The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1898-02-05
Commissioners Refuse to Reinstate
Miss Stella Hart-North Indfanap-
Oils Files a Complaint.

! she be accorded a hearing. At meeting
| of the committee on teachers and salaries
| last week the young woman was present
| and her case was heard. Several of the
! principals of schools where Miss Hart has
| taught We're also present. The committee
took considerable evidence and promised a
/ report to the board, which it made last
night. Miss Hart has understood that she
| came under the displeasure of the board be-
| cause of a slight breach of the rules gov
| erning the action of the teachers. In 1896
| she desired to attend the funeral OF one OF
her friends and attempted to secure the per-
| mission of the superintendent by telephone.
| She was unable to get connection with the
| superintendent Office, and, failing in her
effort to get the desired permission, dis
missed her school and went to the funeral.
Members of the board say this was not the
real trouble. There are no serious charges
against her, they say, and the only objec-
| ton to her as a teacher is in the manner
in which she conducted her school. II was
also said there was not the best feeling be-
tween Miss Hart and Miss Wilson, the prin-
cipal of the school where she last taught.
The report of the committee last night
recommended that the resolution of Com
missioner Sloan favoring the reinstatement
of Miss Hart be tabled indefinitely. The re-
port was adopted, Mr.. Sloan dissenting.
THE CRUSH IN THE SCHOOLS.
Superintendent Goss made report to the
board recommending additional school ia
! cilities for next year. He showed that not
| only is every building in the city filed to
| it's greatest capacity, but that eleven
schools are being conducted in storerooms
| and dwellings, none of them being adapted
to school purposes. The superintendent
/ says children in all parts Of the city are
! compelled to walk great distances to find
| accommodations. He declares that almost
every building on the outskirts of the city
needs additional rooms. Professor Goss
recommends an addition of eight rooms to
School 80, Lexington avenue and State
street; an eight-room building at No. 10,
! Ash and Thirteenth streets, and eight-room
| buildings at McCarty and West streets and
Madison avenue and Raymond street. The
| superintendent declares it necessary that
| either an addition be made to colored
Schools % and "a, or that a new site be
purchased and an eight-room building
/ erected.
The finance committee reported having
paid $500, the semi-annual installment of in
terest on the $4,000 of library site bonds,
out of the library fund instead of the spe-
cial fund. The committee thought, the lat
ter fund being overtaxed, the library fund
was in better condition to bear the burden
at this time The report was concurred in.
| In this connection Commissioner Scott in
troduced a resolution recommending that
after the receipt of the spring taxes the
| amount of money paid out of the special
fund in interest on library site bonds be
taken from the library fund and credited
to the special fund. 1t was decided to defer
action on the resolution until the question
can be referred to the boards attorney.
| The finance committee further reported that
| on the advice of G. w. Smith, attorney for
| the board it would recommend the payment
| of municipal assessments against school
property on Northwestern avenue, about
which there has been some question. The
committee reported having received a COM
munlcation from Attorney Smith concern
| ing the claim of Attorneys GrltnthS q Potts,
/ VINO represent the family of Charles
| Huskey, sometimes known as Charles Cos
| temango, who was killed while working on
| a ladder at school building No. II. Grlfhths
| IL Potts had talked the matter over with
| Mr.. Smith, and appeared to think the board
should do something for the widow, al
| though there was no threat of suit. In the
| opinion of the boards attorney no legal la
| biity could be charged to the board.
! A committee of North Indianapolis citi-
zens visited the board meeting with re-
| quest which was voiced by o. ID. Cosler.
] The committee came to ask that the eight
cen children transferred from school NO. Al,
| North indianapolis, to school No. 36, at
| Twenty-eighth street and Capltol avenue,
! be returned to their old quarters. 1t was
! represented that school No. SO is crowded,
/ while there is room for the pupils at No.
! IL; that the children are compelled to walk
| a long distance by the change and sufter
! i'm bad weather from exposure; tnat many
4 of them are not able to afford Street-car
/ fare and that the arrangement has gener-
ally proved unsuccessful superintendent
1 -. ~1vo1 fC. on
question Of transferring the children again.
/ and advised against 1t. lie said IL would
| be directly against the interests or the emil
| dren 10 send them back to No. Al. me
! teacher there has already as mucn as ne
| can attend to in caring for his classes. LII
these children We're transferred IL would re-
! uuire oue-third of the teachers time in
| hearing their class, and would not only pc
! detrimental to them, but would retard the
| work of the other classes. The patrons
| from North Indianapolis replied that they
! would take all the chances, ana would
| guarantee that their children would make
| sufficient progress. the board ala not act
| definitely in the matter
! INCREASED LIBRARY PATRONAGE.
The report of the library committee for
| the month of January was heard The re-
port showed that 1894 more books were in
! circulation than during the corresponding
month of last year. The number of books
taken out January, 1897, 5000; January,
| 1895 42034 The committee recommended
that the salaries of the five attendants in
| the branch libraries be increased from SO
| to $50 month until July l. After that date
| the committee would place the attendants
ON the same basis as those employed in the
| downtown library. This would be an in
! crease of $25 annually for each year of
| faithful service, until the maximum salary
! of $3.50 was reached. The board declined to
| concur in the report, and Commissioner
| Baker served notice that at the next meet
| ing he would move TO reconsider the matter
! and fix the salaries of the attendant Ii
| brarians at $500 a year.
| The committee on High and Industrial
| Training School recommended that the SUI
| perntendent be required to furnish the
| principals of these schools with a complete
| list of teachers appointed for the respect
| i've schools week before the opening of
| the school term. At the suggestion Of the
| committee on teachers and salaries, the
| board reappointed Lizzie Meskill director of
| practice for the second half year sal
| airy of $3.50. The board received the resig-
| nations of Carrie Merrill and Catht rine
! Courtney, of the district schools, ami Mil
bred Horn, assistant in the Industrial
| Training School. Grace Cunningham was
appointed assistant in drawing at the In
dustrial School at a salary of $50 n
| month. She will be succeeded as clerk to
| the supervisor of drawing by Martha An
derson, who is TO be paid 81 a day while ac-
tualiy employed The board made an APP
preparation for the employment of an as-
sistant drawing teacher at the High School.
| Superintendent Goss was instructed to Sc
cure models for the drawing department at