Annual School Meeting

i he annual meeting of School District No Ono of this city, which includes tho whole city and a. belt of country surrounding it, was held at the Court House on Monday last. Preliminary to the election of officera a public meeting was held on Thursday of last week, at which Messrs. Israel Hall, Alonzo A. Uregory and Christian Mack ware placed in nomiuation, nóminally as an " anti-ring " ticket. No other ticket was brought out on Monday, - contrary to the hopes and fears of certain parties who had heare of that terrible " ring " and were "spoiliag íor a fight" andvictory,- so that tha election was as in former years, a sort of "jug hándle " affair. 475 voters exercised the right of sufFrage, and at the close of the polls, 2 o'clock p. m., the result was determinad aud announced as follows: For Israel Hall, 469 " Alonzo A. Oregory, 4.58 " Christian Maok, 465 " Scatteriug, Whereupon Messrs. Hall, Gregory, and Mack were declarad eleoted trustees for the eusuing terrn of three years. These gentlemen are well-kuown citizens, large property holders, and iuterested in tho welfare of our city, and we have no reason to believe that the schools will suiïor from any acts of thelrs. The regular business meeting was held at 2 p. in., the first business In order being the reading of the annual report of the Board, as follows : ANNUAL REPORT. The Board of Trustees of School District No. Ons of the city of Anu Arbor submit the following report for the school year onding this day, September 3, 1877 : EECEIPTS. Prom Balance to credit oi General _ Fuud. 1,3S8 65 Balance to credit of Library Fund, 83 07 lax voted to pay interest on Bouds due Feb. 1, 1877, 2,320 00 Tax voted to pay forfuel, surauca, repairs, iuruiture, janitors' services, and incidentals, 5,100 00 Tax voted to pay teachers' salaries, - . 10,400 00 Tax voted to pay for boiler aud heating apparatus, 1,500 00 Tax voted to pay Bonds (lue Feb. 1, 1877, - - 3,000 00 Two-mill tax, - - 2,866 43 lJrimary School Fund, . 1,112 74 Fiue money, - - - 53 17 Tuition, mm-resident pupils, 3,952 28 " resident pupils, - 645 00 Bonds issued as per vote of Annual Meeting, - 2,000 00 Premium on bonds issued, - 30 00 (Jas, Alpha Sigma Society, - $32 00 Gas, Cliosophic Society, 8 00 40 00 Gain on Collection of taxes, 33 Total, - . $34,490 67 EXPENDITUBES, jfaid Salaries of Teachers, - 118,000 25 Bonds due Feb. 1, 1877, 6,000 00 Interest on bonds due Feb, 1. 1877, - - 2,320 00 Heat ing apparatus, balance, 2,872 00 Bant of Fitth utroet school room, - - - 90 00 Gas from June 1, '76 to June, 1, '77, - - 162 70 Insurance. - 610 00 Taking census for 1876, - 50 00 Librarían, - - - 50 00 Books of Library, - - 71 35 Janitors' seryiceB, - - 1,047 66 Wood and coal, ... 1,180 75 Furniture, matting, and apparatus, ... 20 34 Repairs on buildings and tences, - - - 696 94 Incidental and contingent expenses, - - 1,024 06 Cash on hand, General Fund, 829 01 " " Library Fund, 64 89 Total, - - - $34,490 67 The expenditure on account of heating appuratus tor the central building is larger than was estimated in the last report. Yet the Board f6el confident that the bilis for material and labor- both rendered at the cost to the contractor, without charge for his time in superintending- were reasonable. The increase from the estimates comes from increasing the efficiency of the work, both in heating and veiuuanng capacuy. w ïtn tne one boiler and the old system 80 pounds of steam were required, and then the rooms could not be made warm in severo weather. Now, with but 10 lbs. of steam, school rooms and halls, including the large assembly hall, which is more or less iu use every day, can be oomfortably and sufficieutly heated. The Board trast that with even the increased expense experience will prove the iuvestmeut a good one. Fursuant to a vote of the last annual meeting the bonda of the district, to the amount of $5,000, due February Í, 1877, have been paid and retired, $3,000 of which was paid by tax voted at the last annual meeting, and $2,000 by the issue of sew bonds at 8 per cent. interest annually, payable July 1, 1882. The present bouded debt of the district is $26,000, payable as follows : Bonds due February lst, 1878, $5,000 00 " " " " 1879, 3,600 00 " " " 1880, 10,600 00 " " " " 1881, 5,000 00 ' 1882, 2,000 00 Of this sum there will become due on the lirst day of February next, principal, $5,000 ; and interest on the whole sum at 8 per cent., $2,080. The Board recommend that the amount necessary to provide tor the payment of the principal and interest falling due February 1, 1878, viz : $7,080, be raised by tax, Exclusive of the estimated receipts from two-mill tax, primary school money, and tuitiou fees, the Board estimate the amouuts necessary to be raised by taxation the coming year as follows : For salaries of teachers, - - $10,125 00 Bonds due Feb. 1, 1878. - - 5,000 00 Interest on bonds due Fab. 1. '78. 2.080 nn Insurance ou buildings, - - 510 00 -Fuel, - - 1,600 00 Kepairs, ... 