May Quinn, Brooklyn elementary school teacher, who was charged with spreading anti-Semitic propaganda in her classrooms, was exonerated yesterday by the New York City Board of Education. James Marshall, former Board president, was the only one of the six members voting who favored Miss Quinn’s dismissal.
After the decision was announced, Marshall read a lengthy document reviewing the accusation against the teacher and pointing out why he believed she was guilty of an “un-American, undemocratic and intolerant attitude,” which was the phrasing of the formal charge against her. The only punishment meted out to Miss Quinn was an official reprimand and a fine of two-month salary, but since she has been suspended for four months without pay, the net result was to give her two months back pay.
The charges against Miss Quinn date back to the fall of 1942, when sixteen teachers in her school complained to the principal that she was spreading subversive and anti-Semitic propaganda. A libel suit against the teachers on the basis of this accusation was dismissed in court last June.
Parent and teacher groups, representatives of which attended last night’s board meeting, indicated that they plan to take the case into the courts, if possible, in an attempt to force the board to dismiss Miss Quinn.
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The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
