Hunter v. School Committee of Cambridge
| Decision Date | 02 March 1923 |
| Citation | 244 Mass. 296 |
| Court | United States State Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts Supreme Court |
| Parties | FLORENCE E. HUNTER & others v. SCHOOL COMMITTEE OF CAMBRIDGE & others. |
January 8, 1923.
Present: RUGG, C.
J., BRALEY, DE COURCY, CROSBY, & CARROLL, JJ.
Mandamus. Practice Civil, Report.
School and School Committee. Cambridge.
When a petition for a writ of mandamus is reported by a single justice for determination by the full court upon the petition, answers and facts found by an auditor, which the justice finds to be as stated, the element of discretion is not involved, and the only question for determination is whether the writ ought to issue as a matter of law.
Spec. St.
1919, c. 248, did not require the school committee of Cambridge to expend for salaries of teachers all money appropriated in each period of time under the statute before the expiration of such period and the committee in its discretion may reserve a balance to provide for automatic increases in salaries determined upon by them and for salaries of new teachers.
PETITION, filed on December 6, 1921, in the Supreme Judicial Court for the county of Middlesex by eleven teachers in the public schools of Cambridge, who brought the petition "for the benefit of themselves and all of the other teachers in said schools they having been appointed a committee for that purpose," against the members of the school committee the mayor, the auditor and the treasurer of the city of Cambridge, for a writ of mandamus directing the expenditure and distribution of "the sum of $68,058.11, in addition to the amount" then "regularly provided," among the teachers of Cambridge, or, in the alternative, that the treasurer be ordered to transfer to the general treasury of the city for current use so much of that fund as should remain unexpended at the end of the then current fiscal year.
The respondents having filed answers, the case was referred to an auditor. Material facts found by the auditor are described in the opinion. The case thereafter came on to be heard before Crosby, J., on the auditor's report. He found the facts as stated in the auditor's report, and, at the request of both parties, reported the case upon the petition, answers and auditor's report for determination by the full court.
F. W. Dallinger, (G.
K. Richardson with him,) for the petitioners.
P. J. Nelligan, for the respondents.
DE COURCY, J. This is a petition for a writ of mandamus, brought by certain teachers in the public schools of the city of Cambridge, for the benefit of themselves and of all other teachers in said schools, against the school committee, the mayor, auditor and treasurer of said city. Its main purpose is to compel the payment to the members of the teaching force of $37,818.11, raised under the provisions of Spec. St. 1919, c. 248, but unexpended by said committee. As the case comes before us on the pleadings and auditor's report, the element of discretion is not involved, and the only question for determination is whether the writ ought to issue as matter of law. Boucher v. Salem Rebuilding Commimion, 225 Mass. 18 .
In the year 1914 the school committee established a schedule of salaries for teachers, which provided automatically for certain annual increases according to length of service. The length of time required thereby to reach the maximum pay depended on the salary the teacher was receiving in 1914: nine years being necessary in a few instances, only two or three years in some, and from four to five years in most cases. This schedule never worked well, for reasons stated in the report of the auditor. In 1919 when said special act was passed, a large majority of all the teachers in the schools appeared to be receiving salaries that did not agree with this schedule.
The special act (Spec. St. 1919, c. 248) provided that for the increase of compensation of persons serving in the public day schools of Cambridge in certain capacities,...
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Hunter v. Quinn
... ... , on behalf of themselves and all other teachers in the public schools of the city of Cambridge, for a writ of mandamus directed to Edward W. Quinn and others. A single justice found the facts to ... Petition dismissed.The object of the proceeding was to compel the school committee to distribute the full amount appropriated by them under Sp. Acts 1919, c. 248, among the ... ...