Evening star., 1947-05-04
Facts Instead of Fears

erS In delivering their surprising
eleyenth-hour broadside against the
teachers pay bill. There is great
deal OF question about the soundness
of their position, howeyer-so much
question. in fact, as to arouse Won
der as to how they possibly could
have arrived at their strange con-
clusions in this long g-studied matter.
What makes the beIated blast of
the Commissioners even less under
standable is the fact that only two
weeks ago, at hearings before
Senate-Hou committee, they went
on record as giving conditional ap-
proval to the bill. At that time they
admitted, however, that they had
not studied the bill in detail-a re-
markable admission in view of the
fact that the Board of Education
voluntarily had supplied the Com
missioners with full details in docu-
mentary form months ago. Fridays
written statement is, as the COM
mittee remarked, of controversial
nature, indeed It is controversial
because it flies in the face of all evi-
dence from authoritative sources
regarding the teachers pay problem.
It would make the Nations Capital
probably the only large city in the
country which is not preparing to
pay teachers more next year than
now. 1t would shove Washington
next year further down the list of
major cities with respect to school
pay levels--and at time when en-
lightened States and cities every
where are moving to correct the
salary injustices which have afflicted
the teaching profession in recent
years.
The Commissioners stressed two
points in their statement. First,
they said they found no evidence
before the committee to establish
the fact that we are not getting
qualified teachers because of the in
adequacy of the salary SCALE" Sec
ond, they seem to fear that the
proposed increases for teachers win
ming masters degrees might lead to
a requirement that all teachers have
such degrees. They offered no facts
to support their apparent belief that
the teachers shortage has nothing to
do with salaries or to indicate the
basis of their fears regarding mas
ter's degrees.
But there are plenty of facts avail
able to indicate that the Commits
sioners have been i'll advised on both
counts. Had the Commissioners at
tended more than one day of the
hearings or had they read the widely
publicized reports of the National
Education Association and numer-
GUS other groups they would know
that low pay for teachers has been
the very crux of the teachers short
age crisis-here and elsewhere.
Washington still has approximately
$50 temporary teachers on the pay
roll because of the drift of qualified
teachers into more lucrative occu-
pations. AS for the masters degree
provision, most large cities long have
rewarded elementary teachers who
better themselves by winning higher
degrees, and there is no known evi-
dence that the system has led to
wider application. On the contrary,
1t has served as an inducement for
more persons to enter the teaching
profession.
The procrastination and confused
thinking which has been evidenced
at the District Building over the
teachers pay bill inevitably gives
rise to a suspicion that the Com
missioners are irked over the fact
that Congress bypassed them in
ordering the Board of Education to
study teachers salaries and report
direct to the Capitol. If the Com
mlsSioners are moved by something
more than schoolboyish petulance.
they should back up their objections
to the teachers pay bill with some
thing more than vague opinions and
fears.