The Worcester spy. [volume] (Worcester, Mass.) 1898-1904, 1901-12-20
WORCESTER'S
SCHOOL SYSTEM
Superintendent Of Schools C. F.
Carroll Addresses Members of
the Board of Trade on Work
Done in This City
CRITICISM FOR MUCH
OF THE POLICY FOLLOWED

Ally Olty VI Ito S'SA0S N
struction Better Than Deserved
at the Cost-CritiCS Found Mr..
Carroll Able to Answer Them
Superintendent of Schools Clarence
F. Carroll was the attraction at the
Board of Trade smoke talk last night
and his address on 1.-The Public School
System of Worcester" furnished food
for sober thought for the nearly 100
men who were present. Most Of the
audience was made up of the business
men of the city and they listened with
manifest interest to the talk by Mr.
Carroll, which was especially timely
on account of the criticism that is be-
ing made in certain quarters of the
management Of the schools by the
school committee. The meeting was In
charge of the committee on meetings
and it developed just what the COM
mittee has in mind in arranging the
gatherings discussion of Worcester
matters Some of the men present
had their criticisms to make Of the
school system, but Superintendent
Carroll answered all their arguments
and in nearly every case he turned
the shafts of their censure on them
selves, so that the laugh was on them.
In opening his talk Mr.. Carroll said
he would speak of the schools as
big business plant which should be run
on business lines, so that the taxpay7
ers should get all the worth possible
for the money they invest In them.
He said the plant consists of 66 build
| ings, containing 436 rooms, and of
these 40 new buildings and additions
containing 200 rooms have been con-
| structed during the past 10 years,
showing a phenomenal development.
| There Is no other city in the com
monwealth where every pupil is given
a seat and desk. Another interest
| ing fact is that in the past year all
the buildings that have been asked for
| have been built. You are up to date
on your school plant" said Mr.. Car
| roll: but we will ask you to give us
three more buildings the coming year
in order to keep up with the growth Of
the school population"
He then described the interior of the
buildings, calling attention to the ar
rangements that are made for the
comfort and general well being Of the
children who are given commodious
and elegant homes. The sanitary ap-
planes are as good as any found In
| the private homes in most of the build
ings and the committee is making ev-
cry effort to bring all the old buildings
up to the modern standard of santa
ries. The buildings cannot be made
too good, and Mr.. Carroll said he knew
he was voicing the sentiments of all
when he said the people of Worcester
and the people Of America generally
ara rroud Of their schools.
While the people of Worcester are to
be congratulated on the excellence or
their school plant, there are some crit
icisms that can be made justly on ac-
count Of the management of the plant.
and there are other criticisms that are
unjust.
To begin with. every building that
has been erected recently has been
erected a year too late, but this is due
to the traditional way of doing things
in Worcester. Even now, on one OF
the new buildings men are engaged IN
LAYING brick, and all builders know
what results from laying brick in the
dead of winter. The moisture Is re-
tained and when the inner and outer
coverings are put on that moisture is
there and it works bad things on the
health of the children.
Another fault to be found with the
construction of the schoOlhouses IN
winter is that 1t Is practically impossi-
BILE to procure seasoned lumber. and
while the buildings may look all right
when they are accepted by the authorl-
ties, in a couple of years 1t Is possible
TO look into the outside world through
the cracks that are caused by tne
warning timbers. The members Of the
School Committee are allowed to see
the plans and approve them before the
building Is begun, but once the build
ing is started, a member Of the com
mittee has to steal into building ana
run the risk Of being put Off the
premises If he wants to see how the
work is progressing.
1t is a singular question VINO mas
been responsible for the separate de-
tails in the construction Of the school
bouses-not that the work has not been
well done-but because as Things are
done now it is a difficult thing to tell
who is responsible for the work
Ry courtesy the School Committee
NAV nominate a janitor for school
house and by courtesy it can ask Tor
what It wants done. It is generally
done but all the School Committee gets
II through courtesy, and some very
strange things happen because OF the
inability to place the responsibility Tor
the 1anitors. One man can do thing
we'll but two can only half do It. u
is unbusinesslike. 1t creates misunder-
standing between gentlemen equally
responsible and It creates dissatstac-
ton. The people are not getting their
moneys worth
Coming to the question of school fl
nances, Mr. Carroll said the city pays
about $780, 900 a year for salaries and
at that the teachers I'm Worcester are
paid less than the teachers Of any city
of its class in New England and the
Worcester schools are continually los
ing good teachers because they cannot
compete with other cities in the salar-
les paid The books and other supplies
cost about S31, 600 a year. 1t cost the
city S1.65 to fit out each child with
books, pencils, paper, etc, for year.
That figure has not been changed in
a dozen years Notwithstanding that in
1890 there We're 900 children IN the
schools and last year there were be-
tween 1900 and 10000 children. If
person were to attempt TO buy books,
paper and pencils for his children he