Cheney Normal School Teachers Win Legal Battle
The Supreme Court rules that two women teachers wrongfully dismissed from the Cheney Normal School are entitled to their full contract pay.
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The supreme court has ended a noted case by deciding that Miss May Mackenzie and Mrs. Rose Turner, who were dismissed by the Cheney Normal school after their employment as teachers in June 1900, were entitled to the full amount of their claim for damages. Each sued for a year's salary, amounting to $500 and $1,000 respectively. The action was brought in Miss Mackenzie's name, with Mrs. Turner assigning her claim to her. The court decided that common school qualifications—that is, the holding of a certificate to teach—are necessary in the higher educational institution. Miss Mackenzie and Mrs. Turner were re-elected by the trustees of the Cheney normal, one for kindergarten work and the other for the training department. Just before the opening of the school, the department assigned to Miss Mackenzie was abolished and she was notified her services were not required. Mrs. Turner was dismissed soon after at the request of Principal Miller.
“The supreme court has ended a noted case by deciding that Miss May Mackenzie and Mrs. Rose Turner... were entitled to the full amount of their claim.”
This 1903 victory for educators asserting their contract rights against institutional administrative whims mirrors ongoing tensions in academic labor. It highlights how women in early Washington state used the court system to push back against arbitrary employment practices in public institutions.
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