Evening star., 1919-04-01
Board of Education Will Con-
slider Teachers Unions
. Requests for Teacher.
PAUL e. LESH EMPLOYED

lie hearing and also calling upon the
school officials to rescind their action
in SuSpending MISS W ood Tor d "eeh
without pay
;. Both officials said they had not yet
received the petition Mr.. Hamilton
took the position that he should not
discuss the requests before they are
considered by the full board Mr.
ThurSton made it clear that the en-
tire matter is one for the school board
to handle.
Miss Alice Deal, president of the
High School Teachers Union. stated
this morning that the organization
has employed Paul f. Lesh As attor-
ney to take Miss Woods case into
court if the school board declines to
reverse it's action or to grant the pub
lie hearing requested
Attorney May Appear.
Attorney Lesh stated that if legal
action becomes necessary the case
would go into court on the ground
that the school board did not follow
the proper procedure in separating
the teacher from her position and sal
ary without a trial in the pre- esence of
counsel
He contends that Miss Wood was
not represented by counsel at the con-
ference with members of the hoard
previous to her suspension and that
she was advised shk would not need
counsel, since was not 10 pt d II iidi.
According to Attorney Lesh there
have been a number of cases in court
on the question of dismissal of teach
ers, but if this case is taken to the
courts it would be the first involving
the method to be pursued by the
board of education in suspending
teacher for d limited period.
Miss Deal said the teachers take the
position that Miss Woods case is one
affecting all Of them, because the
teachers have definitely set
tied the question of how the school
board should proceed in suspending
tht N.
In response to a request from the
president of the school board. Mr..
Thurston today made public the text
of the letter he sent Miss Wood, at the
direction of the school board, inform
ing her of her suspension. 1t follows:
Letter of Notification.
AT the meeting of the board of
education held on Wednesday. March
10, the report of the informal COM
mittee which considered with you
certain charges concerning your han
ding of economic questions was pre-
sented to the board and the following
action was taken:
Resolved. that Miss Alice Wood
riod of one week, commencing March
20
THE board took this action be-
cause OF your attempt to touch on and
interpret certain economic and social
subjects in which you were clearly an
amateur. and in which you revealed
indiscretion and poor judgment in as
suming to be anything else. In the
mind of the board this indiscretion
implies somewhat careless class
room worker.
1.-The members of the board feel
that made eYcoedin0ly SLIGHT
effort at defense and exhibited only
the slightest display of regret. The
feeling was that your viewpoint was
that Of a pronounced nationalist. dis
inclined to take into account the harm
you might accomplish by not taking
into the reckoning your position as
teacher of children of very varied
equipment.
while taking this diciplinary ac-
tion with regard to incidents now
past, the board of education at the
same time desires to make the specific
request with regard to further teach
ing on your part when you return to
teaching that you refrain from touch
ing upon bolshevism and similar here
sizes
Protest Miss Woods Suspension.
We. the members of the High School
: Teachers Union and of the Grade
Teachers Union of Washington. do
f. hereby formally protest the suspen-
sion for one week without pay of
/ Miss Alice Wood. and also take issue
! with the statement of the president
(, OF the board Tin his reply to our in
{ quiry of March %. 1870 that the
boards action in the premises Is not
the proper subject of Interrogation or
review by other teachers or groups of
teachers"
We are of opinion that if the board
does not reconsider it's action in the
| case of Mss Wood it will have been
| decided by the board that teachers
are liable to separation from their
positions and salary and to public dis
grace, on the report of one or two
pupils. for class discussion in the line
! OF duty of topics not known to be ex-
cluded or objected to. without investi-
CATION or recommends ton by the head
OF the department or the principal of
the school. and without opportunity
=. on the part of the teacher to hear the
\ charges or to defend herself before
I tion. To approve such course of pro-
cedure is to place an indignity upon
the whole teaching force and to affect
seriously its efficiency, and such a
4, mistake is one in which we. and all of
che teachers, have a vital interest
Resume of Case.
Inc following is summary of the
case as ii concerns US, and If any fact
N the following summary is disputed
're are prepared to substantiate
4 by proof
I. Miss Wood is a patriotic Ameri-
can citizen, born of American line
age antedating the American revolu-
ton. No circumstance connected
with her Except the Interpretation
any suspicion of her loyalty or pa :
triotism. She is not a bolshevist, has
not advocated bolshevism. and has
not at any time 80 expressed her
self AS fairly to be understood even
by student, as favoring its propa- =