Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1906-10-08
Did Congress- Stultify Itselfp

Did Congress- Stultify 1tselfP
Mr. MacNamara's opinion concerning the
Board of Education's power of removing
teachers printed in full in The Star of Sun
day. NAV turn out to be the law, but it
does not appeal to common sense. Accord
ing to this opinion Congress has provided
that hearings of teachers prior to removal
shall be fair, but has not provided that
there shall be any hearings. Consequently,
IL the board wishes to nullfy the provision
that hearings prior to removal must be fair
1t has only to deny any hearings at all
Any one who followed this legislation as
1t shaped itself knows that Congress in
tended both paragraph of section l and
section 10 safeguards to the teachers
against hasty, arbitrary and unfair re-
movals by the board. First. the written
recommendation of the superintendent IS
required. and second. the rights of the
teacher in the preliminary hearing are pre-
served by the provision that counsel and a
friend may be present The two limitations
upon the boards broad powers OF removal
do not obviously conflict with each other.
1t Is easy and natural to infer that the
provision for fair hearings is also a provis
ion for hearings as it is to admit that the
provision for written recommendations by
shall be recommendations, and that they
shall be written. and not merely that such
recommendations shall be written if any
are made, but that none is essential.
Everybody knows that the actual intent
OF Congress was that the existing force of
teachers should be continued in office at
automatically increased salaries, and that
the teachers should not be removed from
their positions except on the written rec
ommendation of the superintendent and
after a fair hearing, neither of which limi-
tations had been previously imposed on the
power of the board. Under the boards in
depreciation of the law it can evade the
command of fair hearing by denying
hearing; il can nullify all limitations upon
it's power of removal by transferring out
of the service If the superintendent or
board has invited an outsider from Chicago,
or Alabama, or Paterson. n. J.. to teach in
the District of Columbia. there being no
vacancy under the law in the teacherships.
places for the impOrtations must of course
be supplied by throwing out the incumbents
of the desired positions Under the boards
views of its powers ii can make the
needed vacancies without bringing or hav-
ing brought before it charges against the
incumbents and without giving hearings to
the evicted. fair otherwise. 1t can rid
itself of teacher unhampered by any of
the limitations upon removal by trans
ferring" him out of the service, placing
upon him the onus of having deliberately
destroyed himself.
For instance Supervising Principal
Clarks place was vacated for the benefit
of an Alabama man, though there were no
charges against him and no hearing was ac-
corded. He was arbitrarily removed for
the good of the service" though the in
formai tender of another position in the
school force demonstrated the falsity of the
declaration that his dismissal was neces-
sary for the good of the service" as those
words are ordinarily construed.
In Principal SwartZels vacancy
was created for Paterson. y. j., man two
days after the latter was in fact appointed
to the Office by the official suicide of the
legal incumbent, this sef-deStruction con-
sisting in Mr.. Swartzells refusal to accept
a rendered position, of doubtful existence
under the law and the appropriation act, in
lieu OF the position which he legally held
and from which he had not been legally
removed.
Carried to its logical conclusion. this in
depreciation of the law would enable the
superintendent and the board to vacate
every existing leadership for the benefit of
importations from Paterson or elsewhere
without charges or hearings or written rec
concentrations of removal, by the simple
process of transferring" each teacher in
succession to the position of assistant kim
dergartener. and causing each in succession
to commit official suicide by declining this
position.
In the school legislation Congress vas re-
spending favoraby to the appeal of the
community that the pay. tenure of office
and other conditions affecting the existing
teaching force be made sufficiently attract
i've to hold our teachers here despite the al
lurements of other cities. The logical effect
OF the boaru Interpretation of the law is,
however, to nullify al safeguards provided
for the protection of the teachers. to put
them at the mercy of any arbitrary super
intendent or board of education. and to in
dict Congress stupid and bIngling in
its legislative X as to defeat its recog-
nized intent and to stultify itself