USA > Massachusetts > Middlesex County > Westford > Town of Westford annual report 1927-1931 > Part 36
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Interest on Sinking Fund Investments
1,216.74
-$ 17,835.19
EXPENSES
Interest Account
$ 1,750.00
Wages and Salaries
4,125.73
Expense Account
728.13
Supplies
187.10
Oil
25.07
Electric Power
1,605.67
Fuel
172.91
Taxes
1,332.74
Service
181.99
Depreciation
2,565.92
$ 12,675.26
Net Gain for the Year Ending December 31, 1931 $ 5,159.93
WILLIAM R. TAYLOR, Treasurer.
86
Westford, Mass., January 19, 1932.
Middlesex, ss.
Then personally appeared William R. Taylor and made oath that the above is a true statement of the cost of construction of the West- ford Water Company to January 1, 1932, and of the receipts and ex- penditures from January 1, 1931 to January 1. 1932, before me this 19th day of January 1932.
PERRY T. SNOW, Notary Public.
REPORT OF FINANCE COMMITTEE
The Finance Committee has consulted the officials of the departments of the town government and have very carefully considered all requests and have arrived at the figures tabulated below: Article 4.
Item 1. General Government
Voted 1931
Used 1931
Asked 1932
Recommended 1932
Selectmen
600.00
$ 449.30
600.00
$ 600.00
Town Accountant and Clerk
900.00
881.65
2,000.00
2,000.00
Treasurer
750.00
786.63
900.00
900.00
Tax Collector
1,500.00
1,463.48
1,500.00
1,500.00
Assessors.
875.00
878.06
875.00
875.00
Town Counsel
400.00
200.00
300.00
300.00
Town Clerk
400.00
258.10
350.00
350.00
Registration and Election
300.00
301.59
1,000.00
1,000.00
Town Telephone
173.12
.
$ 5,725.00
$ 5,389.43
$ 7,525.00
$ 7,525.00
Item 2.
Town Hall
$ 1,800.00
$ 1,795.98
$ 1,800.00
$ 1,800.00
Item 3. Police Department
3,000.00
2 954.91
3,000.00
3,000.00
Item 4. Fire Department
3,000.00
2,968.15
3,000.00
3,000.00
Item
5. Hydrants
3,360.00
3,360.00
3,440.00
3,440.00
Item
6. Sealer of Weights and Measures
125.00
122.43
125.00
125.00
Item
7. Fish and Game Warden
100.00
77.50
100.00
100.00
Item
8. Forest Fires
500.00
534.83
500.00
500.00
Item 9. Town Forest
200.00
129.73
200.00
150.00
Item 10. Tree Warden
150.00
149.50
150.00
150.00
Item 11. Moth Department
1,800.00
1,798.91
1,800.00
1,500.00
Item 12. Health Department
3,500.00
3,448.30
3 500.00
3,200.00
&
.
.
Voted 1931 150.00
Used 1931
Asked 1932
Recommended 1932 150.00
Item 13. Cattle Inspector
Item 14. Highways
Town Roads
16,000.00
13,993.33
14,000.00
13,000.00
State and County Roads
6,000.00
5,891.11
6,000.00
6,000.0)
Concord Road
3,000.00
2,998.51
3,000.00
2,000.00
Carlisle Road
3,000.00
2,978.65
Tyngsboro Road
2,000.00
3,000.00
2,000.00
Snow and Ice Removal
3,500.00
3,452.28
1,500.00
1,500.00
Item 15. Public Welfare
21,600.00
24,334.54
15.000.00
15,000.00
Item 16.
Old Age Assistance
2,400.00
579.15
3,000.00
3,000.00
Item 17.
Soldiers' Benefits
2,400.00
2,243.98
2,400.00
2,400.00
Item 18.
Public Schools
71,500.00
71,494.40
73,000.00
70,000.00
Item 19.
Vocational Tuition
2,000.00
1,484.81
2,000.00
2,000.00
Item 20.
Public Library
2,000.00
2,000.00
2,000.00
2,000.00
Item 21.
