USA > Massachusetts > Hampden County > Agawam > Town of Agawam, Massachusetts annual report 1946-1950 > Part 7
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Article 47. To see if the Town will vote to transfer from the Overlay Reserve the sum of $5000.00 to the Reserve Fund.
Article 48. To see if the Town will appropriate the sum of $1200.00 for Chapter 90 maintenance of highways with the State and County co-operating, or take any action relating thereto.
Article 49. To see if the Town will appropriate the sum of $1200.00 for Chapter 90 construction of Pine Street with the State and County co-operating, or take any action relating thereto.
Article 50. To see if the Town will appropriate the sum of $6000.00 for Chapter 90 construction of Suffield Street with the State and County co-operating, or take any action relating thereto.
Article 51. To see if the Town will adopt a by-law establishing a Park and Playground Commission as pro- vided by certain Sections of Chapter 45 of the General Laws and Acts in amendment thereof, and in addition thereto pass any vote or take any action relative thereto.
Article 52. To see if the Town will vote to appropri- ate the sum of $2100.00 as recommended by the Recrea- tion Committee and provide for its expenditure.
Article 53. To see if the Town will authorize the Selectmen to execute a deed granting to the Western Mass. Electric Company all right, title and interest which the Town may have in a portion of M Street so called.
Article 54. To see if the Town will vote to amend the votes passed May 13, 1937 and October 15, 1941, either one or both, authorizing the sale of lands obtained through foreclosure of Tax Titles.
Article 55. To see if the Town will authorize the Board of Selectmen to sell a parcel of land on Carman Street containing about one acre to Alfred Sherman in consideration of $125.00 and that the said Alfred Sherman deed the Town the piece of land at the end of Carman Street through to Liberty Street.
Article 56. To see if the Town will accept Sherman Avenue as a Public Street.
Article 57. To make the necessary appropriations for the ensuing year.
Article 58. To transact any other business that may legally come before the meeting.
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Annual Report
of the
School Committee and the
Superintendent of Schools
of the Town of AGAWAM, MASSACHUSETTS
For the Year Ending December 31
1946
Agawam Public Schools
ORGANIZATION OF THE SCHOOL COMMITTEE
Warren C. Bodurtha, Chairman Term Expires 1949
Post Office Address: Agawam
Paul J. Adams, Secretary Term Expires 1947
Post Office Address: North Agawam
*Sidney F. Atwood Term Expires 1947
Post Office Address: Feeding Hills
Hazel M. Cooley Term Expires 1948
Post Office Address: Feeding Hills
Edson A. Ferrell Term Expires 1948
Post Office Address: Agawam
Edward A. Johnson Term Expires 1949 Post Office Address: North Agawam
* Appointed by the Selectmen and School Committee to serve the balance of the term of the late Clifford Granger.
SUPERINTENDENT OF SCHOOLS
Stanley W. Wright Telephone : 2-3592 Address : 571 Main Street
SUPERINTENDENT'S OFFICE
High School Building - 8:30 A. M. - 5 P. M., School days 8:30 A. M. - 12 Noon, Saturdays Appointments should be arranged in advance
SUPERINTENDENT'S SECRETARY
Emma Mellor Telephone: 4-1630
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SCHOOL CALENDAR - 1947
Schools open - January 6
Schools close - February 21
Schools open - March 3
Schools close - April 25
Schools open - May 5 Elementary and Junior High Schools close - June 13
Senior High School closes - June 20
Schools open - September 3 Schools close - December 19
NO SCHOOL DAYS-1947
April 4 - Good Friday May 30 - Memorial Day October 24- Hampden County Teachers' Association Convention November 11 - Armistice Day November 27- 28 - Thanksgiving Day
HOURS OF SESSIONS
Senior High School 9:00 A. M. - 12:45 P. M. 1:15 P. M. - 3:00 P. M.
Junior High School 9:00 A. M. - 12:00 Noon 12:40 P. M. - 3:00 P. M.
Elementary Schools 9:00 A. M. - 12:00 Noon 1:00 P. M. - 3:30 P. M.
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Report of the School Committee
To the Citizens of Agawam:
The school department and the townspeople have suffered a great loss in the passing of two of the most admirable men in our educational system-Mr. Benjamin J. Phelps, superintendent, and Mr. Clifford M. Granger, chairman of the school committee.
