The San Francisco call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913, 1899-01-15
THE QUESTION
OF A TEACHERS
PAID VACATION
Three Months of SAL
aired Recreation.
WILL THESE PRIVILEGES GOT
MISUNDERSTANDING AS TO
MONEY ON HAND.
President Bergerot States That No
vember December Salaries
Will Finally Be
Settled.
WILL THESE PRIVILEGES COZ
MISUNDERSTANDING AS TO
MONEY ON HAND.

One of the cloud of worries emptied out
of the Pandora box by the young Board
of Education is the November December
salary question. This trouble ex-
pressed automatically, reads S1S0,000, run
ming something like an average of $3.50 to
each teacher for the two months. The
Old board intended to issue warrants for
these months, but did not do so. choosing
to leave the educators with the other
army of creditors to contemplate and
enjoy the deficit en- masse. With the late
board it was-as with the historically
profiigate French monarch viewing the
wrecked treasury" after us, the deluge."
The outside creditors enjoined the de-
partment, and the teachers enjoined the
outsiders, and so the preliminary guns of
the battle were fired, and then the first
wave of the "deluge" swept that board
into the black limbo of obliquy. Now,
connected with their injunction suit, there
is a solemn thought buzZing in the minds
Of the thinking teachers. 1t is the sal
aired vacation matter. For three months
in each year the educators play under
pay. One thousand teachers at $50, multi
piled by three months, amounts to $40
900 if there is any honesty in figures. The
Finance Committee of the Board of Edu-
cation reported in effect last Wednesday
evening that possibly the actual deficit
$4,000 would help this Indebtedness out
amazingly. Should the court, in working
out their injunction case, decide that
those vacations are only luxurieS and not
necessities, and that such luxuries should
not be paid for by the somewhat heavily
purdened taxpayers of the city, that
working folks often pay their own way
when they play, where will the future
vacation privilege be at?
It mas been mentioned that country
nhnV xrr1,r
life-tenure of position, whose labors are
just as arduous and whose remuneration is
below that Of the city educators, have no
salaried intermission between terms Said
a country school marin recently: why
should Mrs. X (whose husband has a fair
income) draw down $3.50 which is FIVE
while recreating al the springs while
l am paying for my vacation out of my
own pocket?' The possibility of the en-
tire adjustment Of the vacation and its
be was recently borne in on a mind
or two and an effort was made to stop the
injunction proceedings. But other counsels
prevailed and the case is yet on.
1t is argued by those close to the edu-
pcational office that If the board could
bring itself to cut into the work of the
department as instanced by the abolish
ment Of the normal and the throwing out
of the evening schools it will not for an
instant hesitate to clip off the play-part
Of that work.
President Bergerot yesterday evening,
speaking of the November December sal
aries, said there existed no intention on
the part of the present board to have the
teachers finally lose their pay of these
two months.
The present board" he continued, will
discharge every obligation just as rapidly
as 1t can. Burdened and overburdened
as 1t is by mountain of debt piled up
by its predecessors, it is trying to clear
off one by one the load. The classes,
schools and teachers that can be spared
must go that money may be saved The
Normal School could be spared as there
are several State NormalS and a unVer-
sity all running and turning out teachers.
1t may be found that all the evening
schools can be spared, and if so every
ent board has three lawyers in its ranks
and they have their heads close together
studying up in the law to fit these com
all ready, well fortified with decisions and
opinions for emergencies We will do the
greatest good to the greatest number and
be decided Improvement over our prede-
cessors. fancy.
To-day the representative of a morn
Ing paper demanded the names Of the al
legged list of teachers who were to be con-
solidated out No such information was
or will be given now, for the reason that
no list is in existence: Some of the news
have fixed upon a high number of teach
ers who have been virtually dismissed.
but the figures are all wrong.
In conclusion l Will say that unless nv
calculations are very incorrect-unless
the School Department remains poverty
stricken, It's present condition-no teach
er will finally lose his or her November
December salary, nor will any creditor,
for that matter.
Now, as to the plant that has been
raised regarding those Normal girls los
ing half year, etc. Any Of those young
ladies who can pass the necessary ex-
aminations will receive recognition in the
way of diploma or certificate. They will
not be thrown out on the world to suffer,
half educated and certificateless, as GER
tain of their friends fear. All such COM
plants are groundless Everything the
present Board of Education will do will
be within reason"
The reply of Auditor Asa R. Wells to
the Board of Education regarding the
amount Of money at the disposal of the
board for the ensuing six months seems
to have taken the officials by surprise
1t is $4,000 less than was expected and
the deficiency is readily explained by Mr.
Wells. In the last levy there was a spe-
cial appropriation of 100000 for the pay
was levied for a special purpose it was
applied to that purpose at once: hence II
is not available now.
Mr.. Wells submitted his reply to the
Board of Education late on Friday and
spent the greater portion of Yesterday
morning explaining how he reached his
conclusion in the matter. Director II. M
Holbrook telephoned him and later on
sent his secretary to interview him on
the matter. AS chairman of the Finance
Committee of the board he is deeply in
terested in the amount of money that will
be available for the schools for the ensu-
ing six months which will bring the pres
ent hscal year to close. Auditor Wells
probation of the matter is not the correct
one the board will lose nothing as there
Is money on hand to make up the $50 ,000