Care of Common
250.00
245.03
250.00
250.00
Item 22.
Lighting Clock
50.00
32.54
50.00
50.00
Item 23.
Band Concerts
400.00
400.00
400.00
Item 24.
Memorial Day
300.00
272.84
300.00
300.00
Item 25.
Publishing Town Reports
600.00
561.79
550.00
550.00
Item 26
Liability Insurance
750.00
993.70
1,100.00
1,000.00
Item 27.
Cemeteries
1,000.00
1,000.00
1,200.00
1,000.00
Item 28. General Loans
7,500.00
7,500.00
7,500.00
7,500.00
Item 29
Interest on General Loans
4,950.00
3,517.87
3,000.00
3,000.00
Item 30.
Interest on Revenue Loans
2,000.00
1,975.84
2,000.00
2,000.00
Item 31.
Street Lights
9,800.00
9,636.58
9 650.00
9,650.00
Item 32.
Fire Insurance
400.00
400.02
3,800.00
3,800.00
Item 33.
Reserve Fund
..
5,000.00
3,295.25
5,000.00
5,000.00
Item 34.
Overdrawn Appropriations
3.30
3.30
Item 35. Bills Outstanding 12/31/31 (Estimated)
3,000.00
3,000.00
Article 5 Farm Bureau
50.00
11.00
50.00
50.00
Article 6 Additional Street Lights
150.00
150.00
..
$188,593.30
$181,243.30
150.00
150.00
ESTIMATED FROM ADVICE RECEIVED AT STATE HOUSE
State Taxes
11,118.94
County Taxes
8,986.45
County Tuberculosis Assessment
1,300.00
$ 21,405.39
$ 21,405.39
$209,998.69
$202,648.69
ESTIMATED RECEIPTS
Corporation Tax
$ 16,000.00
Income Tax
18,000.00
Poll Tax
1,965.00
Excise Tax
6,800.00
Gas Tax
1,778.00
All Other
10,200.00
$ 54,743.00
$ 54,743.00
$155,255.69
$147,905.69
To be taken from Surplus
8,000.00
8,000.00
Amount to be raised by taxation Valuation of town 1931
$3,900,000.00
$147,255.69
$139,905.69
90
It is the aim of the committee to bring about a reduced tax rate if possible.
We believe that should the valuation stay as it is and you vote to raise the amounts recommended using the receipts as estimated and advised by the state and appropriate the amount of $8,000 from surplus we will have a tax rate of $35.75 per thousand.
Your committee for several years has recommended a revised and equalized valuation by the Board of Assessors. We are still of the opinion that a thorough revision should be made equalizing the assess- ment on various pieces of property in the town. We have made care- ful investigation and are satisfied that if a just and equalized assess- ment be made a very considerable increase in the valuation of the town will come about thereby assuring a lower tax rate.
Another matter to which we have given careful consideration is the large appropriation that is necessary to meet the requirements of the Board of Public Welfare. We are recommending to this Board that owing to the conditions of the dairy business they dispose of the herd of cattle which is now at the infirmary and conduct operations thereon in a much less extensive manner and thus make a considerable saving.
We also advise the employment of a full time Town Accountant and Clerk at the Town Hall as the work involved is now so great it is impossible to keep it up and we are also of the opinion that a con- siderable saving can be made by so doing.
Respectfully submitted,
HERBERT V. HILDRETH,
OSCAR R. SPALDING, FRANK L. FURBUSH, P. HENRY HARRINGTON, JULIAN A. CAMERON, JOHN C. ABBOT,
Finance Committee.
91
Warrant for Annual Town Meeting, Westford, Mass.
COMMONWEALTH OF MASSACHUSETTS
MIDDLESEX, SS.
To the Constable of the Town of Westford in said County :
GREETING : You are hereby required, in the name of the Commonwealth afore- said, to notify and warn all the inhabitants of said Town qualified to vote in elections, and also in Town affairs to meet in their several Polling Places, viz .:
Precinct 1. Town Hall, Westford Centre.
Precinct 2. Abbott's Hall, Graniteville.
