Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1911-01-28
SCHOOL BOARD UNFIT
Belief Expressed by Repre-
sentative Peters Today.
ATTACK ON LOCAL SYSTEM
Incompetency of Educational Man
agement in District Alleged.
SENTIMENT IS APPLAUDED
Defense Made by Representatives
Foster and Parsons-Discusslon
of Appropriation Bill.

The present board of education was de-
nounced as totally incompetent on the
floor of the House of Representatives to-
day during consideration of the District
of Columbia appropriation bill.
BY unanimous consent Representative
| Peters of Massachusetts was permitted
| to offer an amendment proposing re-
| organiZati ton of the public school systems
| of the National Capital by the abolition
| of the board of education and the cen
| tralizing of authority over the schools
| by the creation of the position of director
of education. Mr.. Peters amendment
provided that the director be appointed
by the Commissioners of the District, and
| that the change go into effect at the
beginning of the next fiscal year, the 1st
of July.
| 1t was during discussion of the Peters
amendment that the board of education
was SO severely criticised. Representatives
/ Parsons of New York and Foster of Yer
| mont. defended BOARD against the ac-
| cusations Tade by Mr.. Peters, by Repre-
| sentative Burleson of Texas and others.
| Eulogies of the board by Messrs. Par
sons and Foster were received by the
House in silence. Attacks upon it and
bitter condemnation of it's methods were
greeted with applause.
Peters Leads the Attack.
After his amendment had been read Mr.
Peters made a brief speech in explana-
/ ton of it's intent. He called attention tC
| the fact that the Commissioners were
responsible for appropriations made for
the schools, although they had no control
over the school, system.
/ At present they were unable to put
into effect their views as to the popular
needs of the schools. or to enforce their
will in cutting down expenses here and
| there, or in working reforms. The
adoption of his amendment, he explained.
would take the management OF the
schools away from the unskilled and
untitled board Of education. and place
the power in the hands Of director of
education, who, being appointed by the
! Commissioners, would be directly re-
| sponsible to them.
| why should the schools of Washing
/ ton be more expensive than the schools
demanded.
| Representative Foster of Vermont. to
whose efforts the change in the power
/ to appoint the members OF the Doaru Oh
education from the Commissioners to the
/ justices of the Supreme Court ef the
District was largely due, championed the
cause of the board. He reminded Mr..
Peters that after he had made as close
| a study of the school system of the ma
! tional Capital as he lMr. Foster) had done
| for the past ten years Mr.. Peters would
| be better qualified to discuss the subject
| Mr. Foster insisted that there had been
! real progress in the local school system
| during the last ten years. particularly
since the power of appointing the mem
bers of the board Of education had been
taken away from the Commissioners and
had been turned over to the judges OF the
/ District Supreme Court.
The principal trouble now is" said Mr..
Foster. that the board of education does
not possess sufficient authority.
Double System Cited.
Referring to Mr.. Peters charge that
| the local schools are unduly expensive
/ Mr. Foster called attention to the fact
| that in the District it was necessary tC
!, maintain a double system of schools
! separate schools for white pupils anG
| separate schools for the colored pupils
| And. moreover, he asserted. the local
| school system was still suffering from
| the incompetent administration of its af-
| fairs in former years before the change
| to the present system of appointing mem
bers Of the board of education was made
| Mr.. Foster insisted that the present
| scheme had worked particularly well and
/ he vigorously opposed favorable consid-
Grafton of the Peters proposition.
/ Mr.. Foster branched out at tins point
| to declare that there were too many
schools and the buildings were too small
He also insisted that there should be two
academic high schools for the entire city
instead of three. as at present.
! Representative Parsons of New York
Iinterrupted at this point to remind Mr.
| Foster that the board of education had
recommended the erection OF larger build
ings and fewer In consequence, and tina,
their recommendations had uniformly
been pushed aside by Congress.
Mr.. Burleson's Criticism.
At this point members showed a dispO-
sition to terminate the discussion, as II
was quite apparent that several members
of the House were ready to make points
of order against the Peters proposition
but Representative Burleson managed t
secure five minutes and made violet
attack on the board OF education
Mr.. Burleson declared that Representa-
tive Foster had been in error in sayins
that ten years ago the school system
was not under the District Commits
soners.
"At that time," he said. "the Commits
sioners appointed the school board, an6
the school board was under them. An
! other remarka BILE statement made by Mr.
Foster is that during the time that ha
provide for the appointment of the boart
of education by the justice of the Su
preme Court there has been great prog
, | reSS.
1T is we'll known" Mr.. Burleson de
clared. amid applause. that since th'
appointment OF the present school boart
il has engaged in incessant wrangling
, First it wrangled with a superintendent
of schools who was trying to put int,
effect certain economical methods.
wrangled with the municipal architec
and then with the District Commissioners
1t has put in IS per cent of its tim
| wrangling and not more than 2J per cen
working.
Quotes Parents as Protesting.
) Parents have protested against tn,
continuance in office Of the present schoo
! board. and parents have not been alon
! in their protests. Only a few days ag'
I the Board Of Trade, the only great com
mercial body Of this city, the only com
mercial body Of this city not under the In
. fiuence of the board Of education. had tn
? proposition put up to 1t that the board o
education was absolutely and totally in
efficient.
: $50 utterably demoraltzed have tn,
a schools become that President Taft. ap
4 preciating the conditions. recommended II
= = his message that the board Of education
: be abolished.
!, 1.-The gentleman from Vermont. MI
Foster. seems satisfied with the conduc
of school AFFAIRS. and yet few day
CONTINUED on Fourth Passl