USA > Massachusetts > Middlesex County > Westford > Town of Westford annual report 1947-1951 > Part 6
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Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40 | Part 41
102,502.83
102,502.72
117,121.00
117,121.00
3-18 Vocational Tuition
800.00
755.40
1,000.00
1,000.00
33
Plans for New School
12,000.00
-7 -===
Library-1.22%
3-19
Library
3,962.68
3,947.43
3,300.00
3,300.00
Recreation-0.37%
3-20
Care of Common Whitney Playground
335.98
335.98
300.00
300.00
7
300.00
300.00
300.00
300.00
8
Band Concerts
400.00
400.00
400.00
400.00
Unclassified-3.05%
Article Appropriation
Voted and Transfrd. 1947
Amount Expended
Amt. Asked for 1948
Recom- mended for 1948
3-22
Town Reports
815.00
805.76
833.00
833.00
3-21
Memorial Day
300.00
264.65
300.00
300.00
3-23
Compensation Insurance
1,026.63
1,026.63
1,250.00
1,250.00
10
County Extension
10.00
10.00
10.00
10.00
3-27
Finance Reserve
3,000.00
2,983.47
3,000.00
3,000.00
3-27
Finance Board Expense
10,00
10.00
10.00
10.00
3-28
Outstanding Bills
3,297.72
3,297.72
1,500.00
1,500.00
22
Repairing of Sidewalks
500.00
487.05
500.00
500.00
24
Retirement Fund
1,384.00
1,384.00
25
Assessors-Survey and Maps
1,000.00
1,000.00
Cemeteries-1.36%
3-25
Salaries and Wages
2,940.00
2,940.00
3,940.00
3,690.00
Maturing Debt and Interest-0.01%
3-24
Int. Revenue Loans
25.00
25.00
25.00
$241,046.59
$233,771.54
$283,381.55
$272,871.55
State and County Taxes
12,000.00
-
$284,871.55
Estimated Receipts
90,000.00
$194,871.55
--
Art. 4. It is recommended that the Town Treasurer, with the approval of the Selectmen, be authorized to borrow money from time to time in anticipation of revenue.
Art. 11. It is recommended that the gift from Solomon Hyams Fund, Inc. be accepted, and that a vote of appre- ciation be extended to the donors.
Art. 15. In the event that the Town votes to purchase new trucks under Article 14 it is recommended that the Selectmen be authorized to sell two trucks and Fordson grader under this Article.
Art. 17. In the event that the Town votes to purchase two snow plows as proposed under Article 16 it is recom- mended that the Selectmen be authorized to sell two snow plows now used by the Highway Department.
Art. 13. It is recommended that the Selectmen be authorized to install a siren on the Nabnasset school.
Art. 32. In view of the fact that the Finance Committee believes that a new school building, or addition to the present Academy, will be necessary within the next few years it is recommended that a Building Com- mittee be appointed to make a coordinated plan for the proper development of the high school facilities of the Town and that a report be made at the next Annual Town Meeting.
Art. 33. This article as written to raise and appropriate the sum of twelve thousand dollars to be expended on architect plans is not recommended at this time. However, some funds should be provided for the Com- mittee under Article 32.
Art. 34 &
Art. 35. These two articles relative to the purchasing of the Westford Water Company by the Town and for a bill to the Legislature to increase the debt limit as provided by law, in order to purchase it, are not recom- mended. The Finance Committee at the time of the writing of this report has not received any facts or figures from the sponsors of these articles to warrant any action being taken.
Art. 36. The Finance committee recommends that a committee of five be appointed to study the advisability of the purchase of the Westford Water Company and if practicable present a plan of financing, operation and making extensions at the next Annual Meeting.
. If the above recommendations of the Finance Committee are adhered to the tax rate will approximate $50.00 per thousand dollars of valuation. For every appropriation increase of $1,000.00 the tax rate will increase approximately 26 cents. .
Respectfully submitted,
E. KENT ALLEN, Chairman W. OTIS DAY HERFORD N. ELLIOTT EVERETT SCOTT ALBERT FORTY ALLISTER MacDOUGAL.
TOWN OF WESTFORD WARRANT
COMMONWEALTH OF MASSACHUSETTS
Middlesex, ss.