Precinct 3. Abbott's Hall, Brookside.
Precinct 4. Abbott's Hall, Forge Village.
MONDAY, FEBRUARY 8, 1932
being the second Monday in said month, at 6.30 o'clock in the morning, for the following purposes:
To bring in their votes for the following officers:
For Three Years
One Selectman.
One Member Board of Public Welfare
One, Assessor
Two Members of the School Committee
One Member Board of Cemetery Commissioners
One Trustee of Public Library
One Member Board of Health
For One Year
Moderator Town Treasurer Collector of Taxes Constable
Tree Wardell
The polls will be open from 6.30 A. M. to 4 P. M., and to meet in the Town Hall at Westford Centre on the following
MONDAY, FEBRUARY 15, 1932
at 1 o'clock in the afternoon, then and there to act upon the following articles, viz .:
92
1st. To hear the reports of the Finance Committee, other Commit- tees, Boards and Officers.
2nd. To determine the compensation of the Tax Collector.
3rd. To see if the Town will vote to increase the compensation of the Treasurer.
4th. To appropriate money to meet the cost and expenses of the fol- lowing-named departments, officers and purposes:
1. General Government.
2. Town Hall.
3. Police Department.
4. Fire Department.
5. Hydrants.
6. Sealer of Weights and Measures.
7. Fish and Game Warden.
8. Forest Fires.
9. Town Forest.
10. Tree Warden.
11. Moth Department.
12. Health Department.
13. Cattle Inspector.
14. Highway Purposes.
15. Board of Public Welfare.
16. Old Age Assistance.
17. Soldiers' Benefits.
18. School Department.
19. Vocational Tuition.
20. Public Library.
21. Care of Common.
22. Lighting Clock.
23. Band Concerts.
24. Commemoration of Memorial Day.
25. Publishing Town Reports.
26. Liability Insurance.
27. Cemetery Commissioners.
28. General Loans.
29. Interest on General Loans.
30. Interest on Revenue Loans.
31. Electric Lights.
32. Fire Insurance.
33. Reserve Fund.
34. Overdrafts of 1931.
35. Bills Outstanding December 31, 1931.
5th. To see if the Town will appropriate $50 and elect a Director under the provisions of Section 40-45 of Chapter 128 of the General Laws.
93
6th. To see if the Town will vote to install additional street lights as follows:
3 Groton Road.
3 Chamberlain Road.
4 Leland Road.
1 Brookside Road.
1 Main Street, Graniteville.
2 Beaver Brook Road.
7th. To see if the Town will vote to discontinue insuring the school- house at Parker Village.
8th. To see if the Town will vote to insure its officers and employees against liability for damage occasioned by the operation of its motor vehicles.
9th. To see if the Town will authorize its Board of Selectmen or other Officials or Boards to enforce payment of the outstand- ing bills due the Town.
10th. To hear the report of the committee chosen at the last annual meeting relative to naming and renaming streets.
11th. To see if the Town will vote to borrow not exceeding $11,000 to meet the cost of the Middlesex County Sanitorium as appor- tioned by the County Commissioners.
12th. To see if the Town will vote to authorize the Treasurer, with the approval of the Selectmen, to borrow money in anticipa- tion of the revenue of the current financial year and to renew any and all of the revenue notes of the year 1932, in accordance with Section 17 of Chapter 44 of the General Laws as amend- ed; any debts so incurred to be paid from the revenue of 1932.
13th. To see if the Town will vote to authorize the sale of the live stock and any other personal property used at the Town In- firmary.
14th. To determine the manner of collecting taxes for the current year, also the rate of interest on taxes remaining unpaid at a time to be fixed by the vote of the Town, and when and how said taxes shall be paid into the treasury.
And you are hereby directed to serve this warrant by posting up true and attested copies at the Town Hall and each Post Office in said Westford, seven days at least before the time of holding said meeting.
Hereof fail not, and make due return of this warrant, with your doings thereon, to the Town Clerk, at the time and place of holding the first meeting aforesaid.
