Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1913-11-09
Salaries Of

tional authorities and experts In city
government. The resignation Of the su-
perintendent Of schools OF the District Of
Columbia during the past week to accept
so per cent raise in salary offered by
Pittsburgh has aroused interest In all
parts OF the United States, and has
awakened city officials and members of
the various city boards Of education to
the fact that It Is practically impossible
to keep q head of a school system when
another city Is bidding for his services,
and is Offering a salary so attractive
that he cannot be blamed for leaving.
While salaries OF teachers in elemen-
tary grades and minor school officials
have advanced very slowly. and in fact
in some communities have remained al
most stationary, most progressive cities
have gradually increased the compensa-
ton of school superintendents until at
the present time these officials are paid
more than health officers, police chiefs
city engineers or the heads Of any other
department in most city governments.
The salary of the superintendent OF
schools Of Washington is now $1,000, al
though the Commissioners who run the
city government are paid only 5000.
The trend toward increasing salaries for
school superintendents has been more
marked in recent years, and the list OF
heads Of school systems is constantly
growing.
The United States bureau Of education
will soon issue its educational direc-
tory for 1913. and this publication will
show that there are at present four cities
| In this country where the superintendent
Of schools receives an annual salary Of
$4,000. New York. Chicago, Boston and
Cincinnati Pittsburgh, which has just
| attracted Supt. William NJ. Davidson
from Washington. and Philadelphia pay
the next highest salary, which is $4,000.
Detroit and st. Louis pay the heads OF
| their school systems 5000 a year; Seat
tie and Buffalo. $500; Newark, y. j..
ington, D. c.: Milwaukee. Cleveland,
Denver. Los Angeles. Montclair. N. j..
and Gary. Ind. receive 5000 a year
| each. Minneapolis and Indianapolis pay
$500 year. and 5000 is given the SUI
Birmingham. In the latter city the SUI
perintendent has served in office since
1883. Worcester, Mass, pays $3.50 a
year, and Atlanta $4,000.
the governments report of the salaries
paid in some Of the small cities. where
the compensation is very much larger In
proportion to population than In the
large centers. For instance, in the city
of Montclair. N. j.. with q population Of
less than 1900. according to the last
census, and in Gary, Ind. with 1900.
| the superfntendents are given a salary
of 5000. the same as is given in large
cities like Cleveland. Washington, Los
Angeles and Denver. San Francisco, with
a population Of more than $4,000, how
$1,000. - ' wy
In some cities the compensation for
school heads Is actually more than what
the salary figures show. because other
nishing and maintaining an automobile
and the making Of various expense allow
ances. While the new educational dlrec-
tory of the bureau of education will not
contain the schedule Of salaries of ele-
mentary teachers and minor school Off
Gals. comprehensive study of the trend
Of salaries throughout all branches of
the teaching professions is now being
made by the bureau of education in CO.
operation with the National Educational
Association. This detailed study of sal
aries will be very thorough, and will not
be completed until some time during the
year of 1914. because of the great amount
Of work which is entailed.
What will be the end of the salary-rais-
ing movement. which is accelerated by
the bidding of one city against another for
the service of school administrators, few
men in educational circles will venture
to predict. Some Of them believe that
the larger cities will keep raising until
the superintendent salary goes to $15.-
CO. $1,000 or even to $4,000 year for
the cities of the largest size. School eX-
penditures are multiplying each year,
however. and the probability is that I'M
| usually high salaries for superintendent
will not come until better compensation
can be given by communities to the
teachers and minor officials.
In the opinion Of many educators. how
ever, even with high salaries. the time
will soon come when it will be exceeding
~ difficult to get able school administra-
tors, for the reason that men today are
not going in strongly for the teaching
profession, especially in the elementary
grades. Most school administrators are
drawn from men teachers in the public
schools. and the public schools are get
ting fewer men teachers each year. The
normal schools are not turning them out.
and college graduates seldom make ele-
mentary teachers. The last report OF
Commissioner P. p. Claxton of the bureau
of education shows that there were $1,000
girl graduates Of normal schools in the
United States last year and only little
moro than 1900 men. Except In few
sections of the country, normal schools
established for the training of elementary
teachers are attended almost entirely by
girls, and little or nothing is done to at
tract men to the work. As result al
most every city in the country finds it.
self short of supply of strong and able
men upon whom 1t can call for school
administrators.
BOYS normal schools have been sug-
gested as means of meeting the crying
demand for more man teachers, especially
for older boys classes, and for school ad-
illustrators, but present-day school off,
Gals have given little or no encourage
ment to this idea. The disposition of the
members of most boards of education is
that the young man must go to the city
regular normal school, even II the young
man find himself the only one of his sex
in a class of a hundred or more girls. In
only a few normal schools over the coun-
try, according to government reports. Is
there an appreciable number OF man stu
dents in comparison with the number OF
women In Pennsylvania. Oklahoma.
Ohio, Texas and West Virginia there are
normal schools in which there are q con-
siderable number Of men studying to be
teachers, but in most other states the
attendance of men Is very slight In the
reports which have come in to the COM
missioner of education there Is shown
ONLY one normal school in the United
States where the graduating list contains
an excess Of men. and this Is at Athens.
w. Va, where 2O5 men and 40 women
were graduated to be teachers last year.
human-interest story of the kind
which Is not frequently brought to light
out of the records of the
Reclamation government departments
:, lies back Of the announce
C0ntr0uer. nent by Secretary Lane
of the appointment Of w. A. Ryan as
controller of the United States reclama-
ton service Mr.. Ryan was formerly
connected with the interstate commerce.