Prof. Pattengill Principal With Enlarged Powers

Public sentiment has been heard from. Publicity brought it about last night that Prof. Pattengill was unanimously re-engaged as principal of the high school and given more administrative duties. But the board passed a resolution of censure of publicity, which while intended as a sop to their wounded feelings they would do well at their next meeting to expunge from their records, lest it rise up against them in the future. For if there is anything that the public is insistent upon it is that their public officers be not afraid to let the people know what they are doing.

The meeting of the board was called Monday to consider the question of principal of the high school and for the purpose of taking action on the unwarranted publication of the doings of the board meeting Friday forenoon.

Petitions for the retention of Prof. Pattengill as principal were presented and M. J. Cavanaugh presented the following resolution:

Resolved by the Board of Education that the petitions in regard to Prof. Pattengill be published and copies be sent him and that the board regret that the committee on teachers was so hasty in asking for his resignation.

The board could not quite stand for this but passed the resolution after striking out the reference to the committee on teachers.

Presious to this Mr. Beal offered a resolution censuring the member of the board who made public the recommendations of the committee on teachers last Friday.

This had reference to the squaretoed report that Prof. Pattengill be asked to resign.

M.J. Cavanaugh opposed the resolution. This board spends $60,000 of the city's money, he said, and the people have a right to know what it does. The teachers committee came in before this board Friday noon and asked for the dismissal of one of our best teachers, Prof. Pattengill. Now, in order that Prof. Pattengill's friends might know what this commitïee was doing and in order that the public might know, as it has the right to know, what this school board is doing, I considered it my public duty to let the public know what the board did. The committee, last night, after they had their ears to the ground and found out that public sentiment was against them, crawfished. They were ashamed of what they had done and because I made their action public and thus saved Prof. Pattengill from dismissal, they are angry and want passed this resolution of censure. In other words they claim the public has no right to know of the recommendations their committee makes. What reasons have you for changing your minds since Friday? Prof. Pattengill was just as good a man last Friday as he is today. You give no reason and you can give none. But were it not for the publicity given the action of this committee askIng for this dismissal they would have accomplished their purpose. Since hearing from the public, you are now ashamed of your actions and because this thing was not kept secret and you are thus prevented from carrying out your scheme, you want to censure the member of the board who thus gave the matter publicity and defeated your schemes. Prof. Pattengill today is a bigger man than ever before.

Miss Bower said that the verbal explanations accompanying the table of work done were not given.

Mr. Scott said the door at all meetings was open.

No claim was made that the report was not correct. Mr. Cavanaugh demanded the yeas and nays and the resolution of censure passed: Yeas- Beal, Bach, Bower, Eberbach, Kyer, Mills, Scott- 7. Nays- Cavanaugh- 1.

This list is here printed, for use in case the board does not think this matter over calmly and in their sober second-thought expunge a censure for giving the facts to the public. For the public will not stand for this sort of thing for a minute. lts school board is not bigger than it is, and if its doings are to be kept secret, or if the board tries secrecy, its doom as a board is sealed. The public will not hesitate to let the board know this.

After having thus censured the telling of facts, the board unanimously re-elected Prof. Pattengill as principal of the high school and give him more administrative powers. The idea seems to be that Supt. Slauson Is to take charge of the ward schools and Prof. Pattengill more largely of the high school.