New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1904-01-10
THE nAYors SCHOOL STATISTICS.

Mayor McCIelIan's statistics about part time
pupils in the public schools for the next two
wears suggest that the figures were prepared
Tor him by some person who had himself en-
loved only half time schooling and was deficient
in simple mathematics. The calculation is
made that at the end Of 1905. with the compile
ton of the school buildings projected by Mayor
Low, there will still be T45lS children in part
time classes. y little clear headed reasoning
Will show that on the same statement Of facts
concerning school population and buildings
there will be only 5S,S42 children in part time
classes. The Mayor says the present school
registration is 5l4425 ana that 90l9J pupils
are on part time, showing, presumably, the
total number Of sttinEs in all the schools TO
be 424 80" presumption that is about $1,000
out of the way. BY the winter of 1901 the
completion Of schools now under construction
will provide $1,000 additional sittings. The
Mayor says:
This would make the total number of sittings
in the fall of 1904 473.2So. The increasing at
tendance. bringing the total register estimated
up 10 800 139. will still leave IGSJH pupils III
part time classes. Nor viii that situation be i'm
the estimate of the Board OF Education. 40S1O
additional sittings will be ready for, increasing
at the rate of per cent, the attendance will ad-
vance 20 5SSGzS. leaving 14.JlS children to sbe
cared for in part time classes.
The trouble with the Mayors statistician is
his forgetting that the part time pupils also
sit Each one has half chair. Two of them
share a chair, each occupying Il part Of the
day. and all that is necessary to give Il seat
for all day to both is to provide one more chair
for the two. SO. if there are 9O,195 part time
pupils the shortage in seating capacity is only
4509S Therefore, instead of the present
sittings numbering presumably 42l23o, they
must number at least 469,327. II the number
Of sittings mentioned by the Mayor were cor
rect there would be 10000 children in part
time classes, or twice the number in them now.
Starting then. with 4G9,327 present sittings and
adding the 49,0JO to be provided this year by
the completion Of the work begun 10y Mayor
Low. We shall have next fall 5lS.377 sittings
The number of pupils. according TO Mayor Nc
CIellan. will then be 550,139. or 31,1G2 more
than the number of seats AS the excess must
be accommodated by making this number of
pupils share the seats of as many other chill
dren. there will then be 63, 524 children in part
time classes not 1859 as the Mayor says
That number would not be right, even accord
ing to his own erroneous presumption about
the present number of sittngs. 1t would rep
resent merely the shortage in sittings and we
should have 153,71S part time pupils.
In the next year 40.S50 new sittings will be
ready, bringing the total number OF sittngs I'D
to 559,227. The registration then, 1t is esti-
mated. will be 5Ss,64s, or 29,42I more than
the sittings, and 5S.S42 pupils will be in half
time classes The Mayor says there will be
74.51S, but his figures, if they proved anything,
would prove that there would be 149,036
We have no idea that these figures prepared
for Mayor Mcclellan Intentionally misstated
the facts, but their effect is TO create the i'm
preston that Mayor Low neglected to make
proper provision for the schools. AS matter
of fact, the present crowding is due to the