The San Francisco call., 1897-01-21
NINE ARE DRAWING
ALL THE FUND
Peculiar Condition of the
School Pension Treas
ury.
No Other Teacher Can Be R.
tired Under the Existing
Conditions.
May or Phslan, Probing Into the Sub.
Jet cf Pens ions, Made Start.
ling Discovery.

A surprise awaits the $50 schoolteachers
who, by the payment of l per cent of their
income into the teachers pension fund,
have presumably provided for retirement
at some future time should they elect to
do SO. The fact is that seven teachers
who have already been retired upon
pension take up all the income OF the
fund, with the exception OF $50 per quar-
ter. Hence, unless the rate OF pension TO
be received shall be reduced, or the Der
centage per capita to be paid in by the
teachers shall be largely increased. or
some other method be devised to aug
ment the fund, not over nine teachers
can at any one time draw pension.
Mayor Phelan, who has been actively
and industriously investigating into the
City and County's affairs, discovered this
condition OF the teachers pension fund
while attending meeting OF the Commits
sioners having in hand the administration
of the fund. The commission consists of
the Mayor, the City and County Treasurer
and the Superintendent of Public Schools.
The Treasurer has the custody OF the
fund. At the last meeting OF the Com
missioners thu list of pensioners was IN
creased to nine. Previously there were
seven names on the list. Five of the pen
sioners were drawing $3.50 per quarter and
two were drawing $135. These pensions
aggregate 5000 per quarter.
Mayor Phelan learned to his surprise
from Treasurer Widber that the present
quarterly income payable to pensions is
only $1170. 1t is easy to see that this will
%. ha fua hn in
been added to the pension list only $3.50 in
total, or at the rate of SIS per quarter
each, if all the remainder, after paying
the seven previous pensioners, shall be
evenly divided between them. No other
teacher can possibly be pensioned while
the nine now on the list draw from it, un-
less there is change in the existing ar
rangement one way or another.
Mayor Phelan is greatly interested in
the condition of the fund. ~ think" he
said, that as matter of justice all the
teachers who are concerned in this mat
ter should learn all the acts as early as
possible and that they should fully under
stand the matter, that no cause for an un-
pleasant surprise may remain. 1 will con.
fess that l was astonished to learn the
1aClS, ana nave no UOuDI tudt the IodCu-
ers will be equally and very unpleasantly
surprised.
Some inquiry develops the fact that
there is no legal provision for the invest.
ment of the pension fund. The quarterly
moneys are paid by the teachers into the
City and County treasury and there they
remain to be Immediately available for
the payment of pensions as they may be
voted. Under the terms of the law pro-
viding for the pension fund the teachers
have no voice in determining the number
of pensioners who may be placed upon
the pension list. That is determined by
the commissioners of the fund, who are all
City and County officers.
Legislation is pending at Sacramento
which may have beneficial effect. The
teachers will unquestionably take lively
interest in any measure affecting the
pension fund that may be urged upon the
State Legislature, especially so by reason