The multitude of tributes paid to Mr. Phelps express appreciation of "the helpful guidance that he gave freely to pupils ... faithful service beyond that expected of him ... his kind jovial manner ... the strength of his loyalty and friendship ... the earnestness and high pur- pose of his educational standards, and his courageous de- fense of all he believed in."
Mr. Clifford Granger "served with devotion and dis- tinction on the Agawam School Board" for thirty-two years. During this entire period the education of the chil- dren of our town was his paramount interest in life. With quiet disregard for personal ambitions he gave freely of his time and ability to build, strengthen and maintain our present school system.
The influence of these two great men will be felt for years to come.
To the principals of the schools, the teachers and all of the school personnel we wish especially to express our sincere appreciation. To each and every one we owe our humble thanks for their loyal support, willing assistance, and worthy advice that helped us preserve the high stand- ards in our schools.
The Committee very carefully considered over thirty- five applicants for the position of Superintendent and after many meetings, which lasted into the small hours of the night, selected Mr. Stanley W. Wright of Cheshire, Massachusetts as the man to fill the office. Mr. Wright, a native of New Hampshire, received his education at the University of New Hampshire and Boston University.
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He has had much experience in the educational field in both New Hampshire and Western Massachusetts. In observing Mr. Wright's work since he came to us in Au- gust the Committee feels that we have made a wise choice.
During this past year we have lost several of our good teachers. Some of them had been in the schools for a long time and will continue to be missed by their fellow teachers and pupils. However, we have been very fortunate in obtaining very capable teachers to fill these vacancies. We feel that the present staff of teachers in our school system is a credit to any school.
The school budget has been jeopardized by the ever- increasing cost of paper supplies, books, and janitorial materials which have increased this year from twenty- five to forty per cent. The heating problem is an un- known factor due to the coal strikes in the country. Teachers' salaries have been raised in keeping with the movement throughout the country. A new salary sched- ule, accepted by the teachers and adopted by the School Board, has been drawn up by a special committee consist- ing of two members of the school board, two members of the teaching staff and the school superintendent.
Repairs and changes required by the State Building Inspector have been completed in all our schools with the exception of the Feeding Hills Center School where the heating and ventilating systems have not been changed because of the possibility of a new building in the near future. With a few major improvements the school buildings will be in good condition. New toilets and show- ers are needed in the High School but, due to the short- age of plumbing materials and the high cost of labor, the Committee feels that this work will have to wait un- til another year. The chimney at the North Agawam school will have to be torn down to the roof and rebuilt this year. The skylights and the roof of the Springfield Street School are in need of extensive repairs. All of the older school buildings need better lighting. This condi- tion can best be remedied by the expenditure of a com- paratively small amount of money each year.
The need for a new building in Feeding Hills Center is increasing very rapidly. A committee was appointed at the last annual town meeting to choose a location and to draw up tentative plans for such a building - this
125
committee to report at the next annual town meeting. A suggestion has been made that a gymnasium large enough to accommodate the High School basketball games be incorporated in this project.
Our school system is the result of the cooperation of the school personnel, the pupils, parents, taxpayers - citizens of Agawam. We appreciated your grand co- operation during the year 1946.
Respectfully submitted,
WARREN C. BODURTHA, Chairman PAUL J. ADAMS, Secretary SIDNEY F. ATWOOD HAZEL M. COOLEY EDSON A. FERRELL EDWARD A. JOHNSON
126
Financial Statement
December 31, 1946
Town Appropriation EXPENDITURES $ 7,058.38
$197,300.00
General Expenses
Salaries of Teachers, Supervi-
sors and Principals
128,749.10
Text Books
2,139.98
Stationery and Supplies
4,734.56
Wages of Janitors
15,207.08
Fuel
7,018.74
Janitors' Supplies and Operating Expenses
5,635.15
Repairs and Replacements
2,549.91
School Libraries
61.28
Health
2,737.20
Transportation
13,285.00
Tuition - Trade Schools
1,880.04
Insurance on Buildings and Equipment
1,290.74
Miscellaneous Expenses
367.84
Outlay - Buildings and Equip- ment
484.45
Agriculture
3,126.56
Vocational Household Arts
1,279.56
Total $197,605.57
Paid by Federal Funds :
Smith-Hughes Funds
for Agriculture . $260.11
Smith-Hughes Funds
for Vocational
Household Arts
$ 45.59
305.70
$197,299.87
Balance
.13
$197,300.00
127
COST OF SCHOOLS TO THE TOWN
Total Expenditures by Town .. $197,299.87
Returns to the Town on Account of Schools, but not returnable to the School Department: From the State:
On account of Teachers' Salaries $ 11,255.00
For Agricultural Instruction
1,232.99
For Household Arts Instruction
372.73
On account of Trade School Tuition 608.48
Tuition and Transportation of State Wards
1,223.82
Received from other towns for Tuition of Pupils
120.60
Received from Manual Training Department
235.62
Received from Rental of School Buildings 39.00
Miscellaneous Receipts
23.49
15,111.73
Amount paid for Schools from
Local Taxation
$182,188.14
128
Report of the Superintendent of Schools
December 20, 1946
To the Members of the School Committee and Citizens of the Town of Agawam:
I herewith submit my first annual report as Super- intendent of Schools of the Town of Agawam having as- sumed the position here on June 15, 1946 following the untimely death of that very good friend and superintend- ent, Benjamin J. Phelps who served the town so long and so faithfully.
