New-York tribune., 1921-06-04
Women Report
City's Schools
I'm Woeful State
Menace of lnsanitary and
Dilapidated Firetraps Has
Increased Since Tribune
Exposed Their Condition
Administration Is Blamed
Pupils ON Part Time In
creased From 10000 to
$4,000 i'm Three Years

The wretched condition of many of
the cty's schools, portrayed in detail
by The Tribune several months ago,
is to be made t. subject of an ex-
haustive report, which nearly two
score leading women's organizations of
New York are sponsoring, and which
will be made public through the Pub
lie Education Association withia the
next ten days.
This report, which Is being compiled
as the result of investigation of con-
ditions in forty of the schools by a
committee representing these women's
organizations, is expected to show that,
far from improving the conditions
existing for the last two years or more,
buildings have been allowed to de-
teriorate to such an extent as to make
necessary some drastic provisions for
their rehabilitation.
The Tribune in its series of articles
pointed out the increasing dangers to
the health of the city's public school
children by reason of overcrowding,
bad sanitation, leaky roofs, defective
protection from fire, poor light. lack
of Fairgrounds and other causes. 1T
further showed that upward of 10000
pupils were obliged to accept part time
instruction in the city this last school
year because of these conditions.
Lack of Economy Responsible
Responsibility for this state of af-
fairs, according to Howard w. Nudd,
director of the Public Education AS
sociation, who is one of the committee
charged with preparation of the re-
port, may be laid to the failure of the
present city administration to effect
any centralized program of economical
administration for the school system.
! While the report, he said, would CON
Germ itself with the physical conditions
of the buildings inspected during the
last two months, it would imply that
something more than campaign prom
ises were needed if the citys growing
school population is to be cared for,
even on a basis as inadequate as that
of last year.
Among the organizations which have
cooperated in the recent vestigation
and which constitute an executive com
mittee which will lay its findings be-
fore the Joint Committee of Women's.
| Orga anizations on Education at an early
date are:
National Civic Federation (women's
section), Women's City Club, Women's
Municipal League, Council of Jewish
Women, New York City Federation of
! Womens Clubs. the Civitas Club of
Brooklyn and the Public Education AS
Sociaton.
Mr.. Nudd declined to give out in ad-
vance of submission of the report to
the foregoing committee it's specific
context. He explained, however, that
the buildings inspected were in addition
to those which The Tribune last winter
described after careful investigation.
Outlook Worst in Four Years
"Two years ago. said Mr.. Nudd, eve
began to give publicity to the condi-
tions in our public schools. We got
cold response at first. Much criti-
cism was heaped upon us and not until
people began to make their own inves-
LEGATIONS was our work confirmed. A
year or so ago the Joint Committee on
Education was organized, representing
the leading civic and welfare associa
tions and clubs of the city. The prob
lens of the schools were gone into in
a thorough manner, but to-day the out
look is worse, to my mind, than it has
ever been during the last four years.
"Any one who says there is politics
| in this is wrong. These organizations
demand proper housing for the city's
school children They now know the
situation as it really is. There has
been a gross lack of centralized pro-
gram of economy in the administra ton
of school funds For this the. present
city administration is largely response
Bile. There is no criticism of DR.. Will
liam L. Ettinger, the superintendent
of schools, nor of other school officials
! tlo poo Il
who have striven to give the city what
it can reasonably expect for the .edu-
cation of its youth. ..-
"The last school budget of $52 2000,-
900 will provide number of additional
schools. Well and good, but what is
to become of the buildings we already
have? The new buildings will provide
seats for most of those on actual part
! time, but how are the 10000 additional
pupils the city acquires each year to
be taken care of? Also, what is to be
done for the tens of thousands obliged
to attend classes in dilapidated firetrap
buildings? The city has authorized no
new buildings to be erected in their
places nor is there any appropriation
this year for their repair"
$4,000 on Part Time
Mr.. Nudd said there was no doubt
as to the feeling of the teaching staff
on this matter of additional schools
and the need for increased equipment
and repairs. In April, of 1918, he said,
there were 100000 pupils on part time
here. Last April there were $4,000.
Four years ago, he added, the Mitchell
program, which educators regarded as
an effective step toward relief, was
scrapped and there has been no real
constructive effort toward remedying
| the conditions since.
A committee from Teachers College,
he continued, was urged to inspect the
schools for itself, after eriticising the
Public Education Association for it's
exposure in 1919. After the inspection,
he said, the committee reported the
schools in worse condition even than
he himself had found them.
An example of the Board of Est-
mates failure to provide sufficient
funds for school maintenance, he re-
lated, was the general condition of
Public School 10, situated in East Sew
| enty-fifth Street. This building had
beer. repaired" he said, by painting
the building and its flag pole.