The sun., 1910-07-23
FIGHTS A SCHOOL TRANSFER
GRtVEsEND POST NOR LIKED
M PRINCIPtL BiRRINGER.
ASKS Justice Bischon for MandamuS writ
ts ReInsiaie In HarIrm Job says He u
ReIng Punished on charges NJ ALE Eed
Gross MIsc ondurt without = Hearins.

Theodore r Barringer. formerly prin-
cipal OF public school 10 on Fast laoth
street. was transferred recently to
school in Gravesend 10y an order OF the
Board of Education Principal Bar
ringer likes neither Grave-end nor the
idea Of being transferred and he went
to a lawyer about " In the supreme
Court yesterday through his counsel
Arnou l.. Squiers. the sChoolmaster
asked for n peremptory writ Of manda-
mus requiring the Board Of Education
to reinstate him.
Barringer has been teacher in the
New York public schools since 1870. He
received his principals license in 1895
and went up to I2oth street to take charge
of public school 10 in 1901 On June II
Of this year he got "a letter from the board
of superin.endents of the Department
OF Education saving that charges Of
gross misconduct and neglect OF duty
had been preferred against him and that
the superintendents recommended hts
transfer "a Gravesend
Mr. Barringrr saws that this IL the first
notice he receiv we'd Of the charges. The
exact nature Of These charges IL not
made clear in the papers MIR bar
ringers counsel says that they are
purely technical and have to do with
the marking Of n pupil From another
source however, IL was learned that
the school was alleged to have det"r-
GRATED under his Jurisdiction
LAWYER Sqtuers contended yesterday
that according To section lOeD of the
city Charter "a teacher shall not be trans
ferred from a school IN one borough
To a school in another borough without
his consent He says further that IN
ts generic sense the word principal
implies that the person 81 designat"d
~ "A teacher and that MIR Ia ringer ~
protected by this section
The very course which the board has
adopted IN tins case Indicates how lnevi-
tably the entire morale of the public
schools will he dcmOraliDad N tins course
namely. the transferring of teachers from
one borough to another ~ approved.
continued the lawyer. IL your peti-
toner had h.en guilty ~ the charge
stated he should ~ removed. hut he can
not H. removed without the opportunity Of
having charges prpfcrred and ot hear
ing, and so the hoard takes the position
that IL " merely rseks to transfer him
it can Slt m judgment on his conduct IN
a star chamber proceeding and. entirely
- paTte convict hum of charges which
will hli ght "A life gwen 70 public service.
The exercise - arbitrary power - entirely
npptsed To- the spirit Of our institutions
and il u too late a day to now assert that
the abuse Of arbitrary power VIII be tul-
Grated
Mr. Squierr further -aid that the board
had misconceived its powers and that
II such a transfer ~ Permitted -prinCi-
pals can he harasscd and their regulations
Can he DESTROYED ~ that instead of haV
ing a transfer ha,ed upon an ex partc
conviction Of gross misconduct and
ne gleCt ~ duty many high minded man
or woman of integrity would prefer to
resign
The Board oI Education has not vet filed
its answering affdavits and Mr.. Squier-
asked to have until Monday to submit
f,n ther papers. This Justic" B'schon
granted