New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1921-09-18
Nine Additional Houses.
Seriously Overcrowded,
Forced to Adopt Part
Time or Refuse Pupils
Strained System
Facing Collapse
Failure to Get Enough
Instructors May Cause
Breakdown ofTeachers

Nine more high schools have been put
on double session or part time, It was
learned yesterday, because Of the fail
ure of the Hylan administration to
build any new high schools during it's
term of office The situation has become
SO critical that unless adsarge force of
additional teachers are