USA > Massachusetts > Essex County > Hamilton > Town of Hamilton Annual Report 1949 > Part 5
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side of the problem and believes that interested citizens will be able to present other questions not covered by this report and have them answered at that meeting.
In closing, the Committee wishes to express its personal thanks to the citizens of the Town for making it possible for them to serve in connection with this most important and interesting matter, and to say that it feels deeply that the true interest of the people and the children of the Town will be served by participating in the Regional School.
RUTH DONALDSON, Chairman G. GORDON LOVE STANDISH BRADFORD
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REPORT OF THE COMMITTEE CONSISTING OF THE INDIVIDUAL REGIONAL SCHOOL DISTRICT PLANNING BOARDS OF HAMILTON, MANCHESTER, TOPSFIELD AND WENHAM
To the Board of Selectmen :
In making this study we have been guided largely by material contained in the Town Reports of the several towns, by the report of the Massachusetts legislature's Commission on Education (the Mahar Report) by the professional education surveys commissioned by each of the towns, by consideration of the Housatonic Valley Regional High School and similar schools in other states, and above all by the report of the Combined Town Committees of Hamilton, Wenham, Topsfield and Manchester for Regional School Investigation which was approved by responsible committees from each of the participating towns. Having studied the advisability of establishing a high school for this region, we have concluded that such a school is feasible and desirable.
We recommend that the district be established for the immediate purpose of constructing and operating a high school to be located as near as practicable to the geographical center of the district.
We submit: (1) A copy of the necessary proposed agreement to be voted on by each of the participating towns.
(2) An extract of Sections 14 to 16 inclusive of Chapter 71 of the Massachusetts General Laws, as amended, pertaining to the establishment and operation of a Regional School District.
Our recommendations are based on the following facts and observations :--
(1) In combining the financial resources and the high school population of the four towns it will be possible to have more and better equipment, to expand curriculum to an extent more nearly equivalent to that of the best schools of the country, to form classes of a size which will more closely conform to the standards of the best teaching, and to give far better guidance to the students as a whole.
The cost of equipment for science laboratories, home economics departments, and even simple shop machinery is often too great to permit a school whose classes number only five to ten to main-
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tain courses which are extremely desirable and which would be perfectly feasible where the equipment serves a class of 20 or more. Even in classes where no equipment is necessary, it is not good economy to employ teachers for only a very few students. Not only is this bad from an economic point of view, but very small classes, according to the best educational standards, are most un- desirable. Members of small classes may receive more individual attention from the teacher, but they lack the stimulus which comes from friendly competition and the challenge to do the best of which they are capable. They also lack the opportunity to learn adjustment to varied mental attitudes and abilities and to partici- pate in the general "give and take" which is essential in any good social situation in a democracy. Then, too, when classes are very small, it is almost invariably true that teachers carry several wide- ly differing subjects, and no teacher, however skillful as to methods or native ability, can possibly do as effective work under such cir- cumstances as with a program of one subject or at least very closely related subjects.
With a faculty of specialists and with a student body large enough to provide classes of a desirable size, a much wider range can be provided in the curriculum, and thus the needs of widely diversified choices can more readily be met. Since many students will go on to higher educational institutions of various kinds, but many will also terminate any formal education with high school graduation, there is a responsibility for meeting these various de- mands as far as possible.
In large schools where full-time counsellers are employed, guid- ance is far more effective, since advice can be given whenever occasion demands, decisions can be more quickly and adequately checked for their outcomes and undesirable habits more easily corrected.
Aside from the purely scholastic point of view, the social situa- tion in a well-managed school of several hundred is no small help in enabling students to adjust more readily to the wider field of either social or academic life that they may subsequently meet. It should not be a question of whether our high school graduates are able to enter college without further preparation, but whether we are giving them the best we can to equip them for successful living in whatever situation they may enter.
(2) The cost of a regional school to the participating towns would be less over the years than the cost of providing individual
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town high school facilities with programs of anywhere near com- parable scope. State financial aid for this project is now available in a very substantial amount, but it must be applied for prior to June 30, 1951.
Based on the various formulas for estimating construction costs for a school of 400 to 650 pupils, there is indicated a total outlay of somewhat over $1,300,000. The money would be raised by bond issue in the name of the district. In meeting the principal payments which would come due periodically over 20 years, the state would cover about 35 per cent of the amounts due. The re- maining balance of 65 per cent of the installments would amount to something over $40,000 annually, which sum would be part of the annual budget of the district. The interest annually, all to be met by the district, would range from a maximum of approxi- mately $25,000 in the early years down to smaller amounts in the last years of the 20-year amortization period.
Operating costs of Massachusetts high schools of from 400 to 650 pupils are in the vicinity of $250 per pupil. This would indi- cate an operating budget not far from $100,000 annually in the early years of the school (estimating initial enrollment at 400 pupils).