Given under our hands this twenty-first day of January, in the year of our Lord Nineteen Hundred and Thirty-two.
WILLIAM R. TAYLOR, , MARK A. PALMER, ARTHUR M. WHITLEY, Selectmen of Westford.
Annual Report
OF THE
SCHOOL COMMITTEE
OF THE
TOWN OF WESTFORD, MASS.
WESTF
WN
O
RD
TO
1729. c
C
RPORATED
SEPT. 23
For the Year Ending, December 31, 1931
3
Organization, School Committee
Axel G. Lundberg
Term expires 1931
Albert G. Forty, Chairman
Term expires 1931
Wm. E. Wright Term expires 1933
George O. Wilson
Term expires 1933
Clarence J. Burne, Secretary Term expires 1932
Edward Spinner Term expires 1932
SUPERINTENDENT OF SCHOOLS Harold D. Sylvester, Westford, Mass.
Tel. Residence 144 Office 133 Westford Academy Office hours 8:00 to 9:00 A. M.
SUPPLY AGENT Harold D. Sylvester
TRUANT OFFICERS
John Sullivan, Forge Village, Mass.
Willard H. Beebe, Graniteville, Mass. Charles Edwards, Nabnasset, Mass. J. A. Healy, Graniteville, Mass. Everett Miller, Westford, Mass.
SCHOOL PHYSICIAN Cyril A. Blaney, M. D., Westford, Mass., Tel. 26
SCHOOL NURSE C. Veronica Payne, R. N., Westford, Mass Tel. Residence 112-13 Office 41-3 Town Hall
4
REPORT OF SCHOOL COMMITTEE
Citizens of Westford:
Our annual report, together with reports of the various depart- ments, is hereby submitted.
The enrollment of the secondary and elementary schools has con -- tinued to increase. Records and information available indicate that the enrollment of the school will be even greater next year. The above fact means additional expense for text books and material as each class advances to a higher grade. This condition will not be overcome for some years due to the fact that in some of the schools the first and second grades have the largest number of pupils.
Owing to illness, Mr. Roudenbush has been unable, since Septem- ber, to continue his duties as principal of Westford Academy. Mr. Alfred Gay has been acting principal.
This year all pupils who have to be transported are riding in en- closed and heated busses. We are transporting 29% more pupils this year than last at a slight increase in cost. An interesting table con- cerning costs of transportation will be found elsewhere in this report.
The School Committee is continually trying to improve the educa- tional opportunities offered to the children of the town and keep the cost of same as low as possible. Even though the enrollment will in- crease next year we will endeavor to maintain our schools with a re- duction in our budget for 1932.
We ask for the sum of $70,000 to maintain the Public Schools of Westford and for the sum of $2,000 for Vocational School tuition for 1932.
Respectfully submitted,
ALBERT G. FORTY,
Chairman.
5
REPORT OF THE SUPERINTENDENT OF SCHOOLS
To the School Committee and Citizens of Westford:
I herewith submit my fifth annual report as Superintendent of the Westford Public Schools.
The Trustees of Westford Academy have presented the institution with a number of books for reference.
This year, as in the past, the Abbot Mills and the Sargent Manu- facturing Company presented the principals of the elementary schools with funds to carry on Christmas parties for the children. From the Abbot Mills the Cameron School received $140, the Nabnassett School $50, and the Wm. E. |Frost School $55. The Abbot Mills and the Sargent Manufacturing Company shared in the gift of $115 for the Sargent School. I do not know of any other community where the children of the town are so generously remembered by employers.
The town speaking contest was won by William Prescott and the spelling contest by Benjamin Benoit.
Our pupils this year took part in a poster contest sponsored by the Massachusetts Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. First prizes were won by Alice Connell and Louise Gibbons; a second prize was won by Irene Dudevoir; John Bohenko and Olivine Ricard received honorable mention.
Under the direction of Mr. Albert Trask the pupils of the Wm. E. Frost School produced a book of poems. "Not great poetry, certainly, but the severest critic cannot deny that it is poetry, with a beauty which comes from a simplicity of the thought to be expressed, from a simplicity of expression and a feeling for what is poetic and what is not." Seven hundred copies of this book were sold. The poems were read over the radio and published in several newspapers.
