.
Very truly yours,
FRANCIS X. LANG, Director of Accounts.
30
Mr. Francis X. Lang Director of Accounts Department of Corporations and Taxation State House, Boston
Sir:
In accordance with your instructions, I have made an audit of the books and accounts of the town of Hancock for the period from July 31, 1949, the date of the previous examination, to February 10, 1951, preparatory to transfers of books and accounts and of cash, savings bank books, and securities to the newly elected treasurer and a recommitment of taxes and motor vehicle and trailer excise to the newly elected tax collector, the following report being submitted thereon:
The financial transactions, as entered on the records of the several depart- ments receiving or disbursing town funds or sending out bills for collection, were examined and checked in detail.
The books and accounts of the treasurer were examined and checked in de- tail. The receipts, as recorded, were analyzed and checked with the departmental records of payments to the treasurer and with the other sources from which money was paid into the town treasury. The payments were checked with the orders approved by the selectmen, the cash book additions were verified, and the cash balance on February 10, 1951 was proved by reconciliation of the bank balance with a statement received from the bank of deposit and by actual count of the cash in the office. -
A considerable amount of detailed checking was required in order to prove the payments, which materially added to the cost of the audit.
The records of payroll deductions for federal taxes and the county retire- ment system were examined and checked. The deductions were listed, the pay- ments to the Collector of Internal Revenue and the county treasurer were veri- fied, and the cash in the general treasury on February 10, 1951 was proved.
The savings bank books and securities representing the investments of trust and investment funds in the custody of the town treasurer were listed and checked, the income being proved and the withdrawals being verified.
The receipts for licenses issued by the selectmen were checked with the records of licenses granted, and the payments to the treasurer were verified.
The receipts of the sealer of weights and measures were checked with the record of work done, and the payments to the treasurer were verified.
The books and accounts of the tax collector were examined and checked in detail. The taxes and excise outstanding at the time of the previous examination and all subsequent commitment lists were audited and compared with the asses- sors' warrants. The collections, as recorded, were checked with the payments to the treasurer, the recorded abatements were verified, and the outstanding ac- counts were listed and proved.
The outstanding accounts were verified by mailing notices to all persons whose names appeared on the books as owing money to the town, the replies thereto indicating that the outstanding accounts, as listed, are correct.
31
The total amounts outstanding on each of the tax and excise levies were given to the assessors for use in preparing the recommitments for the new tax collector, and detailed lists of all the outstanding accounts were obtained by the collector.
It is urged that determined action be taken by the new collector to obtain prompt settlement of the overdue tax and excise accounts recommitted for col- lection.
The financial records of the town clerk were examined and checked. The receipts from dog and sporting licenses were checked with the record of licenses granted, the payments to the treasurer and to the Division of Fisheries and Game being verified.
The surety bonds of the town officials required to furnish them for the faith- ful performance of their duties were examined and found to be in proper form.
The appropriations, as voted by the town meetings, were listed from the records of the town clerk and were compared with the aggregate amounts raised by the assessors in the determination of the tax rate.
The recorded receipts from town property rentals were checked and the pay- ments to the treasurer were verified.
The records of bills sent out for collection by the public welfare and cemetery departments were examined and checked. The departmental records were ana- lyzed, the recorded collections were compared with the payments to the treasurer, and the outstanding accounts were listed and proved.
Ledger accounts were compiled, and a balance sheet, which is appended to this report, was prepared showing the financial condition of the town on Febru- ary 10, 1951.
In addition to the balance sheet, there are appended to this report tables showing a reconciliation of the treasurer's cash, summaries of the tax, excise, and departmental accounts, as well as tables showing the transactions and condition of the trust and investment funds.
While engaged in making the audit cooperation was received from the town officials, for which, on behalf of my assistants and for myself, I wish to express appreciation.
Respectfully submitted,
HERMAN B. DINE, Assistant Director of Accounts.
