, 1962-02-07

concerning her salary and tuition reimbursement Cee attachment
No. 80
Like the question of her salary, the matter of tuition reimburse
ment was first brought to my attention by Mrs. Sutherland, fol
lowing receipt Of Mrs. Gardines letter. Upon receipt Of a copy Of
Mrs. Gardine's letter, I inquired and discussed the matter with Miss
Tutt. ##a.3 as sasa .s4ae
Early in October Mrs. Caroline and | discussed her tuition REIN
bursement, among other things, and ! assured her that | would re
commend to the Governor that her tuition be reimbursed. BY memo
randum, dated October 81, 1861 attachment No. 14 | made the re.
commentator for reimbursement. With the Governors approval, |
processed the payment for reimbursement. In her first letter to me
on the subject, Mrs Caroline, in a letter dated December z 1861,
acknowledged receipt Of her tuition reimbursement Ge attachment
No. 15. Thus, the issue Of Mrs. Gardnes tuition reimbursement
which began in the summer Of 1860 finally came to a close.
A. THE MATTER OF HER OFFICE SPACE: In my first meet
ing with Mrs. Caroline in October, she complained about the location
Of her office. It seemed that the place was too wet and damp and
was making her sick. ! promised to look into the matter when | got
to 81. Croix the next time. At about that time, Deputy Commissioner
personnel MI. Richards asked her to be patient and offered her the
first choice of the new offices when completed. In the meantime
there was nothing anyone could do. One rainy week, I received a
telegram from Mrs. Gardines husband advising me that it was i'm
perative for me to take immediate steps to correct the damp office
situation. Of course, there was nothing | could do at the time and
Mrs. Caroline knew all along waht the solution was and that some
thing was being done to remedy the situation. l ignored the tee.
gram, but checked on the matter when / went to ST. Croix later.
When the new office ws completed. Mrs. Caroline picked her
cVa office and nothing was heard about the damp office again.
The foregoing is presented here to show, first Of all, that Mrs.
Gardines difficulties started long before I came, and secondly, that
had on two occasions attended to her personal problems as rapidly
as | could. It seemed from the record, however, that no sooner had
one problem been solved, she picked up on another. In the case of hr
salary, she was not willing to give me a chance to study the matter.
Others IN my depart like MI. Classon, Mr. Thomas and MI. Fablo
have been concerned about their salaries, but they extended me
courtesy and time to review the matter. After ALL had just arrived on
the scene.
Mrs. Gardines resignation has become a matter of public issue
throughsthe NEWS CURRENT. (ee attachment No. 2) Because
the NEWS CURRENT attempted to present the issue as a case be
tween Mrs. Juanita M. Caroline, This distinguished educator and
"a native of the Virgin sands"jagainstPr PedreC. Sanchez, Die.
tator or Educator" and a native Of Guari | would like to- give you~
briefly what the files show Mrs. Gardines recentsEecord as an edu-
Gator. I am bringing this record out here becaussit reveals the root
of Mrs. Gardnes difficulties with the Department of Education,
namely, that Mrs. Caroline is torn between the public image" and
public impressions" she thought she had built for herself over the
years and the stark realities Of her record in the Department. The
"Injustces" she claimed are reflected partly in the following record:
From teacher in 1884 t. Assistant Superintendent Of Instruc-
ton in 1919. This she brings out at every opportunity.
2. April /, 1855 assumed position of Associate Director of
communicated title changed to Associate Dean of Com
munfy Colege--primarily an adult education program. A lit
tie oyer a year later, she wrote the Acting Commissioner: you are
aware of the fact that for the past school year | have held a title
which has little significance, since there is no Community College
and no Dean. It has also been questioned by authorities as you told
me several months ago" G@e attachment No. go
3. September, 1855 assigned duties as supervisor of Elenen.
tary schoos-no change in salary and her title remained as AS.
sociate Dean of Community College. In July, 1856, she wrote the
Acting Commissioner: Il notice that I am not. even being consulted
about the elementary school, which assignment you gave me by let