Annual School Meeting

The annual school meeting was held at the Court House on Monday last. The polls were opened for the election of three trustees, to succeed Philip Bach, Patrick Donovan, and Charles B. Porter, at 10 o'cloek A. M., and held open uutil 2 o'cloek P. M., durmg which 115 duly quahiied electora gave evidenee of their interest iu the public schools, an interest which to our city is second to no other iu importance, by dropping in, votiug, departmg iminediately, or tarrymg a brief while to make some inquines ooncerning the reports placed their hands. At the close of the nolis the count showed : For Philip Bach, - - 115 Patrick Donovan, - - 114 William D. Harriinan, - 102 H. D. Beimett, - - 2 C. B. Porter, 1 Fred Sorg, 1 Messrs. Bach, Doaovan, and Harriman were deelared elected. The business meeting was immediately called to order by the President of the Board, E. B. Pond, and James B. Gott, Secretar of the Board acted in the same capacity. The annual report of the Board was read, as .follows ; ANNUAL EEPOET FOB 1876. The Board of Trustees of School District Xo. One of the city of Ann Arbor, submit the following report for the school year ending this day September 4, 1876: BECEIPTS. Froui Balance to credit of General Fund, Sept. 6, 1875, 1,691 85 Balance to credit of Library Fund, Sept 6, 1875, 166 73 Tax voted to pay interest on bonds duo Feb. 1, 1876, 2,320 00 Tax voted to pay for f uel, insurance, repairs, furniture, janitors' services, and iucidentals, 5,100 00 Tax voted to pay teachers' salarios, - - 10,500 00 Two-mill tax, - - 2,898 04 Primary School Fund, 1,239 50 Fine inoney, - - 54 84 Lyceum, for gas, - - 24 00 Broken seat, - - 2 00 Furnace sold J. W. Knight, 75 00 " Dr. E. Wells, - 75 00 Tuition, Fall term, - 1,627 00 " Winter term, 1,424 25 " Spring term, - - 1,150 00 Bonds issued as per vote of Annual Meeting, ■ - 6,000 00 Premium on Bonds, - - 100 00 Total, 33,348 21 EXPENDITÜBES, Paid Salaries of Teachers, - $18,213 00 Bouds due Feb. 1, 1876, 5 000 00 Interest on bonds due Feb. 1, 1876, - - - 2,320 00 Insuauce on buildings, - 510 00 Janitors 'services several buildings, .- - - 932 00 Gas, - - - 85 75 Wood and coal, - - 1,303 65 Library, - - 134 50 Furniture and apparatus, 144 26 Repairs, - 965 55 Iucidental and CDntingent expenses. - - 767 78 Changing heating apparatus, 1,500 00 Cash ou hand, Library Fund, - 83 07 " " " General Fund, - 1,388 65 Total, $33,348 21 Pursuant to a vote of the last annual meeting, the bonds oi the district to the amouut oí $5,000, due February lst, 1876, have been paid and retired, and new bonds issued in the same amount at 8 pér cent. interest anuually, payable February 1, 1881. The present bouded debt of the district therefore remains the same as reported last year, twenty-niue thousaud dollars ($29,000), payab'e as follows : Bonds due February lst, 1877, $5,000 00 " " " " 1878, 5,000 00 " " " 1879, 3,500 00 " " " " 1880, 10,500 00 " " " " 1881, 5,000,00 $29,000 00 Of this sura there will become due on the first day of February next, principal $5,000 ; interest ou the whole sum at 8 per cent.. 2,320. The Board recommend the paytnent of $2,000 of the principal by a new loan, aud a tix levy for the payment of $3,000 of the principal and the interest, $2,320. This recommenilation is mado in view of the amount whicli the Board have fouud it necessary to expeud in the purchase of a new boiler, aud m improvmg the heating aud venti'ation of the High School building Exclusive of estimated receipts from two mili tax, primary school money, aud tuition lees, the Board estiraate the amounts necessary to be raised by taxation the coming year as ïollows : For salaries of teachers, - - $10,400 Interest on bouds due Feb. 1, '77, 2,320 Bondsfallingdue-Feb. 1,1877, 3,000 In.surauce ou buildings, - 500 Fual, .... 1,600 Repairs, ... 1,000 Fu-niture and incidentals, - 1,000 Jauitor's services for several buildiugs 1,000 Boiler and heatiug apparatun, 1,500 f22,320 In makiug these est'mates the balance on hand is not deducted. It is held, as in former years, as a reserve or accumulation to meet unaudited bilis and for the payment in part of expenses which must necessarily be met before any moueys eau be reahzed from appropriations. The Board would cheerfully decrease the estimates ïf they could do so and subserve the best iuterests of the schools. They cannot keep good and experienced teachers at smaller salaries thau now paid, as yearly resignations to accept higher salanes elsewhere testily. The importance of our High School, both socially and fiuancially, requires that the best superintending aud taching talent be employed, and for such we must p.iy what the same teachers