The New Orleans daily Democrat. [volume] (New Orleans, La.) 1877-1880, 1879-03-26
THE SCHOOL APPROPRIATION.
state Superintendent Lusher Makes
Respgnse to s'YerDlexed."

RekpNuse I'D 'FeFpiNA1u.
The Hon. r.. M. Lrsher, State Superintend-
emit Of Public Education, has handed US the
following answer to the interview with the
perplexed Administrator Of Finance:
The s'perpIexity" OF the city Administrator
OF Finance, whose opinions you have reported
In Sundays paper, has caused him not only TO
make several erroneous statements, but TO
betray a Iamentable ignorance Of the very
act which authorized the city to receive from
the State the fund appropriated Tor the relief
Of the City Board, as well rs the school law
which prescribes the form Of acnr0a1 on
which the claims Of employees Of the City
Board are required to paid by him. Consid-
ering,
The State Superintendent knew nothing q
tteopinions Of Messrs. ThOs. }. Semmes, pfesi-
dent OF the City School Board, or Samuel /.
Blanc, the Assistant City Attorney, or ". 9.
Rogers, Esq, city superintendent. On which
the honorable Administrator deemed hiInsef
ssps sdIl apprSpriated State fund Oh account
oil the October pay roll, and It is certainly,
therefore, Q grataltous assumption N the
part Of the Administration to INFER and assert
that he the superintendent agreed" with
those gentlemen in their Interpretation Of tho
appropriation act, or rather, as. 1t is ludi-
cro,isly stated, "as to the method which was
adopted and carried out" The Supe1nteri-
dents letter Of February to the, a administers
by It's it's e explicit STATEN statement that none zone
but parties on the pay rolls who were bona
fde owners Of their claims could possibly be
paid out OF the State fund. The same letter
did, indeed, say, for the guidance OF teachers
and others, who, It was presumed, might,
innooently and to their own. prejudice, con.
found advances and loans" on account OF
their claims. with actual sales or rnnsfers
thereof, which were known TO have. been
made to brokers by many OF them, that such
''mere personal accommodations had not
Invested the teachers and other en-
ownership of such salaries;"' but the Z. s.
OF the same letter also called the attention OF
the Administrator to the appropriation act
No. 10, and requested his observance OF 1t,
with the view Of persuading him TO secmre
legal evidence OF each employees bona ttie
ownership Of his claim. Forty thousand dol
lars OF the special appropriation out Of the
current school fund Of 1878 (which the State
Superintendent, from satisfactory evidence
before him, thought necessary to pay Off all
bona fde claimants on the three rolls for
October, November and December, 1881
. were also paid to him without delay, on the
presumption that the taao Woud be strictly
observed IN his disbursement Of that fund.
In q casual interview with the honorable
Administrator, after the payment Of the Octo-
Der roll, the State Superintendent was in
formed that compliance with that feature. OF
the law which required the ownership OF
claim to be established by affidavit had been
found to be impracticable. On Investigation
1t was then discovered
/. That the notice Of the secretary of the
City Board OF the intended payment of the
October roll had failed to apprise the teachers
and other employees of the necessity Of
proving their claims by affldavits; and
2. That, as necessary consequence, almost
the entire CORDS Of city teachers AGO or more
In number) had been paid their salaries. and
this to the exclusion Of p0rtresses and other
employees who were equally In need, and
who. Ii actual owners OF their Chains, should
not have been excluded from the benefit of the
State fund appropriated for their relief. The
Superintendent was also apprised OF the
special modes by which several teachers were
induced to sign the pay roll mainly for the
benefit Of brokers who had purchased their
claims, and thus 1t was rendered sufficiently
obvious that disregard Of the affidavit had
already caused disbursement Of $40, 900 Of
the State appropriation, and that but little in
deed would be left to pay teachers and others
yember should be paid in the same manner,
or without proper precautions, as had been
the October roll.
As soon, therefore as the secretary's notice
OF the intended payment OF the November
roll was inserted In your paper lsee your
issues OF the twenty-fifth, twenty-sixth and
twenty-seventh of February the State Super
intendent, observing that the necessary pre-
caution was again omitted, addressed the fol-
lowing letter to the secretary OF the City
Board:
OFFICE OF STATE SUPERINTENDENT
of Public Edueatlen,
New Orleans February AZ. 1891
John J. OBrien, Esq, Secretary of Board of
School Directors. City Of New Orleans:
Dear Sir-The appropriation for the relief OF
tho City Board OF Dire tors was not obtained
without difficulty. and II was made. finally. on
the condition that the extra 8 ate fund allowed
should be, paid on y TO teachers md other en-
from the us" Isl ne h reof to the payment Of he
same. 10 be made to appear by the affidavit in
dorsed on the warrant ~ The claimant.
The warrants" herein mentioned are synon-
ymous with the pay rolls" Issued by your
board-the only vouchers or '1ar-ants for sal
ss under Nm law snd IN
formity to Its own rules: and the affidavit In
question. IL II cannot be conveniently indorsed
sheet OF paper or on u book which Can here
after be annexed 70 the roll
conscientious teachers have already called
on the unders igned, and been advised as to
the true meaning OF the prouiso appended to
the appropriation and IL Is but proper that
your notice Of the next payment should put ~
claimants on their guard bV petr citation OF the
sc0, DIS Of the proriso.
Such surplus OF the State appropriation
as may remahl by proper observance OF the
AUGMENTATION act wifi facilitate your board In
meeting the December roll.
Brokers and others who hold claims bU r11in
of purchase must look to the city of New Or
leans for reimbursement. They have no right
to claim any portion of the $40 600 app ropriated
y,the State for 1878. or OF the $1,000 appropria
Be pleased to report. at your earliest conye-
nience. the amount needed 70 pay the roll for
December, 1871. in conformity to the proUiso
hereinbefore referred TO. tA
Very respectfully. yours, 49,
ROBT nj. LUsHER, ...a
State Superintendent.
On the secretary's calling at this Office the
Superintendent furnished the form for an affi-
davit, and requested that the exact language
Of the appropriation, including the prouaso,
be inserted i'll his next days notice. for the
Information of all claimants. This request
you will find complied with by the secretary
In your issue of February %.
1t Is sufficient here to say that the Novem-
Der roll was paid u, the sunae promiscuous
and illegal manner as had been the October
roll, and that the entire balance OF the State
fund for 1873 (S2O,000) was exhausted. The
december, 1878. roll has not been PAID nor can
" Dc for seme time to come.
The honorable Administrator need not be
perplexed' by the prospect OF having to
make q formal statement, ON the part of the
public school direction of the amount Of the