Vermont phÅ“nix. [volume] (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1834-1955, 1907-07-19

commttee-Tax Of 65 Cents Voted.
There was a good-sized attendance at
,r. annual meeting of school district No.
gH.M Tuesday evening, about 200 voters
tsng present. About % women occupied
seats i'm the south end of the high school
assembly room.
THE meeting was called to order by Dr.
uo.ton. the moderator, and the warrant
WI. read by w. a. Gilbert, clerk. Pro-
...l.nr to business under the several ar
r.cy pr II. d. Holton was reelected
moderator for the ensuing year. The
rr..t,d report of the treasurer and pru-
DENTAL committee was accepted and
at.ptod When the election of officers was
reached f. Q. 5. Osgood was unanimously
chosen his own successor as a member of
fr. prudential committee for three years.
Walter A. Gilbert was reelected clerk,
George G., Averill treasurer and Charles
4 Harris auditor.
T.rIor articles and it was left to the
discretion of the committee to receive tu-
itf,n scholars and to continue to employ a
Supervisor Of grades for the ensuing
wear. Under article it was voted to
authorize the prudential committee, in
gn-1ucraton with the Woman's club, to
continue the school for manual training
during the summer of 1908 and to appro-
pirate 5000 for that purpose. Under ar
ticle it was voted to raise a tax of 65
cents on a dollar of the grand list as
recommended by the prudential committee
in their report. This comprised the actual
business transacted.
Dr. Fremont Hamilton occupied the
time from ten minutes past until .
o'clock with an attack upon the school
board. the high school principal, the SUI
u,rvisor, the management of the primary
schools and the general use of the
districts money. His remarks were
made under the motion of Mr.. Pierce for
the adoption of the reports of the treas
urer and the prudential committee and
his attack was based in the main on the
injury which he said had been done him
hv the expulsion of his son from school.
His discussion covered so much ground
that Judge A. f. Schwenk finally moved
20 amend Mr.. Pierce's motion so as to
cover first. only the adoption of the
treasurer's report. Mr.. Pierce accepted
the amendment and it was very cordially
agreed to by the meeting. DR.. Hamilton
made a very good summary OF his own
remarks when he answered an attempt to
call him to order by saying: II am mad
clear through. These men have had their
innings for 80 weeks and now l am going
Ia have mine"
Mr. Osgood made a very pointed re-
quest that DIR. Hamilton confine himself
20 explicit charges so that they could be
answered The meeting became very I'M
easy under the situation, and W. H. Vim
ton and c. A. Miles raised protests at
different times that DR.. Hamiltons re-
marks were irrelevant and out of order
The doctors final attack was upon the
increased salaries paid to the school
board. $3.50 to the chairman and S75 each
to the other two members of the board
The discussion was finally grought to an
end by Col. Haskns with a motion that it
be limited to Just one minute more
Mr. OsgOod then took the floor saying
that he wanted to speak about the treas
urer's report and the work of himself
and the other members of the committee,
although he felt almost as though he
ought to be in the county jail and not in
the schooroom in the presence of the
voters and the fathers and mothers of
the district. He had ben charged with
receiving S15 a night for ten regular
monthly meetings during the year, but
these and other meetings, he said. rep
resented very little of the work that the
committee have to do. l could occupy an
hour i'm telling a good many things we
do. l have been a member of the school
board for eight years l took paper
and pencil at the end of last year-for l
keep diary and know what work l have
done in the schools-and it has been grac-
iously and gladly done-and l found that
during the year l had furnished 90 days
Of ten hours each in the schools, and
not In these meetings. In addition to that.
think of the number of parents, anxious
fathers and mothers. who come to us
and that occupies many, many hours.
Mention was made" he said, 'of our
supervisor receiving $3.50. We have raised
her salary to $3.50 for next year. She is a
woman who is worth $500 and l think
Brattleboro is very fortunate in being able
10 retain her services. In addition to
that in the high school and the graded
schools so far as we can, we are raising
The teachers salaries to what they ought
Co be in comparison with the work done
by teachers of the same Caliber in other
schools and I am proud to say that
Bratteboro ranks high among the schools
Of Vermont, both in salaries paid and
the work done.
The treasurer's report accounts for the
money expended and shows that 1t has
been carefully done. It has occasioned a
great many sleepless hours on the part
OF the committee to wedge in the work
and the repairs and all the other eX-
penses, and l feel that we have come out
pretty well at the end of the year, with
nearly $4,000 paid on our bonded debt, also
th' temporary loan and the interest and
our schools ready to begin the work of
another year"
When the motion was finally put the
reports of the treasurer and the pru-
Dental committee were unanimously &C
eonted and adopted.
Mrs. Fremont Hamilton then asked that
lne minutes of the adjourned school
meeting of last year, when the salaries of
III" school board We're fixed, be read, her
POINT evidently being that the increase
was not legally made. The minutes were
rad by the clerk. Judge Martin and Mr..
Adams said to the meeting that Mr.. Os-
good the chairman, had abundantly
earned his increase in salary and much
more. So far as their SO was concerned
lh'y had each given it for the Washing
TON trip Of the senior class.
When nominations were called for to
MI the vacancy created by the expiration
oI MI Osgood's three years term, Mr..
ySsood was nominated for reelection and
Dr. Hamilton nominated Rev. G. B. Law
son. Doubt was expressed by several
friends of Mr.. Lawson as to his accept
aAce Of the office If elected. DR.. Hamilton
reused when Intercepted to say
whether he had consulted Mr.. Lawson in
regard to the matter
{. A. Miles spoke briefly, saying that
I.r school had never been in so good con-
uugn as at present, praising the efficient
WORK OF Principal Smith, and protesting
'sdlnst his Villfication.
me climax of the meeting came at this
p''ht' when Judge James NJ. Tyler arose