can command elsewhere. And thoy see no way to reduce expenses in the line of repairs, iucidentals, or care of buildings. Iu the last ammal report the Board callea attention to the lack of accommodations in the High School, and suggested as a remedy the transier of a portiou of the Grrammar School to the Fourth ward building. The recommendation was not received with favor by the the anuual meeting, and no chauge was made. In this connection attention is iuvited to the following paragraph extracted from the late aunual roport of the Superintendent : "The want of ampler accommodations for the High School presses upon us more aud more. The Laboratory is much coufiued, barely atfording store room for our present supply of apparatus, and some of the recitation rooms have no more than half the space that the needs of the large classes usjng them demand. Instead of one-half, three-lourths of the Central Buüdiug could be used to good advantage by the High School. This effect might be reached by placing all or a portion of the 6th grade in some of the uuoccupied rooms of the Fourth ward building, - a plan to which there ought to be no senous objection. " Some portions of each year the Second ward school is overciowded. Duriug the last term, as a temporury expedient, a primary class of thirty pupils was divided and each section permitted to attend school only half of each day. " Tne Third ward building is not filled to its capacity, and a readjustmeut of the boundaiy line that would place it uearer the Second ward building would seern to be a happy aud reasonable remedy. " We have an abundance of school room in the city for our present necessities, but the driftings of populatiou have rendered some of it unavailable or nearly so.1' The school work of the year has been successful and satisfactory, and the number of non-resident scholars already entered lor the coming year shows that the reputation of the High School is deservedly high aud widely extended. The receipts from this class of scholars pay a large percentage of the cost of the High School, and the scholars themselves are almost a necessity to many ot the c'asses. For statistics beariug upon the several matters presented in this report, aud for infoiination of general interest, attention is invited to the report of the Supenntundent just made and herewith submitted. Schedule "A," accompanying this report, is an exhibit of the salaries paid teachers for the school year 1875-76. Schedule " B " is a list of teachers employed for the school year 1876-77, with their salaries. Schedule " C " is an estímate of the probable receipts and expeuditures of the coming fiscal year. The term of office of three trustees, Messrs. Philip Bach, Charles B. Porter, and Patrlck Donovan, expires at the date of this annual meeting. The new school census just completed gives the number of childreu iu the district, between the age of five and tweuty, as 2,419, which is 38 less than reported in last year's census. All of which is respectfully submitted. By order of the Board, E. ü. POND, President. James B. Gott, Secretary. Iu explanation of the items in above report giving receipts for tuition, it may be a satisfaction to our readers to say that non-resident pupi.8 paid $3,304.75, and resident pupils, for tuition in languages - CJreek, Latín, French, and Germán, $2 each- $796.50. The report was accepted, and resolutions were adopted making the following appropriations, the moneys to be raised by tax : ïo pay teachers, - - $10,400 for repairs, incidentals, &c, 5,100 boiler, &c, - - 1,500 bonds, - - 3,000 interest on bonds, - 2,320 ■22.320 In addition to the tax voted for teachers salaries, the Board estima ted to come f rom other sources : From two-mill tax, - . Ï2.900 piimary school fund, - 1,200 tuition, - - 3,800 $7,900 makiug the f uil salaries oí teachers provided for 818,300. After considerable discussion a resolution was adopted requesting the Board to iucrease the acooinmodations of the High School by removiug a portion of the sixth grade oí the Grammar School from the Ceutral building to the Fourth ward building. And so ended another annual school meeting. - The Board met at its regular place of meeting (the office of Bach & Abel) on Tueaday eveuiug, and perfected its organization by electing its officers and constituting its committee8 as toliows : President- E. B. Pond . Secretary - James B. Gott. Treasurer - Philip Bach. Cominittee on Teachers, Schools, and Text Books- E. B. Pond, J. B. Gott, M. L. D'Ooge. On Buildings, Grounds, Furniture, and ImproTements - L. C. Bisdon, Patrick Donoran, L. Gruner. Ou Finance, Accounts, Claims, and Fuel - E. Wells, Philip Bach, Wm. D. Harriman.