Evening star., 1951-10-08
Falls Church Council
To Consider Fate of
School Board Tonight

The Falls Church City Council
will decide tonight whether to &C
cept the resignation of the Schoo.
Board, Mayor Charles E. Kellogg
said today.
The Council took Office last
month after the defeat in the
June election of leaders of the ad-
ministration which appointed the
board.
The meeting tonight will be
held at 8 o'clock in the Odd Eel
lows Hall on West Broad street.
Cody Pfanstiehl of the Commit
tee of 100 to Protect our Schools
an organization formed after an
investigation of the School Board
was launched by the Council, said
a petition urging that the resig-
nations be declined has been
signed by SIG residents. He said
the committee was urging citi-
zens. regardless of their views. to
attend tonight's meeting.
One Member Is Overseas.
The board submitted it's resig-
nation at 2 am. yesterday in a
letter to Mayor Kellogg. One
member, John A. johnson, asso-
ciate general counsel for the De-
partment of the Air Force, is over
seas and is not included in the
mass resignation.
The board was created two years
ago when Falls Church became
second-clasS city and was sep
arated from the Fairfax County
school system. Some of the newly
elected Council members had ex-
pressed dissatisfaction with the
school administration, particularly
the construction program under
taken by the board after a $780,
600 bond issue was approved two
years ago.
Maladministration Charged.
The investigation of the board
was one Of the first actions of the
council when it took Office last
month. Charges of maladminis-
tration had been made against the
board by the Falls Church School
Emergency Committee, headed by
H. P. Strople. of 1900 Gibson
place, a Defense Department en-
ploye.
At a public meeting held at
Madison School. Supt. Irwin H.
Schmitt and members of the
board gave sworn testimony to
the council under questioning by
City Attorney Lytton H. Gibson.
Among the charges was an asser-
tion that the board planned to use
for classroom purposes two private
homes which were unsafe.
Last Tuesday the board gave
the council point-by-point re-
ply to the charges. After this
meeting. which was closed to the
public and the press, the council
unanimously agreed that the in
vestigation was at an end, accord
ing to the School Boards letter of
resignation.
Meeting Ends at 2 AM.
The letter. mailed after board
meeting that broke up at 2 am.
yesterday. said that. 1T appears
from statements made by mem
bers of the City Council that this
harassment, humiliation, embar-
rassment and persecution will
continue. In the absence of
assurance that this conduct will
cease. we feel it will be impossible
to continue to discharge our legal
responsibilities to the children of
Falls Church. |
Therefore, we resolve that the
undersigned members do hereby
tender our designations to the
Falls Church City Council, effec-
tive Immediately, and further
resolve that the undersigned group
will continue in Office only as a
body and provided assurance could
be received from the City Council
that such conduct of the Council
will cease and desist."
Supt. Schmitt did not join the
board in its action. He had no
comment today.
Appointments to the board are
made by the Council. When a
new charter for the city was being
considered about two years ago
a proposal that the board be elect
ed by the voters was included. In
the adopted charter. however, the
proposal was dropped.