TOWN OF HANCOCK Balance Sheet-February 10, 1951 GENERAL ACCOUNTS
Assets
Liabilities and Reserves
Cash,
$6,410 35
Payroll Deductions:
Federal Taxes, $236 40
Accounts Receivable:
Taxes:
Levy of 1946,
$ 7 91
Levy of 1947,
53 43
Levy of 1948,
183 97
Levy of 1949,
1,817 85
Levy of 1950,
6,303 91
$8,367 07
Cemetery Sale of Lots Fund,
170 00
Federal Grants:
Aid to Dependent Children: Aid,
$416 63
Levy of 1947,
$ 11 13
Levy of 1948,
79 76
Levy of 1949,
131 13
Levy of 1950,
889 27
1,111 29
Administration,
140 07
2,897 00
Departmental:
Temporary Aid,
$1,119 91
Aid to Dependent children 243 30
Old Age Assistance,
2,763 20
Stabilization Fund,
2,000 00
Cemetery Sale of Lots, 40 00
4,166 41
Reserve Fund-Overlay Surplus,
2,615 18
County Retirement System, 9 44
$245 84
Overestimates 1950:
County Tax,
$200 32
State Mosquito Control Assessment, 5 70
206 02
Administration,
24 37
Old Age Assistance:
Assistance,
2,315 93
Appropriation Balances: General,
$33,806 43
Repairs to Town Hall
Building, 500 00
36,306 43
Motor Vehicle and Trailer Excise:
Aid to Highways: State, County,
$11,000 00 800 00
11,800 00
Revenue 1951:
$43,672 96
Less Estimated Receipts Collected to Date, 163 32
43,509 64
Overlays Reserved for Abatement:
Levy of 1946,
$ 7 91
Levy of 1947, 53 43
Levy of 1948, 183 97
Levy of 1949,
630 71
Levy of 1950,
675 90
1,551 92
Revenue Reserved Until Collected: Motor Vehicle and Trailer Excise, $1,111 29
Departmental, 4,166 41
Aid to Highways, 11,800 00
17,077 70
Surplus Revenue,
16,804 66
$77,874 75
$77,874 75
TRUST AND INVESTMENT ACCOUNTS
Trust and Investment Funds: Cash and Securities,
$12,975 29
Reynolds School Fund,
$ 240 04
Taylor Library Fund, 366 48
Eldridge Cemetery General Care Fund,
1,181 67 Taylor Cemetery Perpetual Care Fund,
132 20
Hiram E. Whitman Cemetery Perpetual Care Fund, 434 99
Noah E. Gardner Cemetery Perpetual Care Fund, 125 44
Post-War Rehabilitation Fund 4,440 00
! *Stabilization Fund, 6,054 47
$12,975 29
$12,975 29
*Includes $2,000.00 in General Treasury.
Underestimate 1950: State Parks and Reservations Assessment, Overdrawn Account 1950: Highways, Chapter 81,
13 00
2,496 99
ANNUAL REPORT
of the
SCHOOL COMMITTEE
of the
TOWN OF HANCOCK MASSACHUSETTS
For the Year Ending DECEMBER 31, 1951
36
SCHOOL OFFICERS i
Ernest Maynard
School Committee Dorothy I. Leab, Chairman
Charles McDonald, Secretary
Superintendent of Schools Dr. Joseph Addison Wilk Cheshire, Massachusetts Tel. Adams 465-J
Teachers
Miss Florence R. Chittenden Mrs. Isabel B. Conklin Mrs. Laura A. Page Mrs. Nellie L. Cameron Mr. Louis Virgil Bedard
Village School, Grades 1-2 Gorton School, Grades 3-4 North School, Grades 5-6 Village School, Grades 7-8 Supervisor of Music
School Nurse Mrs. Ruth T. Bennett, R.N. Cheshire, Massachusetts
School Physician Dr. Lawrence D. Greene Stephentown, New York
Supervisor of Attendance Dr. Joseph Addison Wilk
Janitors
Mrs. Johannah Hadselle Mrs. Alice Jones Mrs. Ruth Towne
Village School Gorton School North School
School Committee Regulation on School Entrance
A child must have reached the age of five years by February 15th in order to enter school the following September. No child may begin school unless he or she presents a birth certificate and a vaccination certificate, or an exemption-from- vaccination certificate. These must be presented to the teacher on or before the first day of school.
37
SCHOOL CALENDAR 1951-1952
Opening Day of School-September 5, 1951
FALL TERM
September 5, 1951 to December 20, 1951 inclusive
Holidays: October 12-Columbus Day
October 26-Teachers' Convention November 12-Armistice Day November 22 and 23-Thanksgiving Recess
Vacation period: December 21 to January 1, 1952 inclusive
WINTER TERM
January 2, 1952 to February 21, 1952 inclusive Holidays: February 4-Annual Town Meeting February 22-Washington's Birthday Vacation Period: February 22 to March 2, 1952 inclusive
FIRST SPRING TERM
March 3, 1952 to April 10, 1952 inclusive Holiday: April 11-Good Friday
Vacation Period: April 11 to April 20, 1952 inclusive
SECOND SPRING TERM
April 21, 1952 to June 6, 1952 inclusive Holiday: May 30-Memorial Day Summer Vacation Period: June 7 to September 2, 1952 inclusive
Total Number School Days-171
Graduation-Thursday, June 5, 1952
Opening Date 1952-1953 School Year-September 3, 1952
No School Policy
The Hancock schools will be in session each school day in conformity with the above school calendar unless the teacher is unable to reach her school due to inclement weather or other reason. Whenever storm conditions of unusual severity arise, the No-School announcement for Hancock pupils will be broadcast over radio station WBRK at Pittsfield before 8 A. M.
