The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1897-05-06
SCHOOL INSPECTORS THINK TIE
FIGGRING OF y. u. LANGFORD
Will. NGT 60.
SUGGESTIONS NOT FEASIBLE.
TO START WITH HE PLACES At
TENDANCE TOO Low, WHICH
SPOELS ALL.
Finance Committee OF the Board
VIII Then Try to Gain Some
Definite Information.

Inc plan lOI lell III eiS III
rection CT cutting down the school fore
es, etc, evolved by N. p. Langford and
distributed by AID. Denahower copy
Of which appeared yesterday in the
GIob e, does not seem to have met
! with even passing favor from those
persons who have studied the matter
of school and city finances. In fact
the superintendent of schools, as well
as the members of the school board
which met yesterday, join in the opin-
ion that the plan is neither feasible
nor we'll put together. In the first
place. in this plan it is made to appear
in figuring that the attendance approx
imates $4,000, and this number is used
as basis for showing that a greatly
reduced number Of teachers can do the
work with fifty. pupils each: The rec
ords of the superintendent show that
l; the number of pupils actually enrolled
each month since the, frst9of. the year
have been as follows: January, q, 121 :;
February, 20,S34 March, 20,O92; April
20, 976.
The plan contemplates the closing of
both the teachers training school and
the manual training school. with the
consequent reduction in the teaching
force. Now, there are in the neighbor-
hood of forty-ffve young ladies in the
teachers training school who last Sep
TENDER commenced course of instruc
ton for teachers. When they have
been in the course one and half years
they may teach under criticism in
the second or third grades and will be
paid the modest sum of $40 per month
for their services
Ii the manual training school were
closed, there are 274 pupils to be taken
care of, and they would have to be
ADDED to the already long list of SIN
dents at the central high school.
There is a proposition in the plan
when appeared to make 10 per cent re-
auction in the salaries of teachers. IF
that were done there would be over
100 teachers receiving each but $500 a
year or less, many of them less. The
following table will make this point
clear: Four teachers receive $3.50 q.
year, hfty-four receive $500, forty-three
| receive $780, and fifty-seven receive $500
year, A cut of 10 per cent in these
salaries would make small wages, it is
claimed.
Prof Curtis and Inspector Scholle
who discussed the figures. Joined in
declaring that it did not merit any
serious consideration. They say among
other things that the plan contem-
plates giving to each teacher fifty pu-
pills. This, they say, is out of the
question, because the rooms in the ST.
Paul schools are intended for but
about thirty-ive pupils and, then too
nifty is too many to give to one in
structor. Other features Of the plan
| they do not hesitate to say are not
practicable nor feasible.
Representatives from the finance
| committee of the school board with
Aid Sandborn, of the ways and means
/ committee of the aldermen. and, AS
semblyman Kirke, of the like commit.
tee from the assembly, will hold a con-
ference with Comptroller McCardy this
afternoon. The principal subject to he
considered is the takingwof SAL 600,
Which was appropriated BIZ the council
for the erection of new buildings and
sites. and turning the amount into the
general maintenance fund for the
schools. The gentlemen will also en-
deavor to arrive at some conclusion
| as to what possible amount will be
available for the support of the schools
Ior the shool year commencing Sept 1,
1897. >
The expression of a number of the
members of the council who were pres
ent at the recent conference of the
school board with the committee on
ways and means OF the aldermen is
that the board should be prepared TO
submit definite figures and not deal
so much in generalities. One of the
members of the council called atteu-
ton to the fact that the school board
seemed DESTROYS Of securing the Sal. 900
which has been set apart for new
buildings to use at once This would
give the board, in addition to the
$455,O00 given them last June, an extra
$4,000, while at the same time it was
claimed that for the school year COM
mencing Sept. 1, as near $455. 900 was
needed as could be secured. The gem
tlemen who said he did not care to be
quoted thought the idea expressed by
the action of the school board was to
find out how much money they could
possibly secure and then make reduc-
lions accordingly, instead Of agreeing
on plan and then stating the amount
necessary to carry the same through.