Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1909-10-29
FOR SUBSTITUTE TEACHERS
Five Thousand Dollars Saved to the
Regular Corps.
REASONS GIVEN FOR CHANGE
Superintendent Stuart Says It Con
forms the School Rules With
Organic Act.

4
tute teachers in the public schools will
result from amendment to the rules
and regulations of the school system
passed at a special meeting of the board
of education held late last evening
| 1t is estimated by school officials that
| about 5000 is involved, this amount be-
ing saved to the regularly employed
| teachers, but lost by the substitute
teachers.
| Under the old rules. substitute teach
! er was paid the legal proportion of the
| regular teachers whole salary. including
| the increase allowed to the main teacher
| for length of service. Under the new
| rule the substitute will be paid the same
legal proportion of the regular teacher S
| salary, not including the increase for
| length of service.
Take the case of a teacher in the high
schools, placed under the law in group
| A of class 6, it is cited The basic salary
of teachers in that group is $1,000, but
such teachers receive $lOO per year in
crease for length of service. If the teach
er has been in the service five years she
will receive $500. Under the old rule,
the proportion Of salary for a substitute
for this teacher would be based on $1.5OO;
under the new rule, the pay of the sub
stitute would be based on the basic salary
of 81 eco. Under the new rule, therefore,
the substitute teacher will not benefit by
| longevity pay allowed to the regular
teacher.
Another Example.
Under the old rule, a substitute teacher
for an instructor receiving $500 would
get $500 per day; under the new rule the
substitute will get only 81 per day for
substitution for not longer than thirty
days. The decrease is proportionate in the
cases of salaries of different amounts.
The reason for making this change in
the rules to the detriment of the substi-
| tute teachers, as stated by Supt. A. L.
Stuart to the board, is Ito secure con-
formity of the rules OF the board OF edu-
cation with the organic act and the vari-
Gus decisions rendered by the controller
of the Treasury respecting the salaries of
school employees.
Bringing the matter to the attention of
the school officials and urging the adop-
ton of the new rule. Assistant Secretary
r. O. Wilmarth said after quoting de-
cisions of the controller:
The controller in the decision from
which have quoted and which was made
after and as the result Of careful study
of the school law and an effort on my
part to arrive at the true intent Of Con-
gress. and by construction to make a
say the least is difficult to so construe
as to make it operate intelligently as a
| WHOLE clearly distinguishes between the
! salaries and the longevity allowance OF
the teachers and other employees of the
public school system affected by the
provisions of the act approved June 10
| 1905.
Intent of Decision.
This decision clearly shows that the
salary of the teacher is the minimum
amount specified in the respective class
es and that all amounts received in adj
dition to this amount are in the nature OF
longevity LAY for length OF service. This
position is further emphasized By the
ruling that teacher cannot receive any
promotion to salary in his class ex-
cept that specified by law, and that any
such promotion would have the effect Of
giving an increase of pay for length Of
service without regard 20 the length Of
service.
1T is therefore evident that the sub
stitute pay should be determined by the
minimum or first salary Of the respective
classes or groups. and that the substitute
should not receive pay on the basis OF
the pay received by the teacher includ-
ing the amount of credit for longevity"
Under the new rule the pay of substi-
tutes will be regulated by the following
provisions and schedule:
where the absence is not more than
thirty consecutive school days in any one
year the rate for each day of actual
substitute service shall be one-fiftieth of
months salary.
Payment to Substitute.
Where the temporary absence of any
| teacher exceeds thirty consecutive school
days in any year the entire salary of the
| teacher SO temporarily absent for every
school day for which substitute service
| is rendered shall be paid to the substi-
tute.