Wausau pilot. [volume] (Wausau, Wis.) 1896-1940, 1900-07-03
SIXTH ANNUAL LETTER.
Supt. j. F. Lamont Gives Some In
teresting Facts.

| County Superintendent j. Z. Lamont
has within the last few days sent his
sixth annual letter to school officers
and electors throughout the several
districts of the county, and in it he calls
especial attention to two subjects: a
better and more careful method of
keeping district accounts, and more
/ careful selection of school teachers;
for he says, truly, that the teacher
largely makes the school. Each dis
trict treasurer should keep a regular
account book, and enter in that book
every item of cash he receives, from
whom he received 1T and when. No
elaborate system of bookkeeping is
necessary, but simply plain statement
of accounts The book of accounts
should be the property of the district,
and the treasurer should pass the book
on to his successor when his term of
office, expires The taxpayers should
insist that such accounts be kept in a
plain and complete manner, and it
should be the business Of the committee
required by law to examine into the
accounts of the school officers, to see
that these accounts are in such con-
dition that they show careful hand
ling of the funds of the district.
Mr. Lamont believes that during the
last six years the standard of educational
qualifications on the part of teachers
has been steadily raised, and that never
before in the history of the county have
we had as good q class of teachers as at
the present time His books show that
county are new each year, and from
present indications the percentage will
be even larger than that next year.
The old teachers seem to drop out of
the work after about three years of
active teaehing, and it then becomes
necessary to look for new material to
take their places. Teachers of eXper-
fence or those who have had good
training for the work should be secured,
for the county cannot afford to expert
ment with entirely new material, which
so often times turns out to be entirely
unfit The Marathon County Training
School for Teachers will help greatly
in providing efficient teachers, and
twenty-three graduated from that
school on Friday. Mr.. Lamont pre-
sents the following interesting facts in
regard to Marathon county:
"Few people know the great posi-
bilities of Marathon county. 1t is
larger than the state of Rhode Island,
and it has nearly as many people within
its borders as the state of Nevada. The
value of farm and manufactured articles
produced annually is five million dol
lars. There are twelve thousand chill
dren of school age in the county outside
of the city of Wausau, and z, 104 of them
attended school last year The net
assets of the schools outside of the city
of Wausau, figuring the value of school
houses and school sites and cash on
hand june 50th, 1899, was 1923, ,S99 65.
This county is sure to be the greatest
county in the state. 1t will have the
finest farms and the greatest agricultu-
raj wealth in the northwest, aud it must
have schools that rank with its agricult-
ural and industrial greatness. / think
that our schools compare very favorably
with the schools of the neighbOring
counties, but as the county advances in
the development of its resources the
schools must advance with it."
The letter closes with strong appeal
to parents who have children at school,
to take a greater interest in the work
and give the uperintendent some help
in putting into effect the ways and
means of advancing the schools, Mr.
Lamont has faith in Marathon county,
in her people, and in her schools, and
is ready at all times TO do all that he
can to advance her interests.
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