1883 Budget for Pelham School District No. 2 on City Island in the Town of Pelham

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The schools within our little Town of Pelham operate within the "Pelham Union Free School District."  What, exactly, does that mean?  

The concept of a union free school district reflects the historical evolution of public school systems within the State of New York.  Such a district results from the union of multiple common school districts that, by virtue of such a combination are rendered free from previous State-law restrictions that barred smaller so-called "common school" districts from operating high schools.  

In 1795, the State of New York established a Statewide system of support for public schools.  In 1812, the State established common schools that operated within "common school districts" and provided public support for such schools.  Common school districts tended to serve small localities and were not authorized to operate high schools.  

With the proliferation of common school districts throughout the State, New York embarked on a major reorganization of its public school system in 1853.  Part of that reorganization involved the establishment of so-called "union free school districts" authorized to operate secondary schools.  To reduce the proliferation of common school districts and to gain some economies of scale, the State authorized the combination of common school districts into union free school districts authorized to operate high schools.  

Few in Pelham realize that the Town once had two school districts:  School District No. 1 that served the mainland and School District No. 2 that served City Island when that community was part of the Town of Pelham.  Today's Historic Pelham article presents the 1883 budget for Pelham School District No. 2 as reported in a local newspaper on October 14, 1882.

On October 10, 1882, the annual meeting of Pelham School District No. 2 was held at the local school house.  This school house was the second one built on City Island.  It was built in about 1860 and was located on land once owned by David Scofield located at the intersection of Orchard Street (today's Hawkins Street) and Main Street (today's City Island Avenue).  The detail from a map published in 1868 shown immediately below indicates the location of the school building where this annual meeting was held on October 10, 1882.

Detail from Map of "City Island, Pelham Township, Westchester Co.,

N.Y. [with] Town of Pelham, Westchester Co., N.Y.," Published by

F.W. Beers in 1868 in the "Atlas of New York and Vicinity from

Actual Surveys by and Under the Direction of F.W. Beers,

Assisted by A.B. Prindle & Others." NOTE: Shows the Location of

the Second Dedicated School Building on City Island on Property

Acquired in 1860 from David Scofield on the Northwest Corner of

the Intersection of Orchard Street and Main Street (Now City Island

Avenue).  NOTE:  Click on Image to Enlarge.

The report suggests that the entire budget for Pelham School District No. 2 for the 1882-83 school year was about $2,970 (about $98,700 in today's dollars).  Pelham taxpayers funded $2,270 of that amount with New York State providing $700 from the State school fund (23.7% of the total annual budget). 

There were at least three teachers (described as "under teachers" so there may have been one or more additional).  The budget provided $1,800 for teachers' salaries.  Interestingly, although the budget provided $150 for "incidental expenses," nowhere does it provide any explicit appropriation for books or other academic resources.  The budget appropriated $100 for each of three categories:  janitor, cleaning (presumably supplies), and fuel (likely coal -- or wood -- for a heating stove).  The budget also provided $20 to pay for "census" taking (presumably the need to determine the number of school age children within the district for planning purposes).  

In addition to passing the school budget for the year, the annual meeting elected a trustee, a clerk and a tax collector to collect school taxes.  Mr. Thomas Martin was elected trustee.  William Anderson was elected Clerk.  William E. Loundes was elected collector.  The meeting then adjourned to the second Tuesday of October in the following year (1883).  

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I have written a number of times about the early public school system in the Town of Pelham.  See, e.g., 

Thu., Jan. 28, 2016:  The Early Development of Pelham Schools in the Late 18th and Early 19th Centuries.

Mon., Jun. 19, 2017:  A Little About the History of the Pelham School System During the Mid-1850s.

Mon., Apr. 07, 2014:  History of A Few of the Earliest Public Schools in the Town of Pelham.

Thu., Feb. 26, 2015:  The Use of Pelham's Town Hall on Shore Road as a Public Schoolhouse During the 1880s.

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Transcribed below is the text of the news article on which today's Historic Pelham article is based, followed by a citation and link to its source.  

"CITY ISLAND.  --  At a meeting of the Republican Association of the town of Pelham on Saturday last, Dudley R. Horton was elected President.  There was a full attendance, and much earnestness was manifest.  It was unanimously resolved, not only to vote the straight Republican ticket, but to use all honorable means to elect the entire ticket.  The following named were elected delegates to the County convention:  Dudley R. Horton, Jerome Bell, and W. H. Sparks, the above named also to the Assembly convention.

The annual school meeting of District school No. 2, of Pelham, was held at the school house, City Island, on the 10th inst.  Mr. Thomas Martin was elected Trustee, Wm. Anderson, Clerk, William E. Loundes, Collector.  After which the following appropriations made:

For teachers salary,         -          $1,800
"     janitor,     -     -     -     -     -         100
"     fuel,        -      -     -     -     -         100
"     cleaning school,  -     -     -         100
"     taken census      -     -     -            20
"     incidental expenses  -     -          150

Total             -      -     -     -     -    $2,195 [sic]

Seven hundred dollars is received from the State school fund.  The yearly salaries of the three under teachers were raised $100 each.  After which the meeting adjourned until the second Tuesday in October, 1883."

Source:  CITY ISLAND, New Rochelle Pioneer, Oct. 14, 1882, Vol. XXIII, No. 27, p. 3, col. 7.

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