New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1920-09-02
Craig Refuses
Teachers Pay
UnderNewLaw
Comptroller Notifies Board
That Payrolls Must Be
Cut to Basis That Gov
erned Old Schedule
Mayor Urged to Act
Prall Asks Legal Steps Be
Taken to Compel Pay
ment of the Increase

President Aiming S. Prall of the
Board of Education was notified yester-
day by Comptroller Craig that salaries
now due teachers and other employees
of the board would not be paid unless
the payrolls were reduced to a basis
which was in effect prior to the recent
increased salary law This Jaw is
known as Chapter $50 of the Laws of
1920 and authorized substantial in
creases.
Immediately upon receipt of this no.
LITIGATION President Prall requested
Mayor Hylan to direct Corporation
Counsel O'Brien to take legal steps
which would compel Comptroller Craip
to pay salaries now due under the ad-
vanccd schedule.
In the same mail he forwarded TO
members of the Board of Estimate and
Apportionment a proposed budget for
1921 totaling s13e,444,37s.s5, the lar.
gest sum Ger asked for educational
purposes in the city's history.
Would Compel Payment of Salaries
Complaining Of Comptroller Craie,s
ruling with regard to payment Of sal
aries Mr.. Prall wrote to the Mayor in
part as follows
THE Finance Department, without
giving any reason therefor. has mott
fled this department that it will not
honor our payro1ls for the month of
August unless the amounts are re-
duced to the original salaries paid
prior to the enactment Of Chapter 680
of the Laws of 1920 They also re-
quested that we furnish clerical helm
to assist in the process of reduction
ly denied O''S
Evidently the Finance Department
Tor some reason best known to it, in
tends to refuse payment to the super
vislng and teaching staff, and all other
employees, of the increases granted
under the Lockwood Donohuc Bill.
therefore request you to direct
the Corporation Counsel to take such
steps as will compel the Comptroller
to pay all salaries now legally due"
Explains Budget Demand
In a separate letter to the Mayor,
justifying tho enormous budget for
1921, President Prall wrote in part as
follows:
"Compared with other years the
amount requested by this department
for 1921 appears staggering, but this
is due to the lack Of sufficient appro-
priations of former city administra-
sary expansion.
"Another factor responsible for this
huge sum is the present 40 per cent
value to the 100-cent dollar During
the last five years practically no new
schools have been constructed. Tax
payers are now called upon to provide
new sites and school buildings in
order to house thousands of children
now on part time and in double SEES
sion classes.
~ am sure that the tax payers and
irving benefit in education will glad
ly pay the increase. Former city adj
have side stepped the
proper expansion and upbuilding of
the greatest school system the world
has ever known.
Wants Items Carefully Considered |
"The penny wise and pound foolish
policies have gone hand in hand too
long. We have in daily average at
tendance moro children than the COM
bined daily average attendance in
Chicago, Philadelphia, Boston, Cleve-
land and Detroit. or approximately
800,0 900 children"
Mr.. Trall said that the difficulties Of
educating the children in New York
were great because more than So per
cent Of them were Of foreign born
parents.
Flo said that before the proposed |
budget was adopted it had been care
fully scrutinized with the idea Of cl-
every item that was not |
vitality necessary, and urged that be- |
fore any sum WAS turned down or
the Board Of Estimate ap-
point q committee who could confer |
With like committee Of the Board Of |
EducatioE on the item involved.