The Challenge

When the San Francisco Board of Education arbitrarily decreed that no teacher might work for or against any candidate for any local office (TIME, Jan. 3), it might have expected trouble. But it could hardly have anticipated the sort of embarrassment it suffered last week. Its challenger: conscientious Mary K. Ryan, president of the Teachers' Association of San Francisco and for 30 years one of the most respected teachers in the city.

Guided by Lawyer Joseph Alioto, Mary Ryan and five other prominent teachers wrote to Mayor Elmer Robinson urging him to reappoint Chairman Charles Foehn of the Board of Education, the only member to vote against the political gag. Then, just to make sure that their insubordination would be noticed, they wrote letters in favor of various candidates to the city health system and the city retirement system boards. Thus defied, the Board of Education faced a dilemma. Should it risk firing six of the city's top teachers? Or should it simply try to overlook the whole affair?

Last week 250 citizens jammed into the board's regular meeting to see what it would do. At first the members--Chairman Foehn presiding--hemmed and hawed. Finally, one member moved that the political gag be reconsidered. The move was defeated 4 to 3, but with Foehn's vote, this was a gain of two "ayes" for the teachers. Then the board tried to squeeze out of its predicament by considering an amendment excluding the health and retirement systems from its rule. It never mentioned the six insubordinate teachers, left the pertinent documents in the case sitting quietly in the board attorney's files. "And I guess that's where they're going to stay, "said Attorney Irving Breyer. "I've received no instructions to do anything about the matter."

Far from disapproving Teacher Ryan's tactics, Mayor Robinson wrote to thank her and her fellow teachers for their "civic-minded interest." But Mary Ryan herself is not through yet. At the risk of job and pension, she intends to continue the fight until the political gag on her colleagues is removed entirely. Said her attorney: "The board is obviously not going to meet our challenge. But we're going to keep peppering them with this thing. We may even make a legitimate endorsement of a candidate for mayor when the time comes and the various candidates are known."

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