A summary of the above figures indicates a total annual budget in the first years of the school of approximately $165,000.
The apportionment of these construction and operating costs in the proposed agreement has been based on the principal of service rendered to the towns, as determined by their respective enrollment in the school and increases therein. The provisions were the result of a very careful and extended study, and are as equitable as we could devise for the 20-year period of bond amorti- zation. This 20-year period should approximately correspond with the period of filling the school to capacity. When that condition is met it will be necessary to reconsider the cost apportionment terms of the agreement in the light of problems of expansion then present.
(3) The principal drawback in a regional school is the extra time required for many of the students in traveling to and from the school, as compared with present experience. This extra time would be small however because of the relative compactness of the district. Constantly improving roads and transportation facilities tend to reduce this problem every year. A very large portion of transportation costs will be reimbursed by the State. We recom-
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mend that the Regional School District Committee, in dealing with the transportation factor, plan to have chartered buses for the regular school trips, and sufficient district-owned vehicles to insure adequate transportation for students participating in extra- curricula activities.
(4) A limitation on the extent of our studies is the fact that the actual location of the school, construction and operating costs, and general program would be under the control of the Regional District Committee, which does not come into being until after the district is established. As a result we cannot specify the exact location of the proposed school and we can only reasonably estimate the costs of its operation.
The Regional District School Committee is limited in its author- ity to incur debt for construction purposes, as set forth in Section 16 (d) of the law, wherein any town may veto a proposed borrow- ing program.
OUR WORK TOGETHER AS A PLANNING BOARD MADE UP OF REPRESENTATIVES FROM EACH OF THE FOUR TOWNS HAS BEEN MOST COOPERATIVE AND SATISFY- ING. WE WOULD ANTICIPATE A SIMILAR SPIRIT AND ENTHUSIASM TO PREVAIL IN THE HIGH SCHOOL PRO- POSED FOR THIS DISTRICT.
Signed this 2nd day of February, 1950 RUTH F. DONALDSON Chairman for Hamilton ELLEN C. WELCH Chairman for Manchester ROGER J. EDWARDS Chairman for Topsfield JOHN E. ARNOLD Chairman for Wenham
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AGREEMENT FOR NORTH SHORE REGIONAL HIGH SCHOOL HAMILTON, MANCHESTER, TOPSFIELD, WENHAM April 1, 1950
THIS AGREEMENT is made as of the first day of April, 1950, although accepted by the several towns herein named and approved by the Emergency Finance Board and the Department of Educa- tion of The Commonwealth of Massachusetts on other dates re- spectively. The towns of said Commonwealth which are parties to this Agreement, in alphabetical order are: The Town of Hamilton (Hamilton), the Town of Manchester (Manchester), the Town of Topsfield (Topsfield) and the Town of Wenham (Wenham), here- in collectively referred to as the "Participating Towns".
WHEREAS each of said towns by vote in town meeting duly called, have created unpaid boards known as Regional School District Planning Boards (herein called "Planning Boards"), consisting of three members, including one member of the School Committee, each of which has a chairman; and
WHEREAS said Boards have organized into a committee of the whole and have considered the advisability of establishing a Regional School District, pursuant to Massachusetts General Laws (Ter. Ed.), Chapter 71, Sections 14, 15 and 16, as amended ; and
WHEREAS said Committee of the whole has caused this Agree- ment to be prepared pursuant to the foregoing sections of said Chapter 71; and
WHEREAS this Agreement has been executed in four identical counterparts in the name and behalf of the Participating Towns by the chairmen of the respective Planning Boards of the Partici- pating Towns and has been submitted to the selectmen of the Participating Towns as part of the respective reports of the Plan- ning Boards ; and
WHEREAS it is the intention hereof and of the Participating Towns that this Agreement shall become binding upon each of them respectively, pursuant to Sections 14, 15 and 16 of said Chap- ter 71 upon the acceptance hereof by each of the Participating Towns by majority vote of those present at annual or special town meetings thereof and upon the approval of the Emergency Finance Board established under Chapter 49 of the Acts of 1933 and the Department of Education of The Commonwealth of Massachusetts.
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NOW, THEREFORE, in consideration of the foregoing premises and the acceptance hereof by each of the Participating Towns as afore- said, it is hereby mutually agreed :
1. A regional school district is hereby established under the provisions of Section 14(b) of said Chapter 71, consisting of the territory of the Participating Towns as now existing and as from time to time enlarged or modified, as a body politic and corporate with all the powers and duties conferred by this Agreement and by law upon school committees and with the additional powers and duties specified in Section 16 of said Chapter 71 and such other powers and duties as may from time to time be conferred upon said District by law and by the Participating Towns by amendment of this Agreement or otherwise.