To the Constable of the Town of Westford, in said County,
GREETINGS:
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 at their several polling places, viz:
PRECINCT 1. Town Hall, Westford Center PRECINCT 2. Abbott Hall, Graniteville
PRECINCT 3. Nabnasset School, Brookside
PRECINCT 4. Abbot Hall, Forge Village
MONDAY, MARCH 1, 1948
being the first Monday in said month, at 12:00 o'clock noon for the following purposes:
To bring in their votes for the following officers:
For Three Years
One Selectman
One Member of the Board of Public Welfare
One Assessor
Two Members of the School Committee
One Member of the Board of Cemetery Commissioners
One Trustee of the Public Library
One Member of the Board of Health
One Town Clerk
One Moderator
For One Year
One Constable One Tree Warden
All on one ballot.
The polls will be open from 12 o'clock noon to 8 P. M., and to meet in the Town Hall at Westford Center on the following
SATURDAY, MARCH 6, 1948
at 1 o'clock in the afternoon, then and there to act upon the following articles, viz :
96
ARTICLE 1. To hear the reports of Town Officers and Commit- tees; or act in relation thereto.
ARTICLE 2. To determine the salary and compensation of elected officers and officials as provided by law.
ARTICLE 3. To appropriate money to meet the costs and ex- penses of the following 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. Department of Public Welfare
16. Soldiers' Benefits
17. School Department
18. Vocational tuition
19. Public Library
20. Care of Common
21. Commemoration of Memorial Day
22. Publishing of Town Reports
23. Fire and other insurance
24. Interest on Revenue Loans
25. Cemeteries
26. Street Lights
27. Finance Committee Reserve Fund
28. Unpaid bills of previous years.
ARTICLE 4. To see if the Town will vote to authorize the Town Treasurer, with the approval of the Selectmen, to borrow money from time to time in anticipation of the revenue of the current financial year and to issue a note or notes therefore payable within one year, and to renew any note or notes as may be given for a period of less than one year, in accordance with Section 17 of Chapter 44 of the General Laws; or act in relation thereto.
97
ARTICLE 5. To see if the Town will vote to raise and appropri- ate, or transfer from unappropriated available funds in the treasury, a sum of money for Chapter 81 Highways; or act in relation thereto.
ARTICLE 6. To see if the Town will vote to raise and appropri- ate, or transfer from unappropriated available funds in the treasury, a sum of money for Chapter 90 Highway maintenance; or act in rela- tion thereto.
ARTICLE 7. To see if the Town will vote to raise and appropri- ate the sum of Three Hundred ($300.) Dollars, or some other sum, for the care of the Whitney Playground; or act in relation thereto.
ARTICLE 8. To see if the Town will vote to raise and appropri- ate the sum of Four Hundred ($400.) Dollars, or some other sum, for Band Concerts during the current year; or act in relation thereto.
ARTICLE 9. To see if the Town will vote to transfer a certain sum of money from the Machinery Fund to the Highway Equipment Account; or act in relation thereto.
ARTICLE 10. To see if the Town will vote to raise and appropri- ate the sum of Ten ($10.) Dollars and elect a Director, under the pro- visions of Sections 40 to 45 of Chapter 128 of the General Laws, as amended; or act in relation thereto.
ARTICLE 11. To see if the Town will vote to accept a gift made to it during the year 1947 by the Solomon Hyams Fund, Inc .; or act in relation thereto.
ARTICLE 12. To see if the Town will vote to raise and appropri- ate the sum of Two Thousand ($2,000.) Dollars, or some other sum, for the purpose of reconstructing Groton Road contingent upon the State and County contributing towards the cost of said reconstruction; or act in relation thereto.
ARTICLE 13. To see if the Town will vote to raise and appropri- ate the sum of One Thousand ($1,000.) Dollars, or some other sum, for the purpose of reconstructing the Town Farm Road and re- constructing, repairing or widening the Town Farm Road Bridge, all contingent upon the State and County contributing towards the cost of said reconstruction; repairing or widening; or act in relation thereto.
98
ARTICLE 14. To see if the Town will vote to raise and appropi- ate a sufficient sum of money for the purpose of purchasing two new trucks for the Highway Department, said purchase to be made under the supervision of the Board of Selectmen; or act in relation thereto.
ARTICLE 15. In the event of an affirmative vote under Article 14, to see if the Town will vote to authorize the Selectmen to sell two trucks and the Fordson grader now used by the Highway Depart- ment and apply the sum received therefor against the purchase price of the two new trucks; or act in relation thereto.
ARTICLE 16. To see if the Town will vote to raise and appropri- ate a sufficient sum of money for the purpose of purchasing two snow plows for the Highway Department, said purchase to be made under the supervision of the Board of Selectmen; or act in relation thereto.