As a result of work in our penmanship classes, Palmer Penman- ship Certificates were awarded the following: John Bohenko, Marjorie Spinner, Freida Marshall, Vera O'Hara, Antanina Sawocik, Lillian Marcoullier. An improvement certificate was awarded to Stanley Kazeniac.
Pupils entering Westford Academy have not had all the founda- tional training needed to make progress in high school assured and steady; every year we are improving this situation by making the work in each of the eight grades a definite step nearer the goal of preparedness for high school work.
We are raising the standards of work in the Academy. In 1927 the subject passing grade was raised from 65% to 70%. It would seem that we should not permit students to graduate who fail more than 30% of their work.
6
Beginning with the class of 1932 pupils will be required to have SO instead of 76 credits. Below are listed several accredited sec- ondary schools showing the number of credits required for graduation in each.
Name of High School
Number of
credits or
units
Credits
Acton
76 credits
76
Ayer
16 units
80
Chelmsford
17 units
85
Deerfield
80 credits
80
East Bridgewater
78 credits
78
Groton
16 units
80
Hanover
16 units
80
Hardwick
16 units
80
Holliston
80 credits
Littleton
16 credits
80
Lowell
70 credits
70
Melrose
72 credits
72
New Bedford
80 credits -
80
Newton
120 credits
120
Pittsfield
120 credits
120
Quincy
80 credits
80
Salem
80 credits
80
Sharon
80 credits
80
Springfield :
Central
120 credits
120
Commerce
108 credits
108
Taunton
70 credits
70
Watertown
80 credits
80
Westfield
14 units
70
Westford
80 credits
80
Weston
16 units
80
Williamsburg
16 units
80
Average 84
Westford Academy is on the list of high schools approved by the state. Approval by the State Department of Education means that school is in session 180 days during the year, that the periods of reci- tation approximate 45 minutes each, that a four year course is offered. that U. S. History and Physical Education are taught.
It is the duty of the School Committee to determine the subjects to be taught, the passing marks, and the number of credits required for graduation.
What does it mean to be on the list of approved high schools from which pupils may enter certain colleges by certificate ? It means that students whom we have sent to college in the past have made
7
good. If more than 50 percent of the students whom we send to college in the next three years fail, we shall lose our certificate privilege.
We are requiring that every student who represents the school in a contest with other schools must be passing in every subject. We feel that anyone who is not passing a subject cannot afford to devote sufficient time to athletics to make himself a worthy member of a school team. We endeavor to instill in the minds of the pupils that if they wish to succeed in life they must measure up to the mark; no halfway method ever succeeds . We are endeavoring to follow the recommendation of the state department of physical education that a pupil should participate in only two practice periods and one contest per week.
Public schools take stock periodically as carefully and conscien- tiously as does any other business. The school year is on a yearly dividend basis. The commencement season represents the closing season. The school executives present yearly the graduating classes in increasing numbers as dividends to the tax-paying community. They show that the school business is attracting young men as well as young women, as evidenced by the fact that the graduating classes are better balanced between the sexes. They are in a position to show the holding power of the schools on all classes and types of children by the increase in numbers now graduating, an increase out of all proportion to the population growth of the city or town.
We see in the personnel of the graduating classes a more serious, a more alert, and a more developed group. We find in these classes the evidence of the much talked of "equality of opportunity."
Close scrutiny is made of the working force of the school. Pupil failures are analyzed and causes determined. Where the fault lies within the school organization, provision is made for its remedy. When outside the schools, it receives equal attention. Departments are analyzed as to the number of pupils served and the consequent cost. Those not adequately functioning are eliminated.
We have found that our commercial department has been strength- ened by giving the pupils some real work, rather than the mere copying of material from books. One of the commercial teachers is in the office the first period of each day. At this time she collects the letters and other materials to be typed, and has the work done in her classes.
