The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1919-11-22
Teachers Promptly
Paid, Says Hewitt
To the Editor of The Age-Heraid:

To the Editor Of The Age-Heraid:
A communication headed, County
Teachers Want Fay Promptly" signed by
Mable Louise jones, high school teacher,
Brighton, appeared in The Age-Herald
this morning. The communication re-
veals lack Of information on the part
of the author and besides contains very
serious reflection on the office force ct
the county superintendent of education.
The author says near the close Of her
communication, This is the consensus
of opinion of the teachers of the county,
and that the article is written by re-
quest of a number of teachers"
AS the chief clerk of the county board OF
education, / am responsible for the pay
roll, and as Sucn | state emphatically that
the schedule is not arranged for the con-
venience of the office force" as stated
by Miss Jones, but that it is made at the
earliest possible date.
Miss Jones further states that the
teachers, under the law, are supposed to
be paid on the first Saturday of each
month. If that were SO the teachers
were paid two weeks in advance for the
first month. Since that month closed Cc-
tober 10 and they were paid October Is,
Under Miss jones construction of the
law teachers would have been compelled
to wait until first Saturday in November
for heir money But fortunately for the
teachers this is not the law.
Under the law the school year begins
the first day of October and ends 30th of
September following, but in fact, we be-
gan our schools on the 18th of September
and since 20 school days constitute
school month, the first month closed Oc-
tober 10. The law does not authorize this
tapping from one school year into an
other, and we have always been puzzled
to jxnow just how to handle our first pay
roll, and were il not for the fact that
the state authorities seem willing to al
low us to literally construe the law in
our effort to- accommodate the teachers
by paying them when their real month 6
work is done or as soon thereafter as we
can get the pay roll ready, much longer
delay would be necessary.
According to a resolution passed by the
county board of education, teachers Will
be paid one-half salary for institute at
tendance on the January pay roll. and
Miss Jones could have had this nforma-
ton by asking for it; most of our teach
ers know this for it was done this way
last year.
Miss Jones asserts that the money for
teachers salaries lis and has been in the
bank all the while, Accommodating the
bank and perhaps the office force at the
expense of the teachers" Miss Jones
could. by asking. have learned that not
penny of public school funds was lying
in the bank at the close of the first month
and that the county board borrowed the
money to meet the pay roll, and will have
to borrow more than one-half the amount
necessary to meet the second month S
pay roll. But even if the money were
lying in the bank, will Miss Jones state
how that could have been for the beneti.
of the office force?
For the information of Miss Jones and
those teachers she represents, I will state
that the pay rolls are made from the
monthly reports filed by the principals OF
the schools. and that under the law she
quotes they have till noon of Wednesday
following the close of the school month
to file these reports I think that even
Miss Jones will see that it would not be
possible to get ready to pay the teachers
on The Saturday following Wednesday.
1t requires at least two days to check
these reports and two additional days 10
make the pay roll and the treasurer OF
public school funds says that it is neces-
sary for him to have the pay roll ov
Wednesday in order for him to get ready
to pay the teachers on Saturday. We
urge teachers to mail their reports to US
on Saturday following the close of the
school month, but the mail facilities in
many OF the outlying districts are such
as to render it impossible for these re-
ports 70 reach Us much earlier than noon
of Wednesday following.
If Miss Jones and her associates who
think as she does desire further inforna-
ton and will present themselves at this
office I will take great pleasure, both in
showing them the law, and our modes of
procedure under it. Very truly.
r. G. HEWITT. Chief Clerk.
Birmingham, November q, 1919.