ARTICLE 17. In the event of an affirmative vote under Article 16, to see if the Town will vote to authorize the Selectmen to sell two snow plows now used by the Highway Department and apply the sum received therefor against the purchase price of the two snow plows to be purchased; or act in relation thereto.
ARTICLE 18. To see if the Town will vote to raise and appropri- ate a sufficient sum of money for the purpose of making alterations and repairs to the steam roller now used by the Highway Department; or act in relation' thereto.
ARTICLE 19. To see if the Town will vote to raise and appropri- ate a sufficient sum of money for the purpose of refinishing the Fire House at Westford Center; or act in relation thereto.
ARTICLE 20. To see if the Town will vote to raise and appropri- ate a sufficient sum of money for the purpose of purchasing five hun- dred feet, or some other quantity, of new 21/2 inch double jacket treated fire hose, said purchase to be made under the supervision of the Board of Fire Engineers; or act in relation thereto.
ARTICLE 21. To see if the Town will vote to raise and appropri- ate a sufficient sum of money for the purpose of purchasing one thousand feet, or some other quantity, of hose to be used by the Forest Fire Department, said purchase to be made under the supervision of the Forest Warden; or act in relation thereto.
ARTICLE 22. To see if the Town will vote to raise and appropri- ate .a sufficient sum of money for the purpose of repairing certain public sidewalks; or act in relation thereto.
99
ARTICLE 23. To see if the Town will vote to raise and appropri- ate, or transfer from the account entitled "Excess, and Deficiency," the sum of Ten Thousand ($10,000.) Dollars, or some other sum, for the purpose of erecting a new Fire House at Graniteville, said sum to be in addition to the sum of Fifteen Thousand ($15,000.) Dollars al- ready appropriated for this purpose at the annual Town meeting held . February 18, 1946; or act in relation thereto.
ARTICLE 24. To see if the Town will vote to raise and appropri- ate the sum of Thirteen Hundred Eighty-Four ($1384.) Dollars for the purpose of paying to the Treasurer of the Middlesex County Retire- ment System the amounts allocated to the Town of Westford by the County Commissioners in accordance with the provisions of Chapter 32 of the General Laws, as amended; or act in relation thereto.
ARTICLE 25. To see if the Town will vote to raise and appropri- ate the sum of One Thousand ($1,000.) Dollars, or some other sum, for the purpose of continuing the survey and maps of the Town under the supervision of the Board of Assessors; or act in relation thereto.
ARTICLE 26. To see if the Town will vote to authorize the Selectmen to install one additional street light on Pine Street; or act in relation thereto.
ARTICLE 27. To see if the Town will vote to authorize the Selectmen to install one additional light on West Prescott Street in Forge Village at or near the home of Josephine M. Connell; or act in relation thereto.
ARTICLE 28. To see if the Town will vote to authorize the Selectmen to install two additional lights on Dunstable Road; or act in relation thereto.
ARTICLE 29. To see if the Town will vote to authorize the Selectmen to install one or more lights on Chamberlin Road; or act in relation thereto.
ARTICLE 30. To see if the Town will vote to authorize the Selectmen to install one or more street lights on Elm Street; or act in relation thereto.
ARTICLE 31. To see if the Town will vote to authorize the Selectmen to install a siren on the Nabnasset School; or act in rela- tion thereto.
100
ARTICLE 32. To see if the Town will vote to appoint seven voters of the Town to act with the School Committee as a Building Committee, and further vote to authorize and empower said Building Committee to procure plans for the erection of a new school building, or for an addition to the present Academy Building; or act in relation thereto.
ARTICLE 33. In the event of an affirmative vote under the pre- ceding Article, to see if the Town will vote to raise and appropriate the sum of Twelve Thousand ($12,000.) Dollars, or some other sum, to be expended under the supervision of the Building Committee for the purpose of employing an architect to draw plans for a new school building or for an addition to the present Academy Building; or act in relation thereto.
ARTICLE 34. To see if the Town will vote at its meeting to take by purchase or eminent domain the franchise, property and all rights and privileges of the Westford Water Company in accordance with Section 12 of Chapter 175 of Massachusetts General Laws; or act in relation thereto.
ARTICLE 35. To see if the Town will vote to petition the Massachusetts General Court to increase the amount, by which Section 13 of the General Laws of Chapter 175, Acts of 1907, limit the bond issue to $75,000 .; or act in relation thereto.
