Came Near Being Big Shake-up Among High School Teachers

Only One Vote Short of Making Big Cut in Profs. Wines' and Chute's Salaries

Falling Off in Study of Greek Reduces Prof. Pattengill's Work So That Effort Was Made to Drop Him- Teachers' Salaries Precipitates Warm Discussion.

There was a warm time in the school board meeting Friday and a radical difference of policy as to hiring teachers developed. The first trouble arose over the falling off in the study of Greek in the high school, which made it very costly per pupil to teach Greek. There are only two new scholars in Greek this year and only six altogether.

The meeting was called for the purpose of hiring teachers and the teachers committee, consisting of Mrs. Bach, President Mills and Miss Bower, recommended:

1. That Prof. Pattengill be asked to resign. This was put on the ground of there being only two new scholars in Greek this year and of his receiving $1,800 for teaching 14 hours a week.

2. The re-engagement of Prof. Wines and Prof. Chute and their salaries was left to the consideration of the board.

3. All the other teachers were reengaged with in some cases small increases in salaries.

After the discussion the part of the report referring to Prof. Pattengill was referred back to the committee to see Prof. Pattengill and find out if he would not do more work.

Prof. Wines and Prof. Chute were reengaged at the same salary as last year, $1,700, but a change of one vote would have reduced their salary to $1,500.

Prof. Pattengill has taught in the high school 27 years, Prof. Chute 30 years and Prof. Wines 24 years.

Mr. Cavanaugh was the trustee who moved that the salaries of Profs. Wines and Chute be fixed at $1,500 each. Mr. Kyer seconded it and the vote stood:

Yeas- Seabolt, Bach, Cavanaugh, Kyer.

Nays- Beal, Mills, Bower, Scott, Eberbach.

Supt. Slauson reported that there were so many resorts on State street that it was a very difficult matter to control the high school pupils, and he therefore thought that the principal of the high school should do more administrative work so that the superintendent could do more work in the ward schools. Prof. Pattengill's work was less than formerly because of the great falling off in the number of Greek scholars.

Mr. Cavanaugh led the argument for the reduction in salaries in certain instances. He argued that Profs. Wines, Chute, Jocelyn and Montgomery should all be paid alike as they did practically the same work. Prof. Wines now got $1,700 and Prof. Jocelyn $1,225. He also argued that it was wrong to pay men big salaries and women small salaries for the same work. If a woman did the same work as a man she should be paid the same.

Mr. Eberbach said that Prof. Chute had written a book which had a big circulation and was quite an advertisement for the high school.

Mr. Beal thought it was not a good idea to dismiss three of the old professors at one time.

Mr. Cavanaugh said there was no danger of Profs. Chute and Wines going at a salary of $1,500.

A table was introduced showing the aggregate increase in teachers' salaries in six years to have been over $8,400 or nearly 25 per cent. The teachers' salaries for the various school years have aggregated:

1897-8.... $35,556 72

1898-9.... $37,376 28

1899-0.... $38,665 24

1900-1.... $41,544 83

1901-2.... $42,025 72

1902-3.... $43,992 19

Another table of interest is given below, showing the number of pupils each teacher in the high school has, the number of hours a week they teach and the salary of each as fixed for the coming year, excepting that Prof. Pattengill has not yet been reengaged:

                        Pupils.. Hours.. Salary..

J. G. Pattengill... 46.. 14.. $1,800 

L. D. Wines... 125.. 25.. 1,700

L. P. Jocelyn... 191.. 25.. 1,250

M. N. Chute... 120.. 16.. 1,700

W. H. Hawkes... 114.. 20.. 900

Alice Porter... 83.. 25.. 800

Mary E. Hunt... 150.. 25.. 800

J. Montgomery... 114.. 21.. 1,300

D. W. Springer... 86.. 25.. 1,300

Alice E. Rothman... 123.. 25.. 800

Gertrude T. Breed... 116.. 25.. 800

Eliza B. Cady... 58.. 4.. 300

Oscar H. Wurster... 98.. 10.. 175

Elma M. Blackman... 0.. 30 650

Sara Whedon... 175.. 19.. 800

Sara O'Brien... 114.. 22.. 600

Cora A. Robison... 124.. 25.. 550

Florence Pomeroy... 125 18 525

Martha T. Sturgis... 137.. 25.. 650

M. Ella Bennett... 98.. 26 1/2.. 650

Elizabeth Kittridge... 147.. 19.. 550

Blanche Engart... 191... 15... 300

S. A. Moran... 60... 15... 700

Objection was raised to the $300 paid for physical culture. Objection was also made to the $300 for 4 hours a week teaching of elocution. But both teachers were re-engaged. An effort was made to drop Mr. Moran, who gets a pro rata of $700 a year, but Moran was sustained by the board.

The ward teachers were re-engaged with in a few instances a raise of $25 a year in salary.

The total increase in salaries for the next year will be $975.

The raises in the salaries of the high school teachers were as follows: Prof. Jocelyn $25, Miss Breed $25, Miss Kothman $50; Oscar H. Wurster $35; Miss Blackman $25, Miss Whedon $50, Miss O'Brien $25, Miss Robison $50, Miss Sturgis $25, Miss Bennett $50, Miss Kittridge $50.

No reporters were present at the meeting, which was a special one, and the report given is what can be picked up from the members of the board outside and is therefore somewhat disjointed.

A determined onslaught, among other things, was made on the expense of teaching physics in the high school, it being stated that the teachers of physics received an aggregate of $4,040 a year.

The falling off in the study of Greek is due to the fact that the University no longer requires Greek for the A. B. degree. It denotes a tendency which may eliminate Greek largely from the curriculum of a liberal education.