There is stock taking by the teaching, the supervisory, and the executive forces. This is in the nature of individual self-inspection. Often these inspections determine that it is a time for a testing of their teaching methods-an opportunity to gain new vision and re- newed inspiration. To that end, on the credit of the next year's salary, many teachers will attend a summer school that they may better serve the community.
S
If the motoring is rough, it is the road, not the car. If the train rides roughly, it is the poor road bed or the poor equipment, never by any chance the disposition of the passenger. If the young people of a community do not measure up on conduct or otherwise to as many different standards as there are people, it could not be any negative influence in the community; it is the schools.
If the youth of the community, bubbling over with life and energy, display more pep than we can recall possessing when we were young, it is the fault of the disciplinary methods of the school. If the scholarship of the young people of the community is low, it cannot be a dozen distracting influences that make concentration on school work difficult; it is the fault of the school instruction. If homework is assigned to keep less energetic students up to grade, the schools are driving the young people too hard and impairing health. If schools make provisions for health and recreation in their educational pro- gram, they are indulging in fads and going beyond the legitimate sphere of activity of the schools.
If school costs are high, school officials are extravagant. If costs are low, with a resulting lower standard of education, the officials lack vision. If a superintendent exercises authority within his sphere, he is autocratic. If he does not, he is held inefficient and lacking the courage of his convictions. If schools are run wholly in the interests of pupils, with a cold shoulder to appeals for special favors or without consideration of factional interests, they acquire the enmity of all factions.
It is a strange paradox that people know more about the way a school system should be conducted than about any other single project. Being a public institution supported by public moneys, it holds public interest and attention. It is right that it should. A school system bears much the same relation to a community that the only child of a family bears to its near relatives. Many a child has been deprived of its initiative and its opportunity for development because it has been subjected to too much guidance by interested relatives. The school system is the one child of the community, and it should be accorded every opportunity for growth.
The school is concerned with the scholastic accomplishments of the young people. It is concerned with their conduct in and out of school. It is concerned with their physical well-being. It is concerned with their moral standards. It is concerned with the inclinations, interests, and activities of its respective groups. But, on the other hand, it alone cannot be expected to overcome all negative influences. It cannot furnish ability in subjects where ability does not exist. It cannot detect all personal characteristics where mass education is necessary. It cannot eliminate evil tendencies strongly embedded by environment or unwholesome influences.
It can help to remedy these situations. It cannot be held respon- sible for hazards, but it can reduce their effects to a minimum. It can be and is a shock absorber for the ills of a community.
9
We are at this time concerned with the cost of schools. A careful study of the tables following this report will show that we are reducing the cost per pupil. In the last four years we have added three teachers to the elementary schools and three to the Academy. The Academy faculty has grown since 1927 from a faculty of four teachers to a paid faculty of eight this year.
We are transporting more pupils this year than we ever have before and at a much lower rate per pupil. We expect to transport between twenty and forty more pupils next year without additional expense.
We asked the finance board for $2500 for Vocational Tuition for the year 1931, but only $2000 was appropriated. We are required by law to provide vocational education for those who request it. We spent $2108.71 for vocational tuition which, it appears, overdrew our appro- priation by $108.91. Our last bill for tuition was $613.90 with only a balance on hand of 505.10. This means that the bill will come before the town at its annual meeting for approval. Of the $2108.71 spent, the state will refund one-half ($1054.35); therefore we have not directly spent more of the town's money than was appropriated for this purpose. When all the bills for Vocational Tuition have been paid we shall have spent $1054.35 of the $2000 appropriated, leaving a balance of $945.65.
State financial aid in maintaining public schools is derived from three sources :-
1. The income from the Massachusetts School Fund ($5,000,000), which amounts to over $200,000 a year.
2. Such sums as are necessary from the State income tax to meet the payments under Part I of the General School Fund Law, and an amount not exceeding $250,000 from the income tax to meet the requirements for reimbursement under Part II of the General School Fund Law.
3. General appropriations for aid in financing supervision of schools, tuition and transportation of high school pupils, education of children living on islands, and the education of the deaf and of the blind.
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