Facing the Music

I was told by several friends that when I became principal I would have to work with a music teacher who was the mistress of one of the most influential and powerful men in the city. She lived with her husband in a neighboring town, but it was difficult to drive home each night, so she had an apartment in town and spent most of the week there. Mr. Big paid for it and was seen there often.

Previous to my time, he often came to the school, bringing her things, picking up her car for washing or repairing. But thanks to R.B. Flemons, a School Board member, he was told to stay away from the school.

The previous principal’s schedule had this teacher teaching music to the four 5th and 6th grades, and having her home room class the rest of the time except for the gym class which was her preparation time. But she wanted to just teach music all day. She just played while the children sang, and that was what the music classes consisted of. After school had been in session a couple of months, I noticed that other classes were going to music and her class was moving every thirty minutes to a different teacher. She had changed everyone’s schedule behind my back!

I checked with the other teachers, and they said she had just told them that she would take their classes for music and they were to teach such and such to her class. I called her on it, and told her that I would not cause another move for the students now, but in December I would make a new schedule going back to just the four music classes a day, resuming in January.

She didn’t think I would do that, and when I did, she came into the office and threw the new schedule down and said that she would not teach this schedule. I told her that it was going to be the schedule, and that she needed to go to see the Assistant Superintendent over Personnel for a change of assignment if that was her decision.

I don’t know if she went to the Admin Building or not, but the next year she was transferred to two other schools where she could teach music all day.