The times-news. [volume] (Hendersonville, N.C.) 1927-current, 1933-01-27
ASSEMBLY TO
SPARE SCHOOL
TEACHERS PAY
Small Saiaried Workers Will
Not Bear Brunt of Cut
In Costs
The Tlmcs-Ncws BureHn
Sir Walter Hotel

sir W Hiter liulCi
RALEIGH, Jan. 26.The present
general assembly is showing no IN
clination to try to economic Il
the expense of the small SalarIeo
school teachers or to make them
bear the brunt of any reduction
in state expenses and indications
are that if teachers salaries are
cut at all, the cut will De as small
as possible. But it ) apparent
that many members of the assem-,
bly, are convinced that the cost oil
operating the public schools can
DE reduced and must be reduced
An effort will be made first to re-
duce this cost through the elimina-
ton of unnecessary services,
courses of study and through q
curtailment of supervision, &C
cording to present indications. Ii
these fail to effect the savings Cc-
sired, a slight reduction in teach
erS' salaries may be necessary. But
this latter course will be adopted
only as a last resort.
This was indicated again yester-
day in the bill introduced in the
senate by Senator Ingram OF
Ashcboro, which would abolish al
county superintendent and eoun-
tY boards of education and set UP
in their stead 80 district school
superintendent with 80 district
boards of education. The bill
would also abolish all special tan
and charter district boards anC
place all of these schools under
the immediate direction of the
district school boards and district
superintendent. BY reducing the
number of superintendent from
100 to 80 and by reducing the
number of county boards of edu'
cation, Senator Ingram believes
that fully $1,000,000 a year car
be saved without reducing the
salaries of any of the teachers OIL
in any way injuring the efficiency
of the teaching in the schools.
81 believe that the state Is pay
ing too much for superintendent
and supervision and that a large
portion of this cost can be ehmin'
ated without causing any injury
to the type of instruction being
given in the Schools" Senator In
gram said.
This bill by Senator Ingram i;
based upon the same idea as that
introduced in the house more thar
a week ago by Representative
Douglass of Wake county, which
would abolish all county superin'
tendents and boards of education
and set up instead eleven district
superintendents. The bill by Sen
ator Ingram, however, is more
carefully worked out and provides
for 80 superintendent and boards
instead of only eleven, since Sena'
ator Ingram believes that at least
this number of superintendent Is
needed to provide a minimum OF
efficient school supervision for al
the schools.
1t is being pointed out here that
the Georgia legislature is also
wrestling with the problem OF
school costs and that the Georgis
Education Commission and the
Superintendent of Public Instruc
ton are recommending enactment
of a law that will abolish all city
school superintendent and make
the county superintendent also the
superintendent of any and al
schools within the county. There
are indications that this plan may
also be considered here before the
school question is settled.
The county superintendent are
naturally worried at the turn af'
fairs have taken and are doing
everything possible to prevent the
enactment of any of these bills
The day after the Douglass bill
was introduced, President Clyde
Erwin of the North Carolina Edu-
cation association and several 9th,
er county superintendent came
here. 1t is understood that an
other group of superintendent
held another council of war here
yesterday.
1t is expected that the superin-
tendents will seek to try to hide
behind the skirts of the school
teachers or raise the cry that q
reduction in supervision will work
a hardship on the teachers and re-
act upon the children. But the
prevailing opinion among many
members Of the general assembly
is that it is letter to start at the
top with the superintendent thar
to cut the pay of the already poor,
ly paid school teachers. This is Civ,
en- as the reason why the joint
committee on reorganization Of
the state government recommend
ed that the state board of equal
cation not only be retained bu
be given even greater powers. Fol
the record of this board show
that it has consistently tried to re
duce expenses at every other an
gle, including the cost of supervi
sion, before touching salaries
though it could not reduce sal
aries.