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Show TEACHERS UNDERPAID, GilSTEISEI SAYS Law Offers Little in Return for Ability, Report Points Out. SALARIES LOW HERE Former School Superintendent Superintend-ent Pleads for Legislation to Aid Instructors. Outstanding in tho fifteenth annual 1 report submitted by former Suporin- 1 tondeut D. II. Christensen upon tho city school system, submitted recontly to the board of education, is his argument for an increase in tho salary schedulo o the teachers of 8alt Sake. The former head of tho city school system points out that the law is exacting exact-ing in its demands for qualifications of the teacher as to natural ability, character charac-ter aud education, but that it oft'ors her little protection in return, lie suggests that there is need of legislation to insure in-sure the teacher a living wage, a twelve-mouth twelve-mouth contract and securitv of tenure in office. In the report the teacher is credited with being the one great factor of success suc-cess in the school aud tho things that go to make up the environment ot school room life, the buildings aud equipment aro placed as secondary. Teachers Underpaid. Quoting statistics to support his state-meut, state-meut, Mr. Christensen savs in hii report re-port that the Salt Lake teacher receives "on an average a lower salary and handles more pupils than do teachors in most other cities." This, the report-points report-points out, obtains in spite of the fact that the survev of the citv school ' conducted in 91o bv a board of ex- ' perts, shows the standard of work here to be much higher than tho average. "The teacher, then, in tbe Salt Lake City schools," comments Mr. Christensen, Christen-sen, "satisfies the most exacting requirements, re-quirements, whether thev relate to the quantity of work that she does or the quality of service that she renders." Continuing, Mr. ChriRtensen points out that salaries and expenses in connection con-nection with school system, positions secondary frum the standpoint of obtaining results to . that of the teacher, are disproportionately disproportion-ately high. He states that they aro not only higher than the average'of other cities of a class with Salt Lake, but higher than tho salaries paid for such work by private corporations. Urges Economy. Separation of the business and clerical cleri-cal work of the board of education, with its accounting work and that of . purchasing agent, is advocated in the report. Upon this point, the report comments, "it is not sound business policy for the person entrusted with tbe expenditure of a vast sum of public money to be his own bookkeeper " Tt is argued that, if the work of the business manager or purchasing agent is to .be merged with that of "another officer, it might be with that of the superintendent of buildings better than that of the clerk of tho board. Tbe argument is advanced that the u superintendent of buildings would be . better qualified to serve also in this ' capacity because of his closer acquaintance ac-quaintance with the needs of the school system. Tt. is pointed out also that the ; qualifications for the two officers are i more in common than those of purchasing purchas-ing agent and clerk. The entire argument with regard to the auxiliary departments, including the clerical, is for sweeping oconomv, the stand being taken that the co?t for the service rendered is disproportionately dispropor-tionately high in a department that is not vitally as close to the welfare of the pupil as is that of the teacher, in which the remuneration or cost of instruction in-struction is disproportionately low. Tables of statistics in support of the contention of the former superintendent superinten-dent that Salt Lake is paving far above the average for cities of ils class for its clerical and auxiliary work are included in the report. The compensation com-pensation for the clerk of the board, the employees of the clerk's office, thfl superintendent. of .buildings and grounds and other auxiliary offices are compared and branded in the report as being out of proportion to what the city is paying to the instructors of its children. |