The Richmond Virginian. (Richmond, Va.) 1910-1920, 1917-02-05
STATEMENT TO BOARD
TO FIGURE IN TRIAL
Council VIII Hear Thomas Charges
Against school Board Tonight.
Seeks to Recover SALARY.

Seeks to Recover SALARY,
/ Preparing to appeal to the courts 20
recover salary for the remainder of the
school term, from which he has been
excluded by dismissal from the teach
ing stan of the city school system. r
/ n. Thomas. through his counsel. Press
ley Smith, Jr.. is appealing to the
council tonight to investigate his
charges made against the school board
and Superintendent Chandler. A state
ment made in writing, and presented
! by Thomas to the school board Satur-
! day. was considered by the board. but
Thomas was dismissed from his posi-
ton as teacher in Highland Park
school shortly after the statement was
read. This statement will figure it
/ is thought in the legal proceedings for
the recovery of salary for the rest of
! the year. The text of the paper is as
/ follows;
Thomas Statement
/ To the honorable members OF the
school board of the city Of Richmond:
I Pursuant to the resolution adopted
/ by this honorable board al it's last
meeting of February > 1877. the UNI
dersigned respectfully submits his final
! statement in this matter
! He desires to state that his state
ments In the Richmond Evening Jour-
nal, upon which the resolution citing
him to appear and show cause why
he should not be dismissed for MAX
! ing the same was based. was not in
| tended as an act Of characterization,
nor was It intended n reflect in any
manner upon the sincerity and integri-
Ity OF any member OF this honorable
board. or upon the superintendent. or
upon Principal Graves
! The undersigned confesses to have
/ felt somewhat Inundated when the
Superintendent saw ht In the interest
/ of the schools. TO transfer him to an
other school: that he did not know
then the attitude OF Mcssrs Shawen
and Magee, as confessed by them last
night which now explains the action
of the superintendent in q way not
understood by the undersigned when
/ he made the said statements.
| Attached 10 His Work.
| The Undersigned had become much
attached TO his work at pvevoca tional
school, and felt that he was accom-
! plishing results with his pupils. and
he regrets that any controversy over
Mr. 6 A Riddick's uuftness result ed
/ in the transfer Of the undersigned An
other thing which contributed TO make
! him more hasty In making unguardcd
| statements is that he felt that after
Mr. Riddick's dismissal upon evidence
given by the undersigned he should
| have received some assurance that his
transfer was not because he had been
somewhat active in securing Mr. Rid
dicks dismissal.
/ And so il is hoped that the board
viii consider the impression which
! prevailed upon the mind of the under
al ND oh &
! to make statements upon tire impulse
/ Of the moment. the whole controversy
spreading out over some time and in
an unsettled condition
The undersigned would further show
that he was under the Impression in
utmost good faith. that he was respon-
sihle for the schedule Of the graf" to
which he had been assigned. a. set
forth In the printed schedule until mo-
tilted Of changes therein.
He frankly admits that until last
night ne did not know the technical
distinction between double and a
com binatiou grade. as explained by Mr
/ Hin
While he had been previously no
ti7ed that he would BE- transferred. he
( did not know to what school or work
/ he would be assigned, and when the
notice was received he pursued the
policy and took the action which he
did. In good faith. believing n Was
doing what the rules required, as here
tofore explained. That he felt that he
could not do his best work until he had
removed his property from the school
from which he had been transferred,
ana because If Mondays holiday, amt
I tho superintendent absence from Tie
city. he thought he could make no bet
ter provision.
Thought singing and sewing REQUIRED.
While the Undersigned does not
waive any question Of fact which-may
be properly contested. he does " ISL
10 say that while he was not required
/ to teach singing and sewing, in the
strict sense OF actually having presjd-
ed in such classes at the time he made
his statements. he fully believed that
such was expected OF him. He now
states that under the present schedule
he Is not assigned work OF this nature
IN any TT his classes Nor can II be
lost sight of that the statements were
made on hand. TO reporter without
full investigation of their eNactneSs
before doing so
! Thomas Is Dismissed.
| Concluding consideration OF this
1 statement. and feeling that Thomas
had been given fair and ample oppor-
tunlty to convince the board OF his
! position the following resolutions wer,
unanimously passed
! Whereas. Mr.. r. \. Thomas a teach
er in the public schools, has acknow /
+ edged that certain statements pub
lished in the daily press emanated
! from him and
/ Whereas. these statements are o{
such nature as 10 seriously rcfiecs
upon the management of the schools
ard upon the honesty and integrity Of
the board, and
Whereas. AT hearing given Mi
Thomas by the school board on Feb
ruary end. 1917, il was clearly proven
that the charges made by the board
were true. and that the statements
given out to the daily press and re
fectiug upon the honesty and integrity
OF the board were false and
whereas. Mr., r. n Thomas is a com
munication filed before the board on
February s. 1917, acknowledged that
a number of the statements made by
him, and published in the daily press
were unwarranted. and made without
previous investigation as to their
txuth and falsity. therefore. be ii
Resolved. That the school board is
unanimously of the opinion that they
have given Mr.. Thomas just and TAI,
everything connected with his case
they have acted according TO what
they believed for the best Interests