New-York tribune., 1920-04-07
$lO2,000,OOO
Teachers Nv
RaiseProR,osed
State Would Divide Cost
Equally With Cities,
Towns and Villages I'm
der the Pending Measure
Mill Tax Is Talked OF
Joint Legislative Committee
Will Meet To-day TO Drafs
a bstitu:c Bill
From q Staff CorrcspoN.'cA,


ALBANY. April Representative
of more than $4,000 school teachers in
the City of New York and nearly as
many more upstate are de .nandine
that the Legislature adopt the salary
increases provided for in the Lock
wood Donohue bill. and that the state
follow the lead of the majority Of the
commonwealths in the Union and pay
so per cent OF the cost Of education.
The teachers are not iAsistent that
the Lockwood Donohue bill be adopted,
and will be content with a compromise
measure retaining its. essential fea-
lures.
If the proposed schedule Of salary
increases goes into effect it will cost
the state approximately s5l 900 900 for
the twelve months beginning Angus. /
of this year, and the cities, towns and
villages OF the state q like amount,
making an aggregate Of $l02, 100000 for
teachers salaries.
But the facts snow that while local
civic virtue is plentiful there is little
money. One of the three first class
cities Of the state, Rochester, is within
s1e8 of it's debt limit Other munich
palities are in a like financial con-
dition, and how $1.9S can be made to
meet contemplated increases running
into the hundreds OF thousands is
something that even the minds of
Speaker Sweets spokesmen have not
attempted to solve.
To Draft Compromise To-day
Outside of stupendous public i'm
provements, the teachers salary prob
lem is the biggest financial problem
the Legislature has had to cope with in
it's history.
The Legislature has appointed
joint committee of six to study the
situation. draft a compromise bill.
which will be the law pending a study
of the situation on an actuarial basis
by joint legis ative committee which
will sit. all summer and next fall, and
report back its findings to the next
Legislature.
This committee of six. which com
prises Senators Lockwood, Law and
Downing and Assemblymen Donohue,
Hutchinson and Mckee will meet to-
morrow with representatives of the
teachers and draft compromise
measure.
Tonight the leading members of the
committee felt that the best the state
could do this year would be to con-
tribute little in excess Of the $780,
100000 as the states share Of the
education of its children.
The proposed list OF increases .enta-
lively agreed upon by the committee
are exclusive of the 5000 fat increase
awarded this year TO each teacher and
for which provision is made in the
appropriation of S12,500,00O, now in
the hands OF the Governor.
Schedule of Increases
These salary increases, exclusive of
the 5000 increases already agreed upon,
follow:
New York City, $3.50.
Buffalo and Rochester, S4O0.
Second class cities, $3.50
Third class cities, $500.
Union Free Schools, with more than
ten classes, $500
Union free schools, with less than
ten classes, $3.50.
This will give s1o.s55.35O to the a.
i23 teachers of New York City. The
bill will be so drawn that the Hylan
administration will be forced to raise
the difference between the states con-
tribution and s1S,0oO,000 to provide
for salary increases in New York City
based on the percentage increases pro-
vided for in the Lockwood Don3hue
bill.
The states contribution to Buffalo
and Rochester. which between .hem
have 3,oS6 teachers. will be s1,234,4o
Cities of the second class, which have
1881 teachers, will receive $3.50 a
teacher, or s1,C43.5 $50; third class cities,
which have 4,4i2 teachers in their
schools, will receive s1,323,600. The
union free schools with less than ten
classes have 14,771 teachers, while the
larger union free schools number ex-
actly 5000. Their share of the ad-
ditional state contribution will be 49,
6s2,75o for the teachers Of the smaller
classes, and sl,50O,000 for the teachers
in the larger rural schools.
This proposed state contribution,
which is exclusive of the S12,500,000
amounts to sl9,649,450.
To meet this it is proposed to levy
direct tax of one mill. This will
raise a little in excess of 13,300,000
which is more than s600O,000 short of
the. total required. 1t is intended to
make up this deficiency by appropriate
ing an additional Sc 900 600