The San Francisco call., 1899-01-27
Thousands Of Dollars Will Be
Saved Monthly to the
Department.
List of Substitutes, Probationary and
Special Teachers Dismissed---Protests,
Legal Actions and Vindications.
j.. Sewing Instructors Escape.

this unique financial matter, states that
the money in monthly payments is ready
for use and the school will go on till
June 30, till the present and last class is
graduated.
Miss Fowler and her pupils were jubi-
lant yesterday morning over the conces-
sion. The newspaper visitor found the
gray haired teacher sitting in her recep-
tion room, sewing a slight rent in the
making g-the-frst-fiag tableau, and a con-
gratulatory group of girls around her.
We did Suite. well in the terrible or
DEAL said she, land came out with colorS
partly flying. The pupils are satisfied
and the studies will go on as usual. OF
course. it will come a little harder on
able than others TO pay for their tut
ton, but there will be no complaining.
Every student here must earn her own
living, and to gain the profession of
teaching she entered this Normal School,
1t is said this institution is below stand
ard, and that ii has only one year of
study. while State Normals have four
high school graduates. while those in the
State schools need not be such. Another
published error was that Alameda Coun-
perintendent of that county has made a
different statement. However, we are
thankful for the grace we have re-
Miss Fowler's position is a peculiar one.
According to the order of the Board of
Education, she goes off the payrolls on
January 81. She will be employed by the
normal students for five months ending
June 80, and then where she will be 'atR
must be determined possibly, by the
court, as she is not disposed to be abol-
ished with her school, Miss Fowler was
somewhat startled by the visitors query
as to whether her acceptation of the pu-
pills offer for five months employment
could be technically construed as a vir-
tual surrender of her position and con-
tinuous salary in the School Department
should she finally fail of place on the
safe list by reason of long service as
public teacher.
The pioneer mandamus suit of the num-
Der that VIII probably follow the board
order of Wednesday evening will be that
of Miss Mollie L. Sabins, a Washington
Evening School teacher. Recently, an
ticipating the loss of her position. she
applied for a restraining order which was
refused by Judge Belcher of the Superior
Court, on the ground that there was then
no evidence that she had been dismissed.
previous case-that of Bell against the
Board of Education-in which he decided
a mandamus suit in favor of a dismissed
teacher. Attorney j. H. Spinetti stated
yesterday that if Miss Sabins were dis
missed from her position and salary she
would Immediately commence suit against
the board.
"I have every reason to believe" said
he, that Miss Sabins and Miss Dwyer
have been consolidated out of the Wash
ington Evening School. The former has
Deen In the department fourteen months,
and her class was the largest in that
school All of the decisions of the Supe-
rior and Supreme courts have been fa-
vorable to the teachers, and all of the
decisions follow the Kate Kennedy case.
Miss Sabins violated none of the rules of
the department, her competency was not
questioned her class and school are still
in existence, and / cannot see why the
courts will not intervene in her behalf.
The Board of Education is actuated by
worthy desire to economize and work the
department out of grievous tangle, but
it must not treat a regularly elected
teacher with injustice
The compiling of the lists of the dis
missed and unassigned is a work, under
the rules of the Board of Education, re-
quiring care and time. Teachers who en-
tered the department previous to August
1, 1898, are out beyond the hope of sal
vation unless the courts come to their re-
lief.
This will Gull out about eighty-five
names. From August ] the list will be
followed back TO about the middle of the
year, the last elected teacher going first
till a number considerably over a hundred
shall be assigned without pay" There
exists working possibility that the
board Will not stop at the abolition of four
evening schools and the reclassification
In the others, as ordered last Wednesday
evening. The sewing, music and several
other special classes escaped only by
bare margin. The cooking schools went
out early In the caucus. Let their moth
ers get into their kitchens and instruct
the girls In cooking" said a practical Di-
rector, and the others echoed the senti-
ment. The bookkeeping classes were last,
because 1t was understood that the sup
ply of young bookkeeping material in this
city would not be exhausted for ten years.
The classes In manual training went down
after considerable fighting. The Directors
were 10th TO cut off the chances of a boy
learning useful trade, but these classes
had to be sacrificed in the scheme of re-
trenchment.
The rule that only pupils of IA years old
and upward, and who are employed in the
daytime, could attend evening schools
was enacted to prevent the crowding of
those schools by children who passed
their daylight in idleness and attended
the evening classes for various reasons
other than desire to learn. The Nor
NAL School was abolished for a number
OF reasons, considered ample by the
board notwithstanding the storm of pro-
testing arguments raised over the mat
ter. One potent reason given by a prac-
tlcal Director was that the school was
established years ago, when teachers
were few. and that institution was the
supply station for the city schools. with
the flock Of universities, State institu
tons and schools of pedagogy grinding
out educators there was no want left
for the San Francisco Normal School 10
fill. So the prescribed schools and
classes went out for cause, say the Di
rectors-