2. The name of this district shall be the "North Shore Regional High School District" (herein called the "District").
3. The powers and duties of the District shall be exercised by a committee consisting of eight members who shall be appointed or elected by the Participating Towns as follows :
Each Participating Town shall within thirty days after the final approval of this Agreement initially name two members, each to hold office until the next annual town meeting and each to be appointed by a majority of the persons holding the offices of mod- erator and chairman of the selectmen, of the school committee, of the finance committee and of the planning board of each of the Participating Towns respectively. Upon the expiration of the term of office of each of the members, each of the Participating Towns shall elect one member to hold office for two years and one member to hold office for one year by majority vote at the annual town election of the Participating Towns. Thereafter one member shall be elected annually to hold office for two years at the annual elections of each Participating Town. If any town shall not at any time have all the boards or committees mentioned above, appointment may be made by the chairmen of such boards or com- mittees as exist in the town at the time. Vacancies occurring in the membership of the Committee shall be filled by action of the appointing authority.
4. The high school buildings, playing fields and facilities of the District shall initially be located in the Towns of Hamilton and /or Wenham. The high school hereby established for the Dis- trict shall provide facilities for Grades 9 through 12 for each Participating Town and additional facilities in a separate wing for
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Grades 7 and 8 for the Towns of Wenham and Hamilton. Hamil- ton and Wenham shall send their children to Grades 7 through 12. Manchester and Topsfield shall send their children to Grades 9 through 12 and may subject to the approval of the Committee send such children as their respective school committees request to Grades 7 and 8. However, any of the Participating Towns may send such pupils as their respective school committees determine to state or county-aided vocational, homemaking or agricultural schools.
5. The total costs including initial expenses, retirement of principal of and interest on bonds or other obligations issued by the District, and all other costs and expenses of the District but exclusive of transportation costs provided for by paragraph 6, shall be apportioned to the Participating Towns on the following basis and subject to the following definitions :
(a) For such years or year or fraction thereof as may elapse from the date of this Agreement to December 31st of the first year in which the District School commences actual operation, all costs and expenses of the District shall be apportioned on a per pupil basis, according to the number of pupils attending school in each of the Participating Towns who would be eligi- ble to attend school in the North Shore District School if it were in operation on the date of this Agreement.
(b) Beginning with January 1st of the first school year in which the District School is in actual operation and for each calendar year thereafter, the cost apportionment system herein- after set forth shall apply.
(c) Total costs (other than transportation costs) shall be divided into two parts: operating costs and amortization costs each as herein defined. Operating costs shall include salaries, wages, texts, supplies, equipment and maintenance costs and all expenses except amortization costs. Operating costs shall also include payments of interest on temporary notes issued in anti- cipation of revenue by the District, but expenses incident to the preparation, issue and marketing of bonds or other obligations issued to finance the acquisition of land and the construction thereon of school buildings or additions thereto or related re- creational or athletic facilities and the equipping thereof, shall be considered amortization costs.
(d) Each Participating Town's share of total operating costs for any calendar year shall be determined on a per pupil basis,
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by multiplying the total budgeted operating costs by a fraction, of which the average of each town's enrollment in the District School on the first days of October, November and December of the previous calendar year (hereinafter called "each town's average enrollment") shall be the numerator, and the average of the total enrollment in the District School on those same dates (hereinafter called the "District School's average enroll- ment") shall be the denominator.
(e) Amortization costs shall include payment of principal and interest on bonds or other obligations authorized by law and issued by the District to cover expenditures which may properly be capitalized in accordance with usual accounting practices, such as real estate acquisitions, improvements and con- struction costs. Amortization costs shall be divided into two parts : the so-called "usage portion" and the so-called "unused portion". The total usage portion for any one calendar year shall be determined by multiplying the total budgeted amortiza- tion costs by a fraction composed of the District School's aver- age enrollment divided by the established capacity of the District School. The total unused portion (hereinafter known as "un- used portion costs") shall be considered as the total budgeted amortization costs less the usage portion thereof.
(f) Each town's share of the usage portion of amortization costs for any one calendar year shall be determined on a per pupil basis by multiplying the total usage portion by the frac- tion set forth in paragraph 5(d).
(g) Beginning with January 1 of the first school year in which the District School is in actual operation and for two calendar years thereafter, the unused portion of total budgeted amortization costs shall be apportioned equally among the Par- ticipating Towns. For each succeeding calendar year unused portion costs shall be apportioned to the Participating Towns according to each town's share in the aggregate increase in the District School's average enrollment as defined below.
(1) The aggregate increase in the District School's average enrollment in any year shall be considered as the sum of the individual positive increases of enrollments of the Participat- ing Towns over their respective enrollments in the first full calendar year of operation as defined in paragraph 5 (d).