ARTICLE 36. To see if the Town will vote to have the Moderator appoint a committee of five members to arrange for the purchase of the Westford Water Company and to bring in a report not later than June 1, 1948 relative to the manner in which the Town will set up and operate the Water Company if purchase is voted for by the Town; or act in relation thereto.
ARTICLE 37. To see if the Town will vote to raise and appropri- ate a sufficient sum of money for the purpose of defraying the ex- penses of the Department of Veterans' Services, including the com- pensation of the Director of Veterans' Services, as provided in Chapter 599 of the Acts of 1946; or act in relation thereto.
ARTICLE 38. To see if the Town will vote to authorize the Board of Assessors to use as free cash a sum of money not to exceed Fifteen Thousand ($15,000.) Dollars, said amount to be approved by the Com- missioner of Corporations and Taxation of the Commonwealth, and said sum to be applied in determining the tax rate for the current year 1948; or act in relation thereto.
101
And you are directed to serve this warrant by posting up true and attested copies thereof at the Town Hall and at each Post Office in said Westford, seven days at least before the time of holding said meeting.
Hereof fail not, and make return of this warrant, with your doing's thereon, to the Town Clerk, at the time and place of holding the first meeting aforesaid.
Given under our hands this sixth day of February in the year of our Lord, 1948.
ARTHUR L. HEALY CYRIL A. BLANEY EDWARD F. HARRINGTON
Selectmen of Westford.
102
Annual Report
OF THE
School Committee
OF THE
TOWN OF WESTFORD
WESTF
OWN
1729.
CO
3
PORATED
SEPT
For the Year Ending December 31,
1947
ORGANIZATION - SCHOOL COMMITTEE
F. Stanley Smith, Secretary Term Expires 1950
James L. Knowlton
Term Expires 1950
Frederick W. Gatenby, Chairman Term Expires 1949
Edgar S. Peterson Term Expires 1949
William J. Kelly Term Expires 1948
H. Arnold Wilder
Term Expires 1948
SUPERINTENDENT OF SCHOOLS
Beaumont A. Herman
Office-Westford Academy Telephone 561
Office Hours: 8:30 A. M .- 4:30 P. M.
CLERK
Mrs. Alice Whitcomb
SCHOOL TELEPHONES:
Cameron School 542 Sargent School 553 .
Wm. E. Frost School 230 Westford Academy 771
Nabnassett School 233
SCHOOL PHYSICIAN
Dwight W. Cowles, M. D., Westford, Mass.
Tel. 521
SCHOOL NURSE Dorothy Healy, R. N., Westford, Mass. Tel. Office 391, Town Hall
104
REPORT OF THE SCHOOL COMMITTEE
To the Citizens of Westford:
The School Committee has read and accepted the report of the Superintendent of Schools which follows:
In order to operate the Westford Schools for the year 1948 the Committee is asking for the sum of $117,121 and the amount of $1500 for vocational tuition. Increased cost of supplies and the higher salaries necessary to obtain teachers account for practically all of the increase in the school budget. The increase in vocational tuition results from higher tuition rates set by the state.
Under the provision of a new statute, the town will receive ap- proximately $7,400 from the state for bus transportation. This, to- gether with the usual reimbursement on teachers' salaries and for state wards, will bring the net expenditures down to about $103,000.
One new member, Mr. James L. Knowlton, was elected this year to the Committee, succeeding Mr. Robert Hunter.
FREDERICK W. GATENBY, Chairman.
105
REPORT OF THE SUPERINTENDENT OF SCHOOLS
To the Westford School Committee:
I am pleased to submit my first annual report as Superintendent of Schools in Westford. Inasmuch as I have served as Principal of Westford Academy for the greater part of the year, I shall also report for the Academy.
After the most destructive and disorganizing war our civilization has ever experienced, world leadership has suddenly fallen into the hands of the United States. Individuals and groups are seeking. new directions, new relationships, and new values. The destructive forces of Communism are rampant. If our nation is to measure up to the challenge of leadership-and it has no choice-", and if the debilitating and chaotic influences of Communism are successfully to be combatted, a free nation must marshal all of its resources. Among the most vital of these resources is a system of universal education.
Public schools in America were organized to preserve democracy and to keep our nation strong. Our forefathers deemed universal edu- cation as the essential process to make our democracy work; an edu- cated and intelligent citizenry is more of a prerequisite in a demo- cratic form of government than in any other form. Education serves the two-fold purpose of strengthening our nation and of developing alert and trained citizens.
