The Washington times., 1907-11-07
New Plan of Buildings
Suggested by Com
mission.
Will Demand Play
ground Around Each
Structure.

Complete revolution in the plan
of school buildings in the District
and the sale Of at least ten, and per
haps thirteen, old school buildings.
are the two principal things that will
be recommended to Congress by tie
report Of the School Buildings Com
mission, which will be given to the
public within the next two weeks.
The commission, which has held
numerous meetings recently and
has done much investigating in this
and other cities, will ask Congress
to adopt plan that viii provide for
the following things:
A system of school buildings of
three sizes; an eight-room capable
Of extension, a sixteen-room capable
of extension, and a twenty-four
room complete.
A playground around every school
building in the District.
The sale of ten or thirteen old
buildings which, because of their
undesirable location or poor con
struction, should be done away with.
The commission will ask that
none of those buildings be more
than two stories high, and that all
of them be of brick construction and
absolutely fireproof.
Location Of Schools.
A plan viii also be recommended
whereby the school shall be located
in the future primarily for the most
convenient accommodation Of all
pupils, and no school shall be built
unless there is every facility for
ample light and ventilation in every
room.
The report Of the commission Will
cover nearly 200 typewritten pages.
and VIII be accompanied by more
than $50 Illustrations and designs.
IL win embrace what the commits
sion believes to be the best features
of school building systems in the
big cities of the country.
BY the law creating il. the COM
mission reports directly to Con-
gress, and by that body the report
is referred TO the Committee on Ap-
preparations, before which the COM
mission and the school authorities
will have to produce figures and ar
gunents calculated to convince
members of Congress that the re-
forms recommended are absolutely
necessary.
Commission Hopeful
That action VIII be had by Congress in
line with the recommendation of ths
report is strongly hoped by the commits
sion. the members OF which nave been
assured by various Representatives and
Senators that they viii be glad to do
anything possible TO help the washing
ton school system To perfection. either
/ by legislation or appropriations The
fact that the commission is composed Of
men high in The public service and OF
| great influence lends reason to the com
missions hopes.
! The reforms recommended in the re-
port are considered by the commission
and the authorities of the cities they
! have consulted TO be the most important
asked for in the District Of Columbia
IN many years.
Commissioners West and Morrow this
morning visited the Berret and Emery
Schools in order to ascertain by a per-
sOHal inspection the extent To which
I they are unsanitaTy. The Berret School.
said Commissioner West. is in good con-
/ diti0n, repairs having been made and
new plumbing apparatus Installed
/ twelve hours before the hoard of Edu-
/ cation decided to close the school be-
cause Of It's alleged unsauitary ccndi-
y ton.
Modern plumbing and a more modern
/ system of ventilation, he said. is neces-
sary in the Emery School, and viii be
installed as soon as possible.
i Commissioners West and Morrow viii
visit the Monroe and Petworth Schools
this afternoon