Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1910-12-21
OYSTER WILL REPLY
Cost of Public School Admins
tration His Theme.
REPUTATION OF JUDSON
Uneconomic Heating Plants to Be
Blamed on Engineers.
STATISTICS AGAINST STATISTICS
Board of Education Member to Show
That Expense in Other Cities
Is Greater.
REPUTATION OF JUDS0N
STATISTICS AGAINST STATISTICS

charge that the public schools are en-
travagantly manag ged and that the school
budget might he deeply cut under skillfui
management without the schools suffer
ing will be made at the meeting of the
board of education this afternoon by
James r. Oyster.
in a statement showing the costs of
fuel and the kind of furnaces used in
various schools Capt. Oyster will claim
that. far as eXtravag gance in that par
ticular feature of the schools is con-
cerned, there would have been a vastly
different story to tell had the schools
been equipped with better heating plants,
These figures which Capt. Oyster has
compiled will be given to the public for
the first time. Some of them have been
used i'm hearings before the appropria
tions committee of the House, however.
Reply to Extravaganza Charge.
Capt. Oyster said today that he believed
the schools should he defended against
the charge of extravaganza. For that
rea son. and no other. lie would present
the facts as they appeared to him and to
other members of the board of education
He will show that from 1905 to 1873 the
public schools of the city got nothing
from the United States-not cent or an
acre Of land-and that i'm those old days
and in the days which followed them the
public school system here suffered from
a neglect which gave rise to caustic criti
csms of the schoolhouse commission
which examined every school building q
few years ago.
1t will be his contention that much of
the money spent on schools recently has
been at the recommendation of that COM
mission. which condemned twenty-four
school buildings, recommended two new
high schools and also recommended that
the sum Of $3.655. 900 should be spent as
soon as possible for new buildings. He
will make the claim, and offer substan-
tiating proof. that washington is not
spending as much money for school build
ings as other cities are.
One contention of Commissioner Jud-
son is that the 2s.6 per cent which rep
resents the Districts portion of the bud
get allotted to schools is too high. Capt
Oyster has figures by which he will claim
that 15S other cities of the United states
have higher percentage.
Fuel Controversy Hot.
Much time has been used in digging
out the fuel statistics. over which the
board Of education and the engineer de-
partment of the District government have
had many a wordy set-to. Capt. Oysters
prepared statement says there is no waste
of fuel Except that caused by the in
adequate and out-of-date methods of
heating school buildings by hot air in
stead of steam or hot water.
Part of the fuel statement contains an
analysis of the heating appa ratus in GER
tain of the eight-rOom buildings. 1t is
shown that the steam-heated buildings OF
" hich there are three, cost from $1'1 to
1888 a year to heat. OF eight-room build
ings heated by the old hot-air furnace
method there are seventy-elsht. Ihese
cost from $500 to nearly $500.
Capt Oysters statement shows there
are now 124 halliday schools which
ought to be turned into all-day schools.
and would be if there were more teach
ers He shows that there are ninety y-six
rented rooms. eighteen portable buildings
and that of $40, ,42S,915 asked for by three
separate boards of education the District
has received for schools less than half
that amount.
Appointment Methods May Change.
The manner of appointing high and
normal school teachers may be entirely
changed at today's meeting Of the board
of education.
1t is claimed that the various heads of
the schools and members of the board of
education do not have sufficient power in
the appointment of teachers. Conse-
quently the positions are not always as
efficiently filled as they might be.
After taking the examination prescribed
for teachers in the high and normal
schools, the applicants are chosen in the
order of marks made on their eXamina-
ton. In the opinion of school heads. ap
plicant No. 1. is not always better quail
fled as a teacher because he or she has
made one two -hundredths of one per cent
more than applicant No. -.
Personality and ability to teach, say the
school heads, are somewhat different abi
tiles from being able to answer series
of questions successfully Hence they
ought to be given chance to be counted
in with other things more than they are.
One method proposed to remedy the
defect is to make the admission into the
schools somewhat similar to that used
by the civil service commission, i.e. take
the names Of the three applicants having
the highest percentage, and submit them
to the principal of the school, and let
him choose one from the three, do the
chiefs in government service.
The names of the two remaining ap-
plicants would be returned and placed in
their former positions on the list and sent
out with third name the next time a
turned three times name would be dis
qualified. The return of the same name
three times in succession would be a
good sign that there was something
wrong with the applicant.
Another matter which may be brought
to the attention of the board of educa-
ton is the meaning of the word 'ad-
vise," as used in regard to the relations
between the high school principals and
the heads of the departments. The rules
say that the head OF a department may
advise a principal concerning the sub
iect of which he is head.
In some instances, state the school
chiefs. to advise a principal would be to
command him. This state of affairs
would not be desirable here. as the prin-
cipal Of the school should be first in
command at all times.