Vermont phÅ“nix. [volume] (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1834-1955, 1901-07-19
THE SCHOOL MEETING
so MEN VOTED AWAY $4,000
Highly Seasoned Discussion on the
Supervisor ouestion-Some Opinions
Expressed-a is to ID vote.

|
voters approprlating $25 1000 or there
abouts, was again presented Tuesday
| evening, when the annual meeting of
Brattleboro school district No 2 was
held. Less than an hour was occupied
! in transacting the business, but the
voters were treated to an unusual
amount of highly seasoned discussion.
! The meeting was called to order
promptly by Clerk S. w. Kimball, who
| read the warrant. DR.. II. d. Holton
was elected moderator. The reports
of the treasurer and prudential com
mittee as published and previously dis
| tributed were accepted and adopted
without discussion.
The election of officers was then
| taken up. s. w. Kimball was reflect
| ed clerk by acclamation, but in the
election of a member of the school
| board for three years, the term Of
Rev. f. Q. S. Osgood having expired.
| opposition developed. Rev. Mr.. Osgood
| and l.. w. Hawley were nominated.
| Mr. Hawley's name being presented by
E. NJ. Aplin. A ballot was called for
and 80 votes were cast Rev. Mr.. Os-
| good was reelected by ratio of to
| G.. c. Averill was reelected treasurer.
| DR.. Holton was renomnated for audi
tor. but asked to be excused from duty
in that capacity and G. A. Harris was
nominated and elected. r. E. Gordon
was reelected collector at a salary of
| $780, the same as last year.
The number of schools which the
district will maintain the coming year
was left to the discretion of the school
board on motion of c. F. Thompson.
| the number of weeks that they shall
continue being fixed by a vote at So.
| Article 5, to see If the district will
continue to receive tuition scholars.
and If so on what terms, was also left
| to the discretion of the committee on
motion of G. w. Pierce.
The reading of article 6. to see if the
| district will empower the committee to
employ a supervisor, precipitated the
| evenings discussion. c. F. Thompson
moved that in view of the excellent
way in which the plan worked the
| past year the same plan be continued
another year. G. w. Pierce expressed
| the opinion that the voters could not
! speak intelligently on the matter as
the committee, in their report. made no
| suggestion one way or the other and
| apparently were unable to decide in
| their own minds. c. II. Thompson
| chairman of the board, said the report
was left that way for the purpose CT
| drawing out discussion from the voters
and that the committee were united
in the belief that the wisest course
was the one pursued last year. The
committee knew that there was OBJ
| lection TO the present plan in some
parts of the district and they believed
that by drawing out discussion at the
annual meeting they could ascertain
the extent of the opposition.
Mr.. Thompson said that when Miss
Smith. former supervisor, left the
schools the grades were run down.
This was not necessarily Miss Smiths
fault, but under Mr.. Whitaker's super
vision they had rapidly developed and
broadened out, and so far as the COM
mittee could discover the High school
had not suffered in consequence of the
time and attention which Mr. Whita-
ker had given to the graded schools.
The same plan. he said, is being tried
in other places, in some of which it is
successful and in others 1t is not. A
competent man to do this work exclu-
sively would cost the district not less
than $1,000 and a competent woman
not less Ian $3.50
DR.. James Conland said he believed
the best interests of the schools de-
manded a special supervisor, and he
believed the district was wealthy
enough to afford one. He thought Mr..
Whitaker was entitled to credit for
what he had done. but considered it
impossible for him to fulfill his duties
as supervisor and at the same time
give the time which he ought to, to his
duties as principal. c. F. Thompson
thought the old-fashioned rule about
letting good enough alone should apply
in this case, that the High school was
never in better condition than now,
and he considered it unwise to raise
an additional tax to support separate
supervisor. DR.. Holton thought the
young men and women of the High
school needed the daily influence of
the principal
DR.. Fremont Hamilton thought it
looked as though we were paying "our
man" double salary and that he was
supervising too much. To this Chair
man Thompson replied that Mr.. Whit
aker was not receiving double salary,
that his work in the High school was
done in the forenoon and that the
greater part of the work in the grades,
for which he received only $500, was
done in the afternoon and evening.
The doctor then catechised the COM
mitteman as to the number of recita-
tions the principal conducted, the num-
Der of hours he devoted to the High
school work, whether he was hired as
principal of the graded schools or
teacher in the High school, etc.
Rev. f. Q. s. Osgood said the doctor
should know the principals work in
the High school did not consist mere
ly of hearing three or four recitations
each day, but that he had great deal
of clerical and executive work to do
such as laying out work for his assist
ants, etc. DR.. Hamilton then took oc-
casion to relieve his mind by express
ing his views on several matters, but
not as bearing especially on the ques-
ton under consideration. One was
that the district was cutting down at
the wrong point, and as evidence of
this he cited the fact that two of the
best primary teachers had been allow
ed to go elsewhere on account of larger
salaries. Another was that the COM
mittee did not back up the principal
in his punishments.
At this point the question was called
for. The chair asked all in favor of
leaving the matter to the committee
TO rise. Fifteen stood up. Those OPP
posed then stood up, but they lacked
one of equalling the number on the
other side. Under article Z, c. F.
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