Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1911-02-16
HITS BOARD OF EXAMINERS
Trying to Square Themselves With
the Teachers, He Declares.
HAS NO CHOICE IN HIS OFFICE
RESPONSIBLE Under His Bond if He
Pays Any One Too Much
for Services.

I
| the board of examiners to square them
selves with the teachers. They have set
up rule regarding teachers pay and all
I do is to audit the accounts in accord
ance with that rule
This is the general answer of AlonZo
Tweedale. auditor of the District of Co
lumbia to the claim of Harry English
secretary of the board of examiners, that
the delays and discrepancies and troubles
over placing of teachers and the myriad
difficulties that have arisen recently in
regard to teachers pay are all to be laid
at the door of the auditor of the District
of Columbia. Mr.. Tweedale said this
morning that he and his office did not
recognize the board Of examiners Of
fiially.
Il understand. however, that this board
of examiners set up certain rules for the
placing of teachers and that the board OF
education adopted them
Il have been auditing accounts in ac.
cordance with that rule If there is any.
thing wrong with the auditing it is or
account of the rule Furthermore. I an
under bond to see that no money Of the
Districts funds is paid out in too large
sums Don't you suppose I am going tc
check every expenditure very carefully q
Causes of the Trouble.
The whole trouble arises over the fac,
that many teachers who have been born
and bred in Washington are not getting
all the money they think they are enti-
tied to. and teachers from the outside
have come in and received a higher sal
a n nf f1o hor,
erS. This it is said, is accounted for nv
the patchwork legislation built up from
year to year by various teachers organ
lzatlons and influence in the legislation.
Mr.. Tweedale said today that there was
no no such trouble over pay previous to
1906, in the period when Congress appro-
pr1ated specifically for salaries No cues
tions, he said, then arose. The act of
1906. called the organic act," said that
the board of education should place all
teachers: and is said to have given every
teacher " the schools an increase in sal
airy. Along came the act of 1908, which
provided that teachers could come in from
the outside and be placed and paid in ac-
cordance with previous experience. That
made it Immediately possible for outsiders
to come in and get more money than
" ashingtonlans in some instances be-
cause these outsiders were paid in ac-
cordance with years of experience and
Washinstonians " are still being paid in
Operated Against Home Teachers.
This was clear discrimination against
the home talent" said Mr.. Tweedale to-
day, but was only part of the strug-
gle that teachers were carrying on to get
more pay. The whole patched-up thing
became more and more technical and in
tricate every year. And now the act of
hos oil
manual training school teachers and a
lot of others shall have the credit for
their years of experience. SO that Wash
lngtonians Will get their share of the in
creases. 1T is this which makes the trou-
BILE.
Where no question of experience has
arisen, this office of mine has taken the
word of the board of education The law
says the teachers must be paid in ac-
cordance with the number of years of ex-
perlence. and l have to find out what
their experience has been. If ever nav
any one too much l am responsible under
my bond"
The complaint of the board of examin-
ers has statement that the auditor re-
Jected rule concerning the placing of
teachers ana MADE an arbitrary ruling in
its place. Mr.. Tweedale says that "the
board of examiners drew up report Civ
ing a plan for placing teachers in ac-
cordance with the controllers decision
VI April 10, l1yJ, ana winch WSS aD-
proved and adopted by the board of edu-
cation September IS, 1909.
Working Under the Rules.
They have set down their standard.
approved by the controller and that s
what we have been working under. We
did not set it up. We are auditing under
the rules of the board of education, and
certainly will require them to live I'D to
their own rules: Their rule may be not
quite elastic enough, but that is no fault
of mine. At any rate. l wish they would
keep III touch with this office before they
try to find fault. All this delay and
trouble arises from their own rules
The report signed by Harry English and
carrying the protest of the board of ex-
aminers is very long, detailed, technical
setting out OF cases wherein 1t is claimed
, that the educational experts Of twenty
years standing have been forced to bow
their necks in spite of their Judgment
and bear yoke set thereon by the me-
chanical clerical workings of the office of
the auditor. The report makes the def
mite and unqualified statement that so
far as the teachers are concerned the net
result was a long delay in the payment of
salaries"
The experience d teacher has had is
the point "a issue The auditor requires
that details of this experience with the
certification of the proper officers, shall be
sent to him. On this point the board of
examiners says:
To1