TEACHERS
The greatest problem facing our school departments today, in Agawam and throughout the country, is that of supply and demand as applied to teachers.
Our citizens should and must recognize that men and women are staying away from the teaching profession be- cause of the fact that other professions are more attrac- tive financially. According to SURVEY GRAPHIC - "the greatest single reason why trained teachers have been leaving the profession in such numbers is to better themselves in income and status." During the past year hundreds of thousands of positions were vacant in the United States due to this exodus. This mounting teacher shortage is a major handicap in plans and efforts to do better in providing equal educational opportunity.
Today's shortage is not temporary. It requires long- range planning for our schools. Thus far, here in Aga- wam, we have been fortunate because we have been ready to meet our teachers halfway. We had a large turnover in teachers in 1946 but have been able to replace them with able men and women. Please do not confuse this problem of shortage with that in other fields. Teachers
129
are born and trained. It takes years to train a teacher and thousands of dollars.
During 1946, it became necessary to increase the sal- aries of our teachers by $300 each. It was also deemed wise for the committee to appoint a salary committee made up of two school committee members, two teachers and the superintendent to study the problems of a single salary schedule, sometimes referred to as a preparation schedule. The other kind is the POSITION schedule, which is the traditional one and the one which has long been in effect in Agawam. Under it, basic salaries are fixed according to the grade of the school system where teachers are employed, such as elementary schools, junior high schools, senior high schools, etc. The lowest salaries are paid to teachers in the elementary schools and the highest to the high school teachers. The committee be- lieved that this should be replaced by the PREPARA- TION type of schedule which has been done, and it will be placed in effect in September, 1947. Under this new schedule, all men and women of all classes and grades will be paid the same for equal preparation and experience.
SALARY SCHEDULE
No Degree: $1600, 5 yearly increments of $100 fol- lowed by $50 annually to $2600.
B.A. or B.S .: $1700, 10 yearly increments of $100 followed by $50 annually to $3000.
Master's Degree: $1900, 10 yearly increments of $100 followed by $50 annually to $3200.
1. One salary schedule for all grades, including men and women.
2. There will be allowed $100 for a dependent wife or husband and $50 for each dependent child.
3. Teachers in specialized fields, where teachers are short, will be dealt with according to the situa- tion.
4. Every teacher must take one approved course every three years to advance normally.
5. Teachers with over 20 years of service who have received the maximum may be advanced $50 for each additional five years of service, provided they take one course each three years.
6. One year of credit for each two year's outside experience.
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7. Elementary principals to receive $50 per class- room up to $300 in advance of the maximum for her education as a teacher.
8. In order for increments to be earned for the fol- lowing year, a teacher must have an average rat- ing of 2 on the following scale: 1. Superior: 2. Excellent : 3. Good: 4. Fair: 5. Poor; on ten qualifications as selected by the teachers.
9. No member shall have his base salary reduced as a result of the adoption of this schedule.
10. Salaries of the supervisors, high school principal, superintendent, and other school personnel will be set by the committee.
11. Every teacher will be placed on the schedule at her present base salary and advance normally to the maximum.
12. No credit for more than 10 year's outside experi- ence will be granted.
13. Equalization amounts to be granted at the rate of $100 per year until equalization takes place. Equalization to begin in September, 1947.
14. No increments to be granted until September, 1948.
15. Teachers with no degree but with over 20 year's experience and 15 semester hours may, by taking six semester hours of college work in education within the next two years, or within the two years following the acquisition of 20 years of experience, be advanced to the "Bachelor Degree" bracket.