38
ANNUAL REPORT OF THE SCHOOL COMMITTEE, 1951
To the Citizens of the Town of Hancock:
Your School Committee respectfully submits the following report of expendi- tures for school purposes during 1951.
Salaries
Miss Florence R. Chittenden, Grades 1-2, Village School
$2,200 00
Mrs. Isabel B. Conklin, Grades 3-4, Gorton School 2,200 00
Mrs. Laura A. Page, Grades 5-6, North School
2,100 00
Mrs. Nellie L. Cameron, Grades 7-8, Village School
2,200 00
Dr. Joseph A. Wilk, Superintendent of Schools
960 00
Mr. Louis V. Bedard, Supervisor of Music
300 00
Mrs. Ruth T. Bennett, School Nurse
300 00
Mrs. Elizabeth Maston, substitute teacher, 1 day
8 00
$10,268 00
Tuition
New Lebanon Central School, New Lebanon, New York
$910 00
Pittsfield (Elementary, High, Vocational) Schools
961 26
Berkshire School for Crippled Children
189 49
Town of Richmond
60 00
Town of Williamstown
174 80
$2,295 55
Transportation
George Harold Hadselle
$3,242 50
New Lebanon Central School
498 00
Dr. Joseph A. Wilk
96 00
Interstate Busses Corporation
50 10
Mrs. John C. Nicholson
50 00
Francis McSorley
42 40
Arthur Williams
42 00
Eleanor Trottier
39 60
Suzanne Trottier
37 60
Kent Hanson
41 20
Donald Rancourt
25 20
$4,164 60
39
Janitor Service
Lawrence Whitman, Janitor, Village School Mrs. Dorothy I. Leab, Janitor, Village School Mrs. Johannah Hadselle, Janitor, Village School Mrs. Alice Jones, Janitor, Gorton School Mrs. Ruth Towne, Janitor, North School Arnold Alderman, Water Boy, North School
$128 00
64 00
128 00
200 00
192 00
2 00
Sherman Derby, Water Boy, North School
00
Donald Leab, Water Boy, Gorton and North Schools
14 00
Dennis LeBarron, Water Boy, Gorton School Paul Neumeister, Water Boy, Village School Francis Trottier, Water Boy, Village School
24 00
$788 00
Fuel
Robert E. Leab, 1 load wood
$ 8 50
Harry D. Sharp, 8 cords wood, Village and Gorton Schools
140 00
Allen Towne, 3 cords wood, North School
51 00
$199 50
Supplies
Ruth T. Bennett, medical
$ 2 34
Carr Hardware Company
15 40
Cascade Paper Company
129 28
George H. Hadselle
5 63
Iroquois Publishing Company
8 44
Dorothy I. Leab
10 29
Marsten, Inc.
3 80
New Lebanon Central School
73 62
Charles McDonald
5 69
Park St. Drug Store, medical
30 00
Professional Drug Company, medical
10 36
Stanley's
6 52
Walter C. Sykes
14 45
Ruth Towne
2 74
$318 56
Books
American Book Company
$ 31 60
Iroquois Publishing Company
3 25
D. E. Knight
3 05
Charles E. Merrill Company
19 76
8 00
12 00
40
G. Schirmer Company Silver Burdett Company Scott Foresman Company
$ 6 10
22 82
64 72
34 56
Wilcox and Follett Company Willis Music Company
7 65
$193 51
Repairs and Maintenance
Robert Blair, repairs at Village School
$43 00
Leon Roberts, repairs at Village School
46 00
Emma Blair, cleaning Village School
28 00
Mildred Southard, cleaning Village School
28 00
Donald Rancourt, mowing Village School lawn
11 50
Francis Trottier, snow shoveling, Village School
4 00
Stanley Cooke, cleaning Gorton School
12 00
Charles McDonald, labor and painting at Gorton School
98 50
Donald Leab, mowing school lawns
15 00
Allen Towne, cleaning toilets
10 00
Robert Rathbun, cleaning toilets
10 00
Dorothy I. Leab, washing toilets
4 00-
Floyd Barber, repairs
12 00
Harry B. Hicks, lumber
18 42
John Kalinsky, cleaning school yard
8 00
Ruth Towne, cleaning North School
20 21
Mark Gould, cleaning North School
9 00
Charles McDonald, labor, North School
17 25
Mark Gould, repairs at North School
4 50
$399 38
Miscellaneous
Eagle Printing and Binding Company, printing school reports
$50 00
Charles W. Gilbert, fire extinguisher for Gorton School
35 00
George H. Hadselle, miscellaneous
6 87
J. L. Hammett Company, diploma cover
2 29
Dorothy I. Leab, cleaning church for graduation
3 00
Dorothy I. Leab, salary as school committeeman
100 00
Charles McDonald, salary as school committeeman
100 00
Ernest Maynard, salary as school committeeman
100 00
Dorothy I. Leab, keeping school books and expenses
148 00
Charles McDonald, transportation and telephone expenses
16 00
Ernest Maynard, school committee expenses
00
Harold J. Millett, graduation speaker
10 00
41
Northern Berkshire Gas Company, lights Walter C. Sykes, pipe for 3 flag poles Dr. Joseph A. Wilk, misc. administrative expenses
$ 51 20
27 48
12 41
$669 25
Recapitulation
Town Appropriation for Schools, 1951
$19,301 00
Expenditures:
Salaries
$10,268 00
Tuition
2,295 55
Transportation
4,164 60
Janitor Service
788 00
Fuel
199 50
Supplies
318 56
Books
193 51
Repairs and Maintenance
399 38
Miscellaneous
669 25
Total Expenditures
$19,296 35
Unexpended Balance
4 65
$19,301 00
State Reimbursements for Education in 1951
