The Waterbury Democrat., 1938-10-28

tive by Willard E. GiVens of the National Education Association of the United States in the second Of what will be a series Of statistical reports presented to the Waterbury Teachers and Principals associa- tione, who are combating the economy prcposnls of uriftinhagen e AssUclnteB. Upward revision of salaries may be desirable soon, the report states.
 Mir. dlvens states salaries of Wa terbury high school teachers and grammar school teachers rank i4th when coInpAred to the average salaries of teachers in S7 other ccin- parable cities within radius of l2O miles Of Waterbury.
 Salaries of janitors in Waterbury schools are below average. "Janitors salaries in your city are 2Srd itl rank in both mean and inediAn salaries. Low salaries for the janitorial staff, as in other branches of the school service, will tend in the long run to discouraRe ambitious and able men from seeking such positions when they can be paid more elsewhere, the statement reads.
 Tn his previous communication, Mir. Qivens stated that Water- bury ranked 18th when compared to the other S6 cities in the area with regard to average cost per pupil.
 Tt is unfortunate that the salaries of principals in Waterbury are low as compared with other sities In your section of the country, the latest bulletin contends.
 statlatlcs Supplied
 Addressed to the Teachers and princlpais of Waterbury, Mfr 0ivens communication is as fol- lows: Waterbury,
 F"This is in further reply to your question about school costs in Waterbury. In my former letter l gave you evidence which shows that Waterbufy's average expendi" t,ire per ptHpii is somewhat lower than might Dc expected in view of Waterbury's size and its per capita wealth. The city was com. pared with 34 others located within t2b miles of Waterbury and having e population ranging from BO,0OO to t60,000. The two largest cities in Connecticut were included also, making Q total Of S7.
 This letter will deal with the relative salaries of school employees. Salaries make up Q large part Of the school budget and deserve special attention in any analysis Of school costs. one needs to con. sidhr the trends over Q period of years, the average amounts paid to individual workers, and the kind of salary schedule.
 Personal service is the most valuable commodity which IS pur- chased with the school money. Tn tie long run the people Of com. munity get good quality n school personnel only when they are willing to pay for It. They have to p6y for quality, just as they do in purchases which they make from their personal funds. It is true, Of ceaifse. that devoted and loyal ser- vice has been given to the schools in many places where salaries were cut with the onset Of the depression, But if low salaries be- come tho rule instead of an enier- Reicy measure, the best canal. dates for teaching will pc drawn away to other occupations Tor which society gives higher re- wards and the children in the schools will Dc the losers.
 The Waterbury Board Of Educa- ton has been following q pro- presslye policy in salaries for . number of years. It was one Of the pioneers in adopting in 1920 c salary schedule which was come prehensive in scope and which of- fered reasonably attractive salar- les. With minor adjustments this baslc schedule has remained in ef- feet, aitho severe precentage cuts were applied during the years after 1881. Very few cities the size of Waterbury have kept the same salary schedule over 70 long q period: many cities found It i,ecessary to make substantial re. visions upward during the period from 1925 to 1880. and the process still goes on in many places. Costs Per Pupil for InstFuctionai
 Salaries Have Been Reduced
 The reports of the Board Of Ed- ucation in Waterbury show that the expenditures per pupil for salaries Of teachers and princi- pals were considerably lower in io30-37 than they were some years aRo, The trend over c period Of years. as given in Table 1. shows that the average cost was highest in ieaD.3i end lowest in ie3S.34.
 The average cost per pupil Tor instructionai salaries in toSg-T was olA percent of the average cost in io30-3i. Some progress has been made toward restoration but, with the present 10 percent salary cut, and the reduction in school staff, 1t is unlikely that the iDS0-ai level hes been reached.
 Waterbury Is Near ihe Ayefhgee h Protoflleh Of the Tosal school Yiudeel Used for Teachers Salaries
 If too large . proportion of the school budget is used for iil- skructlouaI salaries and expengeg other areas of the school service aro likely to be sighted. It does not appear, however. that Wa- terbury Is deyoting on excessive share of the total school dollar 10 teachers salaries. For the