The San Francisco call., 1897-09-19
WEBSTER
ROASTS THE
DIRECTORS
The Superintendent Brings
Charges Against the
School Board.
NEGLECT OF DUTY IN MANY
THINGS.
Illegal Adoption of Books, Useless Hiring Of
Teachers, Nepotisn and Political
Jobbery Are Among the
Allegations.

teachers receive pretty fair pay whether
they work or not. Thirty receive $40 a
month. Eight of the night school list re-
ceive pay also.
II regard nearly all of these teachers as
unnecessary. One or two teachers could do
all this work. Now there are always from
eight to twelve teachers on the unassigned
list. They ought 10 be kept teaching in
place of the substitutes, but the policy of
the board is to create all places posi- BILE
for friends. When they want a place for
friend they degrade some teacher to the
unassigned list and place friend on the
substitute list.
"The board has been appointing many
night teachers unnecessarily. Since the
beginning of the year there have been
fifteen or twenty such appointments at
$50 month. Why are they so eager to
make places when there is no necessity,
During the past year there has been a
great expenditure under the heading of
labor and supplies, a term that covers
multitude of sins. During Ju,y this Item
ran to $4,000. Many fellow gets la
borer's job at 81 or So day. 1t is, of
course. hard to correct this abuse Chair
man Burns has done all he could, but
these political favoriles always shirk, and
there is vast amount OF loss.
"Nepotism is rife in all the departments.
Drucker's sister, new and untried
woman, was given vice -principalship at
500. going above old teachers who mad
waited in line for years. Other directors
nieces are in office, while Carew has two
daughters in the department. l think an
investigation would show many Others
IN power because they are relatives of the
directors. The eight seem to get together
and fix all these things up in their own
way, greatly to the dem oralization of the
department and the subversion of all svs-
tenn.
The directors continually make rules,
which they at once violate. One man was
pat on the substitute list for less than two
hours, then promoted to vice. prn cipaI-
ship, in face of a provision that teachers
cannot be thus promoted until they have
been on probation for six months. l refer
to the cas-, of Husky, good man, in the
Hearst Sch ool. There is another rule that
young ladies cannot enter the Normal
School until they have passed an exami-
nation. The directors constantly violate
this rule by sending requests to the prin-
cipal to admit, favor and promote their
frIends and proteges. All this is subver-
sive of good order and discipline, and is
sure to weaken the efficacy of the whole
system"
The only important development in
School Board affairs yesterday was the
fact that the board took alarm at the re.
port that an action FOR their removal was
to be begun at an early date. Seeing the
probability of having their actions in-
vestigated they issued notice for
special meeting at O. clock Monday morn
ing, at which time they will act on the
report OF the committee of principals from
the primary schools. That report was
printed exclusively in The CALL yester.
day. 1t set forth that the lists selected by
the board were in a large measure unfit
for use. The Heart Culturs" series and
Swinton's Word Analysis were rejected.
1t is believed the board will seek to escap pc
from the consequences of their illegal acts
and to mitigate their misdeeds by grace
fully yielding TO the suggestions of the
committee. The meeting will be one of
much interest to the public at large.