The commissioner shall, before December 31 of each even-numbered year, submit a report to the governor and council, which shall include an account of the general work of the department, the special teaching and that of the heads of the various departments under his jurisdiction, and such other information pertaining to the department as may be of public and general interest. He shall include such recommendations for legislative action as may be required, a statement of the total amounts of all expenditures, so classified as to show the amount expended in support of the several departments of work covered, and an account stating, by properly classified totals, all money received from sources other than the state treasury. The report shall be distributed to the town and public libraries of the state and to farmers, agriculturists, and others desiring it.