The times. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1890-1903, 1902-11-08
COST Of LIVING
WORRYING TEACHERS I: ! |:.|'S
School Board is Strongly Peti.
toned for Larger Pay.
PROBLEM FOR COMMITTEE.
That and the Board Have Delicate
Question TO Handle-The Request
Comes from Ladies Who Are
Giving Lives to Work.

The white female teachers Of Richmond
have placed before the Richmond School
Board one Of the most difficult and inter
esting questions which that body has ever
had to solve. This question is the In
crease of the salaries Of the fair peu-.
TONERS, involving the extra expenditure
Of many thousand dollars.
AT the special meeting of the School
Board held Thursday night Clerk Wal
ford read a paper which ran like this:
1--WE, the undersigned. respectfully Pc
tition your honorable body for an In
crease in our salaries The advance IN
the cost of living makes this necessary.
The paper was signed by about one
hundred and fifty persons, including all
the female teachers, with few excep-
tions, of the district schools and the High
School. The name Of no male teacher Or
principal appears. The petition was
surprise to many, If not all, the mem
bers of the board. All wanted to ap-
prove the petition at once, but it was a
grave question whether the city could
affolN 10 pay the additional amount Inc
discussion was brief. One member SAD
while he wanted to do all in his power
to relieve the teachers Of the city OF any
cmbarrassm if he We're correctly IN
formed as to the city's finances, ne dlo
not think it could be done now. Ihen
another member made the motion that
the petition be referred to the Committee
on Teachers and Schools.
This is the working body Of the BOARD
.ch considers and recommends all sal
aries and is composed OIL MAJOR .Iape ,v y
chairman; Messrs. Reuben Burton, w.
NJ. Turpin and DIR. II. Al. Taylor MI.
Turpin is the president Of the Board OF
Aldermen, and if the board acts favor
ably on the petition, will probably nave
to act on it also as a member OF the
senior legislative body.
TAKE "A DEVIOUS COURSE.
The course of the petition Will ne 70 tile
COMMITTEE on Teachers and Schools,
where Il. is now, and If that body reports
fayorab}y at the next regular meeting Oh
tho hoard. which will be held November
OF hasand the board concurs in TINS re-
no,.t the petition will go to the Councli
with the approval of the board ana pro.
bablv accompanied by another Pelitio .
from the board for sufhclent increase ~
the appropriation to allow for the per-
.centage Of increase IN ssiaiies oee'ueu
upon. 80 $3.50
There is hardly a question That some
Ito ~ increase will be approved IN the
committee meeting. This BODY VIII io N
a. the matter from two standpolnts' al
hitting that the cost OF llvlng mas -. 80
yanced, and no one can aeny = ~"
much has it advanced, ana tiien ~. ~ :, ,,e
extent. II any, Is Tie CA.y
to meet this condition! cen+
- is estimated that twenty per cent.
bas been added in the last two yea. i $ -, :
.be nr,ce of viands. The salaries u eno
citv teachers have remained the saint
80 coTORED TEACHERS SILENT
Two co1ored teachers did not sign the
netition. and it was not taken 10 'helii'
,,,,t - the School Board asks for an
;,,orease for the whites. the colored teach
arc will doubtless share equally IN the
results.
.rhere are about $50 female teachers,
u.i,;ta and colored, in the city. Estl-
mat,ng the average pay of the female
teachers at $40 a month, they receive
an aggregate Of $4,000 monthly An IN
oraasa NJ % per cent. would run this
SIM m To S12.tco month"; or SloS, p'o. IN
sta,a of $4,000 for the session OF nine
months. It will be for the committee
and the board to recommend what part
of this increase, if any, ought to be
criyen. and for the Council to determine
What. if any. can be given. All regard
the teachers of the city as poorly paid
IN nroportion to the amount and char
acter of the work they do, but the city
has expenses enough usually to eat up
all her income.
The committee Will be called together
shortly by Major. Capers. and the petition
viewed in the lights that can be thrown
upon it.
All fear that the city. public schools
may have to close this winter on ac-
count of the scarcity and high price OF
coal might as well be dismissed.
Clerk Chas. P Walford stated last
night that it was practicable to use soft
coal in the furnaces where the buildings
were heated with steam and the Nir-
einia anthracite could be bought In suf-
ficient quantities for the stoves where
they we're used. BY curtailing in the
other expenses he thought the appropri-
alton would hold out until the new bud
get was made up
AS forecasted some time ago by The
Times. there might arise some embar-
easements on account OF the lack OF the
usual supply OF coal. but nothing serious
is going to result from it, and people
are going to do pretty much as they
want to and are not going to suffer from
cold more than they usually do. Churches
aud schools are not expected to close
up to any extent.