The Telegraph-courier. [volume] (Kenosha, Wis.) 1888-1946, 1908-05-21
Failure of Board Of Education TO
increase Salaries May Cause
Many designations
SEEK WORK IN OTHER CITIES
A Score Of the Teachers Have Taken
Chicago Examinations While
Others Seek Places in
Smaller Cities
(From Thursdays Daily.)

(From Thursdays Daily.)
A general desertion among the grade
teachers of the city schools is promised
as a result Of the action of the Board
of Education on Tuesday night in en-
ploying list of teachers and failing
to make certain raises in salaries which,
it is alleged had been promised to the
teachers at the opening of the year.
Yesterday afternoon each one of the
teachers that had been reelected for
the new year received letter from
the Board announcing the fact and
stating the salary that they were to
receive for the new year and it is
claimed that no less than score Of the
teachers announced last night that they
would decline to sign contracts at the
salary stated in this notification. Many
of them have already sent applications
for positions in other cities and others
will go to other cities tomorrow even
ing for the purpose of making personal
application for positions.
The dissatisfaction among the teach
ers is wide spread and it is admitted
that the teachers who are showing the
most dissatisfaction with the action of
the Board are among the best in the
graded schools. 1t is alleged that these
teachers were promised increases in
salary last year which failed to ma
terialize.
Anticipating the action of the Board
many of the Kenosha teachers have al
ready taken examinations in Chicago
and it is claimed that many of. them
have been assured positions in the Chi
cago schools with the opening Of the
new year. 1t is claimed by the teach
ers that the salaries paid in Chicago
are much larger than those paid in the
Kenosha schools and that the positions
offer q much better field for their
labor. 1t was stated by the teachers
that some of them would sign contracts
for the coming year, but with the under
standing that they would break the
contract if they got better offer from
some other city. One of the teachers
in speaking of the matter last night
said: eff the Board refuses to increase
the salaries of grade teachers so that
they are in keeping with those in other
cities, the work in Kenosha will be left
to high school graduates and the teach
ers who can be secured from the rural
districts. Good teachers and teachers
with normal training have been afraid
to come to Kenosha for years on ac-
count of the fact that they realize that
the Kenosha Board will not pay living
salaries. The fact that there are so
many inexperienced teachers in the
Kenosha schools makes the work doubly
hard for the trained teachers and this
is especially true in the higher grades
of the graded schools. The children
get started wrong and all the work of
the lower grades must be done over in
the higher ones. This fact has long
been recognized among the teachers
and for this reason during the past year
there has been a general movement
among them to make arrangements to get
positions in other cities where the
amount of work done will bring better
remuneration.
81 do not think that any of the
teachers have any idea of embarrassing
the members of the Board of Education
and it may be duty that they owe to
the taxpayers to get teachers at the
lowest possible wages, but it is certain
that the best teachers cannot be secured
in Kenosha at the wages now being
paid
Superintendent Zimmers has repeated
ly insisted that more money be appro-
priated for the salaries Of teachers, but
with the building of new buildings and
other expenses which have been con-
sidered imperative the Board has found
no funds to increase the salary fund
So far the greater dissatisfaction has
been among the grade teachers, but it
is said that several of the teachers in
the High School are not satisfied with
the salary offered by the Board for the
coming year and they are quietly look
ing for new place to teach next year.
The teachers will probably send an
open protest to the teachers committee
and the Board before the next meeting.