School Board Refuses To Annul Nominations

The embattled Cambridge School Committee voted last night not to rescind the 17 protested appointments made on Dec. 11, and passed new motions which may weaken the taxpayers' law suit against the committee. The board's actions were vigorously protested by School Committeeman Judson T. Shaplin '42, associate dean of the School of Education, who has opposed the appointments from the beginning.

Shaplin has charged that the group made the appointments in the absence of John M. Tobin, Superintendent of Schools, and without obtaining his recommendations or the appointees' qualifications, as required by State law. A group of citizens circulated a petition for a referendum on the matter, and a group of taxpayers brought the matter to court.

In the eyes of many authoritative observers, the committee's actions last night tried to circumvent the legal attacks. Over Shaplin's objections, the committee voted to demand that Tobin give his recommendations and the qualifications of the appointees. The board then voted to "ratify and affirm" the appointments of the men whose qualifications Tobin had given.

Tobin refused to make any recommendations, but stated the schools the appointees had attended, their degrees, and the dates of their appointments to the school system. Shaplin denied that these could be considered real qualifications, and noted that the superintendent had still made no recommendations. Mayor Edward Sullivan, chairman, ruled his points not well taken.

The committee's refusal to rescind the appointments will result in the referendum petition being sent to the City Council.