Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1908-04-23
ALLEGED DEFECTS
IN SCHOOL PLANS
Discovery Reported to Board
of Education.
Meeting HELD YESTERDAY
Offer Of Three Scholarships to Dis.
trict Students.
COMMENCEMENT DATES FIXED
Appointments, Promotions and
transfers Acknowledgements
tons Accepted

At the meeting of the board OF educa
ton held yesterday afternoon a repor
was presented showing that the new Pet
worth school building. now under con
struttion. is found to have faults similar
to those in older buildings. which. it 1:
declared, the board has been trying t.
correct. The matter was referred to the
committee on buildings and 1t is expected
the District oficials under whose direction
the work is being done will be asked te
make some changes in the plans.
The board considered large amount Of
routine business. heard the report of the
president ON the investigation of the
charges against janitors. as reported In
The Star yesterday and considered plans
| for providing for the relief of pupils In
the buildings declared by Fire Chief Belt
to be dangerous in the event of fire. The
buildings will not be abandoned. but will
continue in use under certain restrictions
| In regard to- the PetwOrth school build
! ing, it was declared that one Of the play
rooms in the basement Is to be used as a
coal and wood vault.
ut Is an outrage to construct buildings
with such provisions declared President
Oyster. I'VE have found that in many
schools the playrooms have been taken
for coal vaults and we have been trying
to remedy the condition. And now the
District officials build new structure and
we will have report from Fire Chief
Belt declaring that we must remove the
wood and coal from the playroom of the
new Petworth school,"
Offer of Scholarships.
An offer of three scholarships in La
fayette College to students in the local
high schools. two to the Western High
School, was accepted by the board, and
it voted its thanks TO the college.
Mary 8. Lockwood, chairman of the
medal committee Of the Martha Wash
ington Chapter of the D. A. r., wrote
the board. offering medal for the best
essay written on patriotic subject by q
graduate of the high schools this year.
and the offer was read yesterday. The
matter was referred to the committee on
prizes and awards.
The report of the committee on build
ings in regard to the seven buildings de-
clsred by Fire Chief Belt to be unfit in
their present condition for school pur-
poses was next taken up. In regard to
a rented building adjoining the Bell
School. also condemned. the committee
recommended that its use be discontinued
and that the two grades using it be put
back into the Bell School building proper
and. to allow for this. that the two third
grades be put on halliday sessions. This
recommendation was approved by the
board and the change will be made al
once.
| Substance of Report.
| In regard to the other buildings the
committee reported as follows:
THE committee on sites. buildings. re-
pairs. janitOrs and sanitation has ex.
| amined the reports Of Chief Engine r
Belt Of the fire department on the con-
dition of the Mott. Garfield. Birney An
mex. Cook. Hillsdale. Burville. Threlkeld
and Benning schools. and have the honor
to make the following report:
IAN of these buildings were among
the number Of those formerly reported
to the board by the superintendent under
date Of March 4. most Of them as having
| wooden stairways and others as being
| recent inspection by Chief Belt was in
response to a special request of the board
of education to the Commissioners under
date of April 4. 1903.
"In the case of the Mott School new
building is now in course of erection
| which will make 1t possible to abandon
the present building, probably within a
year. In the case of the Garfield the
Senate has added to the District of Co
lumbia appropria ton bill So, 600 to con.
struct a new twelve-room building to take
| the place of the present structure.
I'm the case of the Cook. the appropria-
ton bill. when passed, will contain $1,000
for lowering the furnaces and otherwise
the furnaces will remove from this build
| ing the chief source of danger.
I'm the cases of the Burville, Birney
Annex. Hillsdale. Threlkeld and Benning
| schools as also Of the Potomac, no pro-
vision has been made for relieving them.
| go that they must either be made safe py
| temporary repairs, in the manner sug-
gested by the chief engineer, or rooms
!
| cate the upper floors until such time as ap-
preparations can be secured
Impossible to Rent Buildings.
Experience has shown that it is al
most impossible to rent rooms at all
suitable for school purposes. so that II
the upper floors of the building m ques-
ton are to be vacated because of sup
posed danger from fire. even if a sufii-
Client amount of money should be availa-
BILE for rental purposes 1t Is questionable
whether it would be possible to provide
places for the housing of the pupils taken
out of the upper floors Of the building
named.
| ut would seem imperative in the case
of all these buildings that in order ia
keep the schools in session the minor re.
| pairs recommended In each case by the
chief engineer of the fire department,
should be made. The Senate has jus,
priation bill $1JO.OOO for replacing wooden
stairways and 100000 for general pur-
| poses of fire protection. II this latter
| sum shall be held in the appropriation
bill and is made Immediately available II
will be possible, by the cutting OF a few
| doorways. the erection Of outside stair.
| ways and the fireprOofng of danger
| spots, to put these buildings in such
shape as to make 1t safe to use them
| until they can be permanently abandoned
IF. however. the emergency appropria
ton for fire protection should fail in con
ference, your committee is Of the opinion
thai q comparatively small expendtur:
from the repair fund after the beginning
| Of the new fiscal year will provide means
of egress from these buildings sufficien
! to make them tenantabe without danger
TO the pupils.
ITO close entirely these buildings named
| would throw upon the street at this time
LIS pupils and also leave forty-sever
teachers without employment. In view
OF the fact that the warm weather Is
upon US within a week or two no neces-
sity will exist for carrying fire in any oil
the heating apparatus.
Recommendations Made.
1.-THE COMMITTEES begs leave to recon-
mend, {"
First. That wherever possible. pupils
be removed to the lower floors of the
buildings IN question. vacating tho uppe,
4 floors.
"second That no more fires be BULL
in these buildings for the rest of the
the school rooms should become too Low
tn make IT f. the Y,upf1e m ram, NV