(2) Each town's share of the aggregate increase in the District School's average enrollment shall be considered as
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the fraction of which the numerator shall be the excess of each town's average enrollment over each town's average en- rollment for the first full calendar year in which the District School is in actual operation as defined in paragraph 5 (d) and the denominator shall be the aggregate increase in the
District School's average enrollment as defined in (1) above. For any calendar year in which the District School's average enrollment is less than the District School's average enrollment for the first full calendar year of operation, the unused portion of total budgeted amortization costs shall be apportioned equally among the Participating Towns. After the first two full calen- dar years in which the District School is in actual operation and for any calendar year for which any of the Participating Town's average enrollment is less than or equal to that town's average enrollment in the first full calendar year in which the District School is in actual operation, that town shall be appor- tioned 10% of the unused portion of total budgeted amortiza- tion costs, the balance of said costs to be apportioned among the other Participating Towns according to paragraphs 5(g) (1) and (?).
(h) The payments of proportionate shares of said operating and amortization costs of each of the Participating Towns for each year shall be made by the respective town treasurers by check payable to the District in four equal installments on the fifteenth days of February, May, August and November.
6. The North Shore District shall provide or arrange necessary transportation for children attending its schools. The Committee in its discretion may make such arrangements or provisions for all the Participating Towns under one transportation system or make separate provisions or arrangements with any one or more Participating Towns. To the extent that transportation is pro- vided by the District, the cost thereof shall be apportioned to the Participating Towns so served in proportion to the average num- ber of students for whom transportation is so provided. Where transportation is provided to a Participating Town on a separate arrangement, the cost thereof to the District shall be allocated in full to that Town. Payment of the amounts so apportioned to the Participating Towns for the provision of or arrangements for transportation shall be paid by the towns to the District in four equal quarterly instalments on the fifteenth days of February, May,
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August and November of each year and may be included in the payment to be made under paragraph 5.
7. Any Participating Town may withdraw in any year subject to such terms and conditions as shall be set forth in an amendment to this Agreement accepted by majority vote at town meeting of each of the Participating Towns. Upon any such withdrawal, the area of the District as set forth in paragraph 1 hereof shall be modified by excluding the area of the town so withdrawing.
Any one or more additional towns contiguous to the area of the District may be admitted at any time to the District upon the terms and conditions set forth in an amendment to this Agreement and adopted by all the Participating Towns and by the town or towns to be admitted by majority vote at town meeting of each of the towns so voting.
So long as the District has outstanding funded debt evidenced by bonds or other obligations, no Participating Town shall with- draw, and no amendments of this Agreement shall be made which shall adversely affect the security of the holders of the outstand- ing bonds or other obligations of the District or the ability of the District to pay the interest thereon or the principal thereof when due.
8. Subject to provision for payment of all obligations of the District as aforesaid, this Agreement may be amended from time to time or may be terminated at any time upon such terms and conditions as are set forth in an agreement of amendment or term- ination and which shall be adopted by majority vote at town meet- ing of each of the Participating Towns.
9. The Committee shall prepare a budget on a calendar year basis for the District in the following manner :
On or before December 15 of each year, the Committee shall prepare a tentative budget for the ensuing calendar year of the District which shall be printed and sufficient copies of which shall be presented and explained to the finance committees at an open public hearing in each of the Participating Towns. Such tenta- tive budget shall be in reasonable detail, including the names and amount payable by way of compensation to the superintendent and any assistants, all regular and part-time teachers, all athletic coaches and all other employees, including clerical employees, janitors, ground keepers and others; and said budget shall set forth the supplies to be purchased by general classifications and the costs, including in such classifications text books, classroom supplies,
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athletic equipment, laboratory equipment, work-shop equipment, and miscellaneous, the latter to specify any items costing more than $100. All non-recurring expenditures shall be itemized. Any deficit in the amount of said cost and expenses for the prior calendar year over and above the receipts for said year shall be added to the cost and expenses of the next succeeding year. The apportionment of transportation costs shall be set forth separately for each Participating Town. From the total of said budget there shall be deducted any surplus of receipts for the preceding calendar year over said cost and expenses for that year.
On or before January 15 of each year the Committee shall adopt a final budget based on the budget submitted to the finance com- mittees on the previous December 15 with such changes as may have resulted from said public hearing, and said finance committee shall be advised of any such changes. The cost and expenses of the District as set forth in said final budget shall be apportioned to the Participating Towns in the manner set forth in paragraph 5 above and shall be certified prior to January 31 of each such year to the treasurers of the Participating Towns and the amounts so certified shall be paid as provided in said paragraph 5.
10. The Committee shall have power to exercise all the powers and duties of the District in its name and behalf and such powers may be exercised by a majority vote of the members of the Com- mittee appointed or elected by the Participating Towns. In addi- tion to other powers and duties conferred upon the District, the Committee shall have power in the name and behalf of the District and may exercise each of the following powers and duties :
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