The New York herald., 1921-07-03
HYLAN BLAMED FOR
PLIGHT OF SCHOOLS
Public Education AssOcia-
tion Compares -Four Years
With Mitchel's Regime.
CRISIS GROWS WORSE
DeplOrable State of Unre-
pair Charged to Present
Administration.
OVERCROWDING SERIOUS
Plea Is Made for Adequate APP
preparations to Cure Glar-
ing Defects.
CRISIS GROWS WORSE
OvERCROWDING SERIOUS

Because Of the controversy over re-
sponsibility for the present crisis In
the schools of New York, the Public
Education Association made public last
night summary "of the several ways
In which it believes the Hylan admin
ministration Of the schools"
would Bar out Politics.
-Four years ago." says the associa-
ton, Mayor Hylan bitterly attacked
the record Of Mayor Mitchell and made
glowing promises of accomplishment
for the schools. In answer to recent
startling disclosures he has endeavored
to sidestep his responsibility by blam-
Ing everything on his predecessor and
claiming unusual achievements for
himself. Here are the facts"
Figures are given showing the in
crease, both actual and relative. in the
number of part time pupils in element
ary schools in the last eight years. The
highest number in the Mitchell adminis-
tration was 46,4o2 pupils, or 6.3S per
cent of the total elementary school
enrolment In the last three years of
the Hylan administration the number
has risen from 3O,462 to $780, an in
crease of more than It's per cent. OF
all the elementary pupils enrolled 1910
per cent. are now on part time.
ITO these figures the report says,
Should be added 23.141 part time pupils
in the high schools. gain Of 1914 over
1898 last year. and 17S.197 pupils In the
various makeshift double session pro-
grammes In the elementary schools that
are, II anything, worse than part time.
During the first three years Of the
Mitchell administration $4,000 additional
sittings were provided, in comparison
with 400 in the Hylan administration
to date. and even these latter sttings
were provided out the $11.250,000 bal
nnce from the Mitchell administration. 1t
Is estimated. however. that approximate
iy 10000 additional sittings will be
available at the opening Of the autumn
terfh, but even these, many Of which
have also been provided out of the $11.-
250.000 left from the Mitchell adminis-
tration. will hardly make Hylan's record
equal that Of his predecessor"
Clnssrooms Are Overcrowded.
The association indicts the Hylan ad-
ministration seriously on the score Of
overcrowded classrooms.
"a year ago" 1t says, there were
approximately 100000 children In the
elementary schools In diversified classes
that Is, classes having forty or more
children. The number of such children
has now risen to more than $4,000. or
these approximately 100000 are In
classes of forty-five or more. $4,000 In
classes of fifty or more and nearly 5000
In classes having fifty-fivc or more.
nErop, m fiopoI mint of vfeU
the effect of such overcrowding is obYt-
Gus when It Is realized that reliable
educators look upon a class ofIthirty-five
as the maximum number In which salts
factory instruction can be given. From
the point of view Of hygiene and fire
hazard these conditions are even more
disquieting, for there is nothing so
dangerous as the panic resulting from
overcrowding in case of fire. This situ-
alton Is continually growing worse, for
the new seatings contemplated are to
be utilized In reducing part time rather
than the size of classes
The associations third count against
Hylan Is the "deplorable state Of unre-
pair" of the older school buildings as a
result of years of neglect. Reliable real
estate men say that to IA per cent.
OF the value of the buildings and equip
ment would have to be spent annually
10 keep Them IN proper condltlon, as
suming they were satisfactory to begin
with. This would mean about $4,000.000
a year. The largest sum actually spent
for this purpose was $1,550.542, in the
year 1915. when Mitchell was Mayor.
The Mitchell expenditures were: 1914,
s1.S13.073: 1915, $1,550,542: 1916,
s1,115.579; 1917, $1,007,993. The Hylan ex-
penditures: 1918. s1,4s2.o51; 1919, s1,2e7.s2i;
1890 s1.331.43
I'm view Of the depreciation in the
value OF the dollar" says the report,
"the practical effectiveness of the sums
spent during the Hylan years was far
less than that of the sums spent during
the Mitchell administration. For that
reason also the Hylan record has been
the poorest in the last fifteen years"
Falling Into Worse Repair.
Even considering the appropriations,
which Mayor Hylan prefers to cite to
because they are larger than actual ex-
penditures and thus appear to give him
an advantage, the association says they