The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1918-12-28
Will. PUSH BILL.
Grade Teachers To Get Behind
Legislative Measure.
They VIII Work for Passage of
the Kent Measure.

The grade teachers of Kansas are
to give their assistance, thru congress
sional district committees. to the pass
ing of teachers insurance or an
nuity bill, to be introduced in the
forthcoming session OF the Kansas
Sc legislature. n
Raymond Kent, Z, superintendent of
the public schools of Lawrence, was
invited to Topeka Friday to address
meeting of a committee from the
Grade Teachers association, met to
consider legislation on school matters
Kent is chairman of the legislative
committee of the Kansas State Teach
ers' association, and has led in the
framing of four bills to be presented
to the legislature, the insurance bill
being one of the number.
The grade teachers considered the
proposed bill for the retirement of
teachers inadequate in some respects,
and conferred with Kent regarding
some points that they wished incor-
porated- into the measure. The bill
was lacking disability clause. where
by a teacher who has taught less than
the required number of years for re-
tirement, might draw an annuity in
case of disability. l..5..
Special Topeka Problem.
The meeting also considered the
case of Topeka teachers, already
working under a local pension sys-
LcLks III CASE q SbdlS law Is PdSScu
Some, provision will have to be made,
either to annul the local arrangement.
or otherwise to bring the Topeka
teachers under the state law provis-
ions.
Kent emphasized the necessity of
putting the bill upon an actuarial
basis, IN order that it may be a safe
lazy and will not require a later ap-
preparation to make up any deficits.
'All the states that have a teachers
annuity arrangement" Kent explained,
ARE putting the law on the same basis
as life insurance, worked out with the
same accuracy and certainty. No
other law has been found to be sound"
Objections were made by some of
the teachers to the age limits proposed
in the bill. The measure is made to
read an optional retirement age of
3 s. afte.. a service of thirty years. or a
forced retirement age of 65 after a
service of forty years. The teachers
thought that instructo-s would almost
invariably work on to the limit. how
ever detrimo ntal such service might be
both to teacher and school children.
Kent Explains Age Limit.
Kent explained that reducing the
| age limit five years would increase the
sum of the appropriation to be asked
! for 100 per cent. This. he thought,
would imperil the chances of the bill
in the legislature.
1T would be BETTER" Kent said, ito
get an imperfect bill than no bill at
| allj'
sc he contrary" one of the teach
ers replied, lit would be better to get
the bill thru as it ought to be, than to
! have the work to do yer again in
| future sessions" Lima Bresette, state
welfare board secretary, gave as her
| experience that the committee should
| take from the legislature the best bill
it could get and try for improvements
| in future sessions.
K"rt asked the women's committee
! of teachers to do their legislative
work thru AUTHORIZE channels and no.
bother the legislators with scattered
requests for action on the bill. Miss
Mabel Smith; chairman of the State
/ Association of Grade Teachers, ex-
planned to Kent that the women OF
the association had tried to interview
the legislative committee, presenting
the views on the bill-v-hich concerns
them more nearly than it does anyone
else, and --ad been put off and given
no caring.
For that reason the grade teacher.
had chosen executive secretaries il
every congressional district who
should present a satisfactory insur-
ance bill to their own legislators be
fore they came down to the session
| Every legislator will be approached
on the bill by his own constituents.
In putting the bill into its fina
form, the legislative committee ha.
signifled its willingness to accept sug
gestions from the grade teachers
of the points which that committed
considers essential.
A meeting of the legislative com.
mittee will be held in Topeka early II
January to get its bills in finished
form.