About the aims of American education there is little disagreement. In regard to the means for effecting these aims there may be con- siderable difference of opinion. My report will concern itself largely with an examination of some of the means used in our Westford public schools.
In the vast struggle for educational advances there are a great many individual sectors; and, just as in an extensive military cam- paign, certain of these sectors are the center of more concerted activities at some times, and at other times the emphasis may shift to other areas. The entire front cannot be advanced simultaneously. In Westford in recent years many advances have been made in social- izing our education. Textbooks with emphasis on social aspects have been introduced and much has been done to socialize the work done in classes throughout all the grades. This year we have attempted to hold the advances in these fields, but the main attack has been in the areas of fundamental tools and disciplines. The slogan has been "Fun- damentals plus Enrichment." Fundamentals have been deliberately placed first, with as much enrichment as possible added.
106
ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS
One of the most important skills an individual can possess both inside and outside of school is the ability to read. Facility in reading is not only a source of enjoyment but an essential tool in other school subjects. The wealth of knowledge contained in subject textbooks is valueless to the student unless he has competency in reading. Many failures in subject matter are traceable not to the difficulty of the particular subject but to the inability of the student to read and com- prehend the material. One of the most promising fields for the im- provement of pupils in every department of learning is remedial reading. The schools must teach first the mechanics of reading and then, as the pupil attains a feeling of security in his ability to read, impart a desire to read.
The first subject, therefore, which was attacked this year in Westford was reading. Examination was made of the existing reading system, consultations were held with professional experts in the field of reading, and teachers' meetings were held to discuss various sys- tems. It was finally decided to adopt the Curriculum Foundation Series of basic readers. This system is the result of many years of scientific research and experimentation. It is particularly helpful to the first grade pupils by its very gradual approach to actual reading ability. It is now in use in the first three grades and will be extended through the other elementary grades.
A subject of much comment among the Academy teachers and among parents has been the palpable weakness of many pupils in spelling. No spelling textbooks were in use in the elementary schools except in one or two rooms. I have always considered spelling a basic subject and found pleasure in comparing systems of spelling for use in our schools. After much consideration it was decided to adopt THE PUPIL'S OWN VOCABULARY SPELLERS under the general editorship of Gates who has carried on continuous research in the fields of reading and spelling for over twenty-five years. Each child from grades three to eight now has a spelling text, and a concerted drive is under way to improve the spelling of Westford pupils.
With the new systems of reading and spelling I feel that some- thing concrete has been accomplished in the improvement of funda- mentals in our elementary schools. Next year our attention will be focussed on the teaching of arithmetic and English. In this connection we are examining possible courses of study in these subjects in the elementary schools. There is need for some definite guide for teachers in these subjects so that pupils coming from different schools or from different teachers within the same school will have covered the same material and be trained in the same techniques. This is particularly
107
true where we have a large turnover in our instructional staff and many of our teachers are inexperienced. Our principals do not have the opportunity to provide adequate supervision, and a course of study would be a helpful guide to the young teacher.
ACADEMY
The problem in the Academy is akin to that in practically every American high school. Since 1870 the general population in the United States has increased three times over, whereas the enrollment in high schools for the same period has been multiplied about ninety times. Obviously the high schools are faced with new problems. The second- ary school is no longer chiefly a college preparatory school. One problem is to provide the necessary preparation for that percentage of our students who are going on to institutions of higher education and at the same time to offer adequate training for the majority for whom their senior year in the Academy will be their last year of formal education.
Allied to the problem of what courses or subjects to offer in high school is that of promotion. At one time promotion from grade to grade was based entirely upon the passing of a specified group of subjects. As enrollments increased and curriculums expanded to care for those who were not interested in or lacked ability to handle the so-called academic subjects, the conception of the "social promotion" developed .- In many cases pupils were promoted even though attain- ments in specific subjects might be low. Those affected were thus not discouraged from continuing in school, for they advanced along with their social group. The problem, of course, is where to draw the line. If a pupil is promoted merely because "he is doing his best", is it fair to the student who by intensive study makes real academic progress ? Yet if the school does not offer a wide variety of courses, does the pupil who is not gifted in the more academic subjects have a fair chance ?
Many of our American schools adopt the social promotion theory, and in our Academy we have often given a passing mark of C- to pupils who their teachers felt were working to the extent of their ability. This trend necessitates a re-evaluation of a high school diplo- ma if it is continued. President Beatley of Simmons College em- phasized the real problem of social promotions when carried to extremes in an address at the National Education Association in 1930. He stated in part:
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