School Aid, Chap. 70 as amended
$4,421 40
School Transportation
3,647 10
Superintendent's Salary
597 33
State Wards, Tuition and Transportation
613 92
Vocational Education, Tuition and Transportation
297 10
Total State Reimbursement in 1951
$9,576 85
Total Hancock Expenditure for Education in 1951
$19,296 35
Less Total State Reimbursement for Education in 1951
9,576 85
Net Cost of Education to Town of Hancock in 1951
$9,719 50
42
New High School Policy
At a meeting of the Hancock School Committee on August 8, 1951, the Com- mittee voted unanimously to designate the New Lebanon Central School of New Lebanon, New York, as the official secondary school for Hancock school pupils. New pupils, residents of Hancock, wishing to attend any other high school in the area, other than the designated high school, may do so but will be required to pay the difference in tuition between the current New Lebanon or designated high school rate and the rate charged by the high school attended by the pupil. As to future transportation commitments, the Hancock School Committee will only approve the payment of transportation costs equal to the then prevailing rate at the New Lebanon or designated school.
In estimating the budget requirements for 1952, we recommend the appro- priation of $19,906.00 for school department purposes.
Respectfully submitted,
DOROTHY I. LEAB, Chairman CHARLES McDONALD, Secretary ERNEST MAYNARD
Hancock School Committee.
43
REPORT OF THE SUPERINTENDENT OF SCHOOLS
To the School Committee of the Town of Hancock:
Gentlemen:
I herewith submit my sixth annual report as Superintendent of Schools for the Town of Hancock, Massachusetts.
Foreword
To resolve the tensions which now divide the nations of the world, destroy the peace and threaten civilization will take many years. Success in the battle of ideas in which we are engaged will depend on the children who are now in the schools. Through them and them alone we can secure the future of our country. If ever America needed the best possible schools it needs them now. And yet our schools are faced with a grave crisis.
There is a serious school-building shortage which has been accumulating since the beginning of World War II. There is a rapidly increasing school enrolment resulting from the high birthrate of the war years. We shall have eight million more children in the public schools in 1957 than there would have been had the birthrate of the prewar years continued. Then too there is a serious shortage of adequately prepared teachers for our elementary schools at present salaries.
The schools are under malicious attack from powerful enemies. Inflation is again upon us. Schools are forced to compete for personnel, finance, and materials with colossal military expenditures. There is a strong trend toward militarism. Rapid technological change is constantly forcing upon our people adjustments in their ways of living that place heavy strains upon character and home life.
If ever Hancock needed to do its utmost for the general educational welfare of its children it is now. The crying need of the moment is a physical structure worthy of housing Hancock's school populace. The report of the Hancock School Building Committee, therefore, is eagerly awaited.
Teachers and Instruction
There were no personnel changes in the Hancock schools during 1951. In- struction in the three schools continues satisfactorily. New geography books and dictionaries were provided upper grade pupils at the Village School during the year.
Some overcrowding of pupils prevails at the Gorton School but this condition should be noticeably alleviated in September. A slight decline in pupil enrolments has been noted at the remaining two schools.
School banking, introduced in the Hancock schools on November 14, 1950, showed marked improvement during 1951. A good majority of the pupils in each school make deposits weekly with the City Savings Bank of Pittsfield.
44
ENROLMENT IN HANCOCK SCHOOLS, DECEMBER 31, 1951
Grades
School
1 2
3
4
5
6
7 8 Total
Village (Primary)
4
6
10
Gorton School
13
13
26
North School
11
4
15
Village (Upper)
12
3 15
66
SCHOOL CENSUS
As has been the practice in recent years, another complete census of the town's children was taken this year. The school census figures for 1951 indicate that there are 142 children in the Town of Hancock. These census figures include all children of pre-school age as well as those of pupils now in attendance at the local Gorton, North, and Village schools or as tuition pupils in the New Lebanon, Pittsfield, and Richmond schools.
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.