REPAIRS IN OUR SCHOOL PLANTS
At the last regular town meeting you appropriated the sum of $10,000 to correct the deficiencies of our build- ings, so that they would meet the requirements of the school building code of the Massachusetts Department of Public Safety. This work has been completed during the year and I am pleased to report that certificates have been issued for all of our buildings.
This does not mean, however, that our buildings are all in ideal condition. There are many repairs which need to be completed which have been postponed during the war years. You will want to think seriously of the prob- lem of correcting the sanitary facilities in the boys' base-
131
ment of the high school within the very near future, pos- sibly in 1948. It is my hope in 1947 to erect a long-needed fence around the Springfield Street School property. It is also planned to put new skylights in the same school, erect a new top to the chimney on the North Agawam School, and to paint the trim on Springfield Street School, North Agawam School and on Agawam High School. All of these repairs are planned for 1947.
It is also hoped that a beginning can be made on the problem of improving the lighting facilities in some of our schools. During the fall, I have had several drawings made by an engineer of the Western Massachusetts Power Company in order to secure an idea of the cost and feasi- bility of using either florescent or the new holophane in- candescent lighting. Either lighting system runs into con- siderable cost at the present time, but we should not neglect the care of the eyes of the children.
SCHOOL HOUSING
The prospects are bright, indeed, for the town to grow rapidly in the next few years. Even under the ad- verse building conditions of the present, there are 150-200 houses in the various stages of construction. The growth will become more rapid in the near future, as much of Agawam is easily accessible to and from Springfield and our town has a bright future as a residential area. The effect of growth on our schools should be studied and I recommend to you careful study of the report of the School Site Committee. In September, 1947, the high school and Agawam Center School will be at capacity, whereas there is but little room for expansion at Spring- field Street School and at North Agawam School. A com- mittee should be set up by the town to plan the future de- velopment and location of school plants, as our town in- creases in population. The committee should be empow- ered to recommend sites for future school development and to study our present needs, such as that of a school farm shop for Agriculture; the need of new sanitary fa- cilities for boys in the high school, and the possibility of added classroom, locker-room and storage space at Aga- wam Center School. This committee could report and rec- ommend to the town for future guidance.
BUDGET
The School Committee recommends the following
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budget for schools for 1947:
$ 9,500
General Expenses
Salaries-Teachers, Supervisors, Principals 144,000
Text Books 3,000
Stationery and Supplies
5,800
Wages of Janitors
16,700
Fuel
8,300
Janitors' Supplies and Operating Expenses
6,300
Repairs and Replacements
5,000
School Libraries
200
Health
3,000
Transportation
13,500
Tuition-Vocational Schools
2,800
Insurance-Buildings and Equipment
2,900
Miscellaneous Expenses .
400
Outlay-Buildings and Equipment
2,250
Care and Equipment of Memorial Field
500
Agriculture
3,100
Vocational Household Arts
1,450
Total
$228,700
The recommended budget above represents an in- crease of 16% over that of 1946. This is not as great as the advance in the cost of living but represents, neverthe- less, a substantial amount. Salaries of teachers have had to go up due to the cost of living, but also due to the need of raising the profession to the standards which will at- tract young people to it. During recent years, our youth could not see the advantages of going into teaching which requires the expenditure of several thousands of dollars besides the earning power for four years, when, at the culmination of this expenditure, a salary would be granted which, in many cases, would be less than that earned by a laborer who had made no such investment. Obviously, our youth would rather go into other professions, such as office work, nursing, etc., at least as well paid without the expenditure of time and money.
Books, supplies, janitors' supplies and all the various services have advanced rapidly, just as similar services have advanced in the operation of other businesses or homes. It is hoped that these costs will level off in the near future so that we can, once again, operate on a smaller amount or provide for other needs.
133
se
r
ec
che
In order to give you a picture of the advance in prices of textbooks, I quote you from the American Book Publishers Council on the advance in the costs of produc- tion of books between January, 1941, and April, 1946. It is well to consider, too, the advances in costs since April which are not shown in the table below.
Advance in Cost
Linotype Composition 58%
Electrotype Plates 49 %
Printing 40%
Binding 58%
Some kinds of school paper have advanced in price over 100% within three years, but the average advance has been about 40%. The school department will have to be very careful of every dollar to remain within the budg- et requested from the finance committee.
