The morning call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1878-1895, 1893-11-17
CATEGORICALLY ANSWERED.
Each Committee Replies for Its
Own Account.
AN AGGRESSIVE RESOLUTION
Directors Resent the Mode of Iuquiry
and Claim Its Results May
Be Explained.

meeting last evening to- consider the
charges made against it by Expert III. ID.
Dunn to the Mayor. There were present
Directors Ames. Burke. Culver. Bowling.
Dutt0n. Symmes, Rosewald, President
Hyde and Superintendent SWEET.
Categorical typewriter replies to all
the charges had been prepared by the vsri-
GUS committees implicated. and they had
been read and placed on file. The following
preamble and resolution were unani-
mpusly adopted:
WHEREAS, 1t has come to our knowledge.
through the public press, that the Mayor OF
this city has employed one Horace ID. Dunn TO
investigate the affairs OF the School Depart
ment OF this city, and 1t appears that said Dunn
. has now rendered his report thereon, which
has been made public through the daily papers
and in which IL is made TO appear that the
Rreseat Board OF Education has been guilty OF
misconduct and irregularities in the admins
tratlQn OF the affairs Of The department COM
mtted TO its charge; therefore be il
ResOIVed, That this board hereby declares:
FtTst-Tbat the criticisms OF said Dunn, as
published in the daily papers, are trivial on
their face, and either untrue or susceptible OF
Ilain~ana simple explanation, showing that he
IS not properly Informed as TO" the laws OF the
State and the rules governing the School De
Second-That we have always been, and are
now, ready to afford every facility Tor any 1n-
Sestigat0n into the affairs OF the department
:: and are glad to aid and further any intelligent
and .henest effort to effect REFORMS and to pro-
mote economy and efficiency In Its govern
meht. .
Third-That we Indignantly repel the allega-
lions eT. destinations of misconduct contained
in said report, and we trnst that all the matter
therein treated Will be fully investigated by the
proper authorities and promptly disposed Of.
=. F6urth-Ihat The Mayor is invited TO submit
said report or any other allegations or suspi-
cioUs whatever of misconduct on our part TO
the Grand Jury or 10 any other proper tribunal;
and-we sincerely trust that be VIII not neglect
TO exercise; the same zeal of investigation in
other departments or the city government.
E1ftb--That IL is our Intention TO continue
the work of reform, economy and improvement
witch has been begun in the department, aud
which we believe has met with the approval OF
good citizens throughout the city, without al
lowing ourselves to be Influenced or hindered
by such allegations of misconduct as those now
" under consideration.
: Sixth That the secret manner of conducting
this investigation, the unWilllngneSs TO ask Tor
assistance from our members or 10 afford them
o. opportunities for explanation, the discOurtesy
shown In refusing US access 10 the report, while
giving Ii to the daily papers to be publish d.
rejecting upon our actions, prove that the in
'yestigation was not instituted or conducted
with an honest Intention OF benehtiDg the
. School Department.
Seventh-That we believe that the individual
characters of the members of this board stand
entirely nnIarnlshed. bur we deplOre this act Of
: the Mayor because OF the discredit thrown
;: upon the department as a whole and the injury
10 tile discipline which we seek 10 maintain
: We Believe that the officers Of the School De-
partment should command the respect and
confidence not only OF the public but of all the
teachers aud the pupils. and their public record
should not be aSsalle0 without the most IN
doubted areof Of their unfitness for Office.
, :. Eighth-ghat copies of this resolution be
sent TO the Mayor and the principal officers of
our city government.
: :: President Hyde opened the proceedings
by reading an address stating the object
:: Of tha call, and criticiZing the necessity
for and secret method of the experts re-
port, as well as the inability of the secre-
.tary- to obtain copy of the report. He
: did not understand that any serious trans
= formation in the department had tax en-
place since the last Investigation by the
Grand Jury, but claimed that the reports
: publication justified the board in defendn g
itself at the bar of public opinion. Mr..
Hyde con aued:
SO far as.establlshed the allegations in said
report show that the writer was either sadly
deficient in a knowledge OF the law and rules
ana practices governing school boards or else
that he willfully suppressed facts and drew
wrong conclusions. Taking into consideration
the fact that such criticisms are injurious not
only to the directors individuality, but which
Is of far more importance, bring upon them,
individually and collectively, the contempt of
the pupils ana teachers OF this department,
have thought best that there should be no de-
lay in answering the same. and have asked the
chairmen OF the proper committees TO submit
written statements at this meeting, with the
hope that these explanations may receive as
much publicity as did the original charges.
The committees on Classification, Fl
nance. Buildings and Grounds and Sup.
plies then submitted long explanations oil
specific charges II the Dunn report.
Regarding the alleged illegal and un-
equal salaries paid to the principals OF
some of the schools Chairman Burke OF
the Classification Committee protested
against the Mayor, except as any other
within the discretion of the board as was
the fixing of such salaries. But he for
maily explained:
That while there is no arbitrary basis for the
fixing OF principals salaries, the amounts hare
been determined by the board in such manner
as to make a uniform schedule as nearly as pos
sIble in accordance with the number OF classes
In each scoool
The rules of the board provide that no salary
OF a principal shall be increased or decreased
during tile year by reason of increase or de-
crease In the number Of classes. The decrease
In the number of classes 10 the schools wherein
the alleged irregularlty OF salaries OF principals
was effected after the salary list for the
current year had been reported to the board in
accordance with law.
The Finance Committee considered that
Secretary Beanston had been justifiabiy
paid $50 month for his work as secre tary
of committees, the work having been eff
ficiently done outside of Office hours more
.cheaply than could be performed by any
one else, and had been paid for at the
same rate for over year when the Fl
nance Committee assumed office.
. The committee thought Architect Ha-
vens had also only been paid for work
done, even as the great and good citizen
whose report is under consideration
would expect pay.
William Cronin's claim for repairs 10
=: the Hamilton school was considered valid,
especially as the work had been done
under urgent circumstances, the indebted
ness approved by the previous board and
the claim approved by the Committee on
Buildings and Grounds.
The filter from the Rapid Safety Filter
Company bad been supplied on a contract
10 run for two years. Contracts were
sacred, and the committee waxed sarcastic
over the reports suggestion that the filter
should not be paid for during vacation. A
written contract for $1,000 year mattered