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Show IMS IS If EO TO TE1EI ISIOiTl Long-expected Upheaval in the Ogdzn Eoard of Education. PINGREE IS EMPHATIC Says Action Would Not Have Been Taken Had He Remained at Head. Sne -iai to The 'J'l ibuiiC. 0IEX. Jan. 7. The ioug-cxpecled upheaval in the administration of the Ogden City public schools took place suddenly tonight, when tile board, a few minutes i.l'ter iiyrum I'ingree had tendered his r'iutiou as pro.-ident. requested sh rinten.i-nt .John M. Mills to resign. The superintendent, who has been under 3 ire from a ma jority of the board, members for the past year, said he nimM present his answer in writing at the next regular meeting Mr. I'ingree's resignation, which has been expected for several weeks past, Ttas duly presented and accepted in open meeting, but the request that Superintendent Su-perintendent .Mills resign was made while tho boa id was in executive session. ses-sion. No record of the action was made on the minutes and the board members present at the time refused to be interviewed. inter-viewed. From reliable sources it was learned at the conclusion of the execu- I tive session that the reiiuest comes from only three members, ll. H. Henderson, Hen-derson, YV. H. Williams and Wade Johnson. John-son. Refuses to Join. Although present during the first part of the meeting behind closed doors, Director .J. ". Levcdahl is said to have refused to .join with tho remaining three members of the board in asking for the superintendent's resignation. When the board held a second executive session to consider the advisability or .non-advisability .non-advisability of making the action aj matter of record Director Levcdahl -was not present. The entire proceeding occurred after Mr. Vi agree had relinquished relin-quished his place to Mr.' Williams, vice president, and after the public session of the board had been adjourned. Although he refused to be quoted on the matter, .Superintendent Mills intimated inti-mated tonight that he would not resign. Tt also seems certain that his written reply to the three board members now in control of school affairs in this city will be spirited. The superintendent's term of office does not expire until next July, at which time he will have completed eight years of continuous (Continued on Following Page.) MIUS IS ASKED 10 I TENDER REBM1 (Continued from Preceding Page.) service as supcriutondcni of the public pub-lic schools here. After an hIimmu-o of several wcek, Mr. Pineree presided at tcuipht 's nicet-inji. nicet-inji. He has been in nceord with Superintendent Super-intendent Mills ami that ofticinl's policies poli-cies at all times, but his resignation contains con-tains no reference to these mattei. The fact that he is now a resident ot Sa.t Lake is given as his reason for icin intr. The written resignation of the piesi dent, presented flt the close of the hoard's open session, was accepted. Treasurer Re-elected. i t h Mr. Williams presiding. the board re eieeted Y. D. Kllis treasurer of the school system at the usual salary of 1 per year. Miss Viola Clancy, clerk, was also re-elected at a salary increase in-crease of $.5 per month. Both officers are elected for a term of two yea's. With these matters disposed of, the tout-board tout-board members went into executive session, ses-sion, first announcing, however, that, they would reconvene in open meeting. ' After a brief conference. Judge Hen-: derson summoned Superintendent Mills.' According to the limited report of the executive session. Judge Henderson, acting as spokesman for the other directors, direc-tors, informed the superintendent that a majority of the board members desired de-sired him to resign, calling attention to the recent suggestion that "either the superintendent or the board o education educa-tion resign." Mr. Mills is said to have informed the board that, he would submit sub-mit his answer in writing at the next regular meeting. When the four board members reconvened re-convened in open meeting it w. with the intention of adjourning, but the question ques-tion of giving the resignation proposition proposi-tion to the newspapers produced another executive session. Apparently it was decided to remain silent on the question, so far aa the board was concerned, for the meeting was finally adiourned after the question of military drill had been disposed of. Pingree Is Emphatic. "Mr. Pingree had left the board of j education neadquarters some time be- j fore Superintendent Mills was asked to resign. When informed of the board's action, he said: It is just what T expected. They dared not attempt such a move while I held the chair. The present pres-ent members of the board, dominated dom-inated completely by the newer member, II. II. Henderson, and servile to Mr. Henderson 's every antagonistic whim, e shown themselves to be determined to thwart every effort of the superintendent super-intendent to maintain a progressive progress-ive system in the Ogdcn schools. The attitude of the board has been, as directed by Mr. Henderson, that the schools should be subjected to the arrogant ideas of one member of the board rather than to those of the experienced, intelligent methods meth-ods of a school superintendent, who is recognized throughout the United States as one of the most progressive progress-ive educators in the country. |