ENROLLMENT and ATTENDANCE IN OUR SCHOOLS
Your superintendent asks that you study carefully the tables which follow indicating the enrollment and attendance in our schools during the first four months of the present school year. The report indicates that our enrollment is increasing in the lower grades and that our attendance is at a high level in all of our schools, possibly the highest in several years. Our attendance department checks every absence for legitimacy and from the point- of-view of health.
INSURANCE COVERAGE OF OUR SCHOOLS
The following table will show the insurance coverage of our schools in effect on January 1, 1947:
High School $190,000
North Agawam .. 41,000
Springfield Street 40,000
Feeding Hills . 16,000
Agawam Center 122,000
Equipment 24.560
$433,560 Total insurance carried
According to the rate on our policies, we must carry at all times, 80% of the value of our buildings and 90% of the value of our equipment. If we do not carry these
134
percentages of the value of our buildings, we become co- insurers with the company and, in case of loss due to fire, the town would only get partial settlement, a fraction of the amount carried. The table above was drawn up in 1936 by architect Paul Johnson and revised in 1939. Ob- viously, the value of our buildings has increased with the general advance of building costs since those pre-war dates.
During the past months the committee, believing that we are under-insured, engaged Mr. Johnson to sur- vey our buildings and policies with instructions for recommendations for the guidance of the committee. The recommendations are as follows :
High School $275,000
North Agawam
70,000
Springfield Street
55,000
Feeding Hills
25,000
Agawam Center
150,000
Equipment
30,560
Total
$605,560
Citizens referring to the table above will realize that Mr. Johnson's recommendations are sound and that the committee has acted wisely in accepting the recommenda- tions and putting into effect the extra $172,000 of cover- age as of March 10, the effective date of all our policies. The cost of endorsing all our effective policies on the above date is $1,021.20. The renewal of our expiring pol- icy with the additional insurance added is $1,792.45. Therefore, the amount needed for our fire policies for 1947 is $2,813.65. After this year, the total cost will be $1,792.45 each year.
By adopting these recommendations, the committee has acted wisely so that if we should lose a complete building by fire, we would be in line for a settlement of the full amount of the coverage set, as indicated above, at 80% of the value of the building. If equipment be lost, settle- ment would be made at the value of the equipment. The policy covers all equipment pertaining to the school de- partment including that belonging to school associations, athletic teams, etc., even though it is stored outside of the school properties.
135
THE NEED OF STATE AID FOR EDUCATION
Among the pressing educational problems of the present time is that of obtaining a larger amount of money from the state for local school use. The state government of Massachusetts distributes large amounts of money for the local communities for GENERAL purposes, but a rela- tively small amount for SCHOOL purposes. Out of the total cost of public schools in Massachusetts, only about nine per cent comes from state sources, leaving about 91% of the total cost of public schools to come from local property taxes. Even the financial aid given to schools now goes into general funds and is not earmarked for schools.
It is a fact that 45 other states provide more state aid to schools than does our commonwealth as, for example:
The State of California
supports 43% of the cost
"
"
Delaware
92%
"
"
„
"
„
Indiana
"
34%
„
"
"
"
"
"
Michigan
„
40%
„
"
" Missouri
"
32%
32% 59%
"
"
"
„
"
Pennsylvania
23%
51%
"
„,
"
"
Massachusetts
"
9%
"
Florida
"
51%
"
"
" Maryland
"
New York
"
"
North Carolina
"
"
" Texas
26%
The state aid bill which will be presented to the in- coming legislature is an EQUALIZATION bill. The for- mula on which $5,500,000 has been distributed has not taken into consideration the need of the towns. The new bill, if passed, would distribute $15,500,000 in 1947 on the basis of number of pupils being educated in the town and the average valuation of property in the town for each pupil. In other words, Agawam would benefit tremen- dously from such a bill because our average valuation is low and our number of pupils high. Among 90 towns of over 5,000 population, Agawam ranks 67th in average val- uation per pupil. Therefore, Agawam would receive much more state aid to relieve local taxation on property. Now, of course, additional state revenue would have to be raised to cover the provisions of the bill, but under the
136
actual working conditions, residents of other communities would be paying in to equalize educational costs in Aga- wam. If the bill should pass as prepared by the interim committee in education, we would benefit in 1947 to the extent of approximately $33 per pupil, or a total of ap- proximately $50,000 which would not go into general funds as at present, but would be made available for direct use in reducing the school budget. The bill provides for the amount to increase in 1948 and again in 1949. This would appear, beyond question, a good bill for Agawam to support actively.
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