Peninsula enterprise. [volume] (Accomac, Va.) 1881-1965, 1898-04-30

Letter From Ex.snperintcmdent Of
Schools,

MIR. ED1TOR:-Will you kindly yield
81 small space in your valued paper
for the correction of an error in your
last number, in the reply of Dr. j. e
Mapp to the letter of DIR. Brodwater,
by which / am placed in o false atti-
tude before the public. 1t is with ex
treme regret that am brought, either
directly or Indirectly, into the I'M
pleasantness that seems to exist be-
tween the present or past school Off.
GERS, but justice to myself, and the
vindication of truth, require from me
a full, free and honest statement as
to the question at issue, whether or
not, |, at any time or from any
source, while was uperintendent OF
ira compensation for expenses in
Cured for postage, stationery, travel
ling. hotel bills &C., while performing
my official duties; | emphatically an
swer no, not one cent, nor can the
Doctor produce any evidence, statisti
Cal or otherwise, to the contrary. ALI
of those expenses came out of my OWE
pocket Now if the Doctor has been
fortunate enough to have those eX-
penses paid for him, congratulate
him upon his good luck. l never
made out nor presented to any board
bill covering these expenses, for the
simple reason that found no legal
authority for doing so. Under the
school law, q speak Of the law as in
existence while was superintendent,
with any change made since,if any,
have nothing to do) the amount OF
school money coming from the State
was strictly confined to the pay of
teachers; the same also of the county
school tax; the law strictly defined
used, nowhere under those items
could find any provision for an ex-
ira for the county uperintendent.
The only other source of school
revenue for this county was the San
ford charity fund The trustees of
this fund can answer whether | ever
asked for or received from them any
compensation for any duty per-
formed AS to whether the general
custom for the county superintend
cuts all over the State to receive eX-
ira compensation for official duties
performed, | cannot say, [ answer
only for Accomac. All the county
superintendents of the State were re
quired to meet once a year in confer
encc at their own expense; | attended
Dearly all of the sessions. never
heard of any extras being allowed or
asked for, either in session assembled
or in conversation outside This
however is but negative evidence to
be judged upon it's merits. Having
thus briefly stated the school funds
and the laws applying to them, as
understood those laws, there was but
one conclusion to be reached, that
is, that | must either pay my own
expenses or fail to incur them; |
chose the former. / am inclined to
think that the Doctor was very inno-
Gently led into his error from the
fact that there is column in the
county uperiutendents annual re-
port, requiring him to give state
ment of personal expenses incurred
in performing his official duties A
careful inspection OF that column
standing, as it does, isolated and
alone, will show that the column
was intended as evidence to
the Legislature of the in
dutG vi UilC
dents pay for the duties required to be
performed. AS this annual report was
never submitted to any local boards,
but only to the State Board of Educa
ton, to be laid by it before the Legis
iature, the local boards could feel no
legal interest in it, and hence could
draw 10 power from it to grant any
extras to the county superintendent
at one time the Legislature eln-
powered the board of supervisors, il it
saw fit. to supplement- the pay of the
county superintendent to any amount
not exceeding the amount allowed by
the State, this was for salary not for
any extras; this law remained in force
but g. short time. The act repeating
this fixed the salary of the county
upcrintendent at a percentage ac-
cording to the population Of each
county. Under this act the amount
due from the State school funds for
Accomac's superintendent was five
hundred and forty dollars year; no
extras being provided for. Now for
the practical working:
Accomac's Supt's. salary. 49,. $40 90
Expenses incurred by him for
official duties, say........ 5000
True salary. ...............S4 $3.50 90
have stated the above facts as
briefly as possible for the informa-
ton of all who feel an interest in the
matter, or who pay taxes for the
support of our school system, sim
cerelY hoping that peace and good,
will be cultivated among our school
Officials for the sak of the conl1non-