Evening star., 1922-04-04

The school teachers salary increase
bill, introduced by Senator Capper'
has the warm support OF members Oh
the Senate District committee, which
yesterday gave hearing on the
measure. The indications today were
that the bill would come up for con-
sideration at meeting of the COM
mittee as soon as the testimony has
been. printed, and that it would be re-
ported favorably to the Senate.
Members Of the Senate committee
were impressed by the statements
made yesterday by Supt. Ballou and
DR.. w. s. Deffenbaugh of the United
States. bureau of education, showing
that the salaries paid the school
teachers in Washington were less
than those paid teachers in many
other American cities comparable In
size and situation to the National
Capital.
DIR. Ballou's Statement.
DR.. Ballou told the committee that
1t was not possible to obtain for the
District schools the teachers from
other cities needed here. because of
the low salaries paid. Yet the Dis
trict, he said. was forced to rely upon
teachers from outside to recruit the
ranks of the teaching force. The
teachers coming here. he said. upon
application. must. take oral, written
and physical examinations. Not long
ago, he said, there were twenty-five
outside teachers on the available list
and there were places to fill. Two
weeks after they had been notified
of this fact, he said, only six replies
that only one of the entire lot was
willing to come here at the existing
salary.
DR.. Ballou said the compensation OF
the supervisory and administrative
STATS of the sch ools was so far below
that in other cities that cit Is i'm
possEo to Interest any outsiders to
come mere" He referred particularly
to an attempt to fill the place of prin-
cipal of the Minor Normal School. The
place pays $4,000. he said. He was in
touch with twenty-five leading color
ed educators. but when they learned
the salary they were no longer in
terested. One of them. he said. was
getting $4,000 as principal of col
ored high school elsewhere.
Discusses Proposed Scale.
DR.. Ballou stressed the fact that
even under the proposed new salary
scale the District would not be pay
ing more than the average paid In
other cities to teachers. He predict
regard to increasing the pay Of the
teachers the Washington schools
would have to put up with less ef-
fcient teachers in the future. This
he declared. would be a calamity.
Economy should not be practiced at
the expense of the school children, he
urged.
Dr.. Ballou said that under the new
scale the increase In the salary pay
roll for the next year would be only
s2ss,0oo. and the second year, about
100000. The maximum increase over
the present salary roll, he said, would
occur in 1880.
DIR. DeffenbauSh Gives Statfstfcs.
DIR. Defenbaugh produced statis-
tics compiled by the federal bureau
showing that the teachers of Wash
inGtOn were far down the list of
teachers of other cities in both mini
mum and maximum salaries, particu
larly with regard to the latter The
figures presented by DR.. Deffenbaugh
cover the salary schedules for 1921
1922 in cities Of 100000 population or
over.
He showed that in a comparison OF
school teachers, thirteen cities pay
q larger minimum salary than Wash
ington, and nineteen pay the same
while seventeen pay less. In regard
to maximum salaries for the same
teachers, forty cities pay more than
Washington, three pay the same end
five pay less. The lower salaries for
the District school teachers was
found to exist all along the line.
Attention Is called" said the wit.
ness. Ito the fact that in Washington
only per cent OF the elementary
teachers receive $1,000 or more q
year, while in the other cities ~ pc,
cent receive that amount Vita .he
! bonus. only So per cent OF the Wasl,
instUn elementary teachers receive
. $500 or. more d year.
The media nsaiary for Washing.
ton is $1.346 that one-half of the
elementary teachers of Washington