Donald M. Cleland A History of the Santa Monica Schools 1876-1951, Santa Monica Unified School District, February 1952 (Copied for the Santa Monica Library, July 22, 1963). 140 pp., 1951, 1922, 1915, 1907, 1903
" . . .
"In 1903, Santa Monica re-annexed the territory cut from it when it dropped to a city of the fifth class. The school district, by action of the [Los Angeles County] Board of Supervisors, was officially changed to the Santa Monica City School District, and the supervising principal assumed the title of city superintendent of schools. [16. A city of the fourth class maintained its own schools and the chief administrative officer of the district, the superintendent, was appointed by the board with a four-year contract.] D.A. Eckert, who had been with the schools since 1895 and had held the positions of teacher, vice principal of the Lincoln School, and supervising principal of the Santa Monica schools, was elected as city superintendent for a four-year term.
"On June 3, 1903, the Board of Education agreed on a motion to hire a secretary for the board on a part-time basis, and R.M. Miller was selected at a salary of $25.00 per month for the position. Within the year, the business of the schools had increased to the point that the Board found him indispensable, and decided to hire him on a full-time basis at a monthly salary rate of $75.00. In essence, then, Miller became the first business manager for the board.
" . . .
"An ill fate awaited the new school (built to replace the South Side School), which had been renamed the Washington School . . .
" . . .
It is perhaps worthy of mention that Nettie Rice has served the Santa Monica City Schools for a longer period of time than has any other teacher in the system. First employed by the Board in 1903, she was assigned to teach second grade in the South Side School. After four years in this position, she was appointed principal of the Garfield School, in which capacity she served from 1907 until 1922. From 1922, when she returned to the classroom until her retirement in 1951, Miss Rice was a teacher in the Lincoln Junior High School. [56. Pearl, op. cit., p. 34.] Her devotion to her work and her selfless service to both her day and evening classes have won for her the admiration and esteem of the entire community.