1,000 00 Furniture aud incidentals, - - 1,000 00 Jauitors' services ïor several buildiugs, 1,050 00 $22,265 00 These estimates are made in full view of the stringency of the times, but with the duty and necessity laid upoa us of maiutaining the efficiency and high standing of the schools. Including $2,000 more for the paymeut aud retiring of bouds than voted last year, they nevertheless fall short of last year's appropriatioii8. It will be noticed that aside trom bouds, interest, and teachers' salaries, the estimates amount to but $5,060, assuredly not a large sum for repairs, insurauce, furniture, fuel, janitora' services, and incidental expenses, The estimat for teachers' salaries, $18,025, may be considerad large, lf no thought be given to the extent and character of the schools. It should be remembered, however, that the average attendauce upon the schools exceeds 1,400 ; that the teaching force aiready employed numbers thirty-five ; that the High School is larger than any other High School in the State, that of Detroit excepted, aud more than twice as large as any other High School of the State, that of Grand Bapids excepted ; and that it prepares more students for the Umversity, or a college couisu elsewhere, thau all the other High Schools of the State, and more than any other public school in the United States, while providiug a thorough and extended Commercial Course, ri valling the courses in expensive Commercial or Business Colleges, for our students not desiriug a college course. It may also be stated, and frotn official figures, that the cost of our High School per scholar, iucluding Buperintendence, instruction, and incidentals, was in 1875 (the latest report at hand), but 32.08. In othor leadiug Hiffh Schools of the State it was as follows : Adrián, f40 11 Howell, 56 19 Battle Creek, 38 20 Kalamazoo, 40 08 Coldwater, 44 78 Lausing, 39 47 East Sagiuaw, 50 63 Marshall, 48 60 Grand Rapids, 41 82 Pontiac, 42 OG Houghtou. 66 32 Saginaw City 53 22 In the same year the cost per cauita was further reduced to our taxpayers by the collection of $4,029 for tuition of non-resident pupils and for that of resident pupila in the languages. Iu but two other schools of the State did the tuition receipts reach $1,000, the higher of those two being Dut $1,221. This year our tuition tees, as shown in the fínancial statement above, aggregate $4,557 28, while the operating expenses of the High School have uot been increased, The same official tables alao make a favorable showiug as to the total cost ot operating our whole school system, especially as to cost per capita for incidental expenses, the aggregate ot which may have been considered large. Adrián, Bay City, Flint, Grand Haven, and Lansing are the only schools reporting a lower rate than ours, which is bul $3 Üó per scholar. To maintain this high standar I, insure the best advantages to our own pupils, and bring to our school a large number of non-resident scholais, whose presence in the classes both iucrease the interest and stimulate the zeal of our own scholars while they decrease the cost per capita - the instruction of a class of tweuty or thirty in Greek or Latin, French, German, or higher matheuiatics, costiug uo more than would that of a class of five or ten,- experienced and able teachers must be employed, and experience and ability oombined oannot be secured lor smaller salaries than are now paid our principal teachers. The üoard cannot believe that to saye the mere pittance of a few hundred dollars the taxpaycrs would desire them to substituto for their present efficiënt and superior corps, vouna and untried teachers. For statistics bearing upon the several matters presented in this report, and for informahon of general interest, attention is invited to the report of the Superintendent just made and herewith submitted. Schedule " A " aocompanying this report, is an exhibit ot the salaries paid teachers for the school year 1876 and 1877. Schodule " B " is a list of teachers employed for the school year 1877 and 1878, with their solarie8. Schedule " C " is an estímate of the probale receipt8 and expeuditures of the coming iscal year. The term of office of three trustees, Messrs. Ebenezer Wells, Elihu B. Pond, and Martin L. D'Ooge, expires at the date of this annual meeting. The new school census just completed gives the number of children in the district, between the ages of fiTe and twenty, as 2,311. All of which is respectfully submitted. By order of the Board, E. B. POND, President. Jamkb B. Gott, Secretary. The schedules and estimates accompanying the report were read and discussed at some length, resulting in the unanimous adoption of the recommeudations, and in ordering the several specifled sums for teachers' salaries, bonds and interest, f uel, repairs, f nrniture, Insurance, janitors' services, and incidentals, raised by tai, aggregating, $22.265. The principal fault found with the Board seemed to be that they had not been liberal enough in certain salaries, and in the matter ofventilation and janitors' services. A resolution was adopted requesting the Board to havo tho air in tha rooms of the central school building analyzed, and two resolutions were laid on the table after considerable discussion of each : one authorizing the Board, if legal, to deposit its money with the bank which would pay the largest rata of interest, and the other requesting the Board to hold its meetings in the Comraon Council room and make tliem public, - an unwarranted insinuation that the meetings of the Board have been heretofore, in any sense, held in secret. We regret to say that the attendance upon the business meeting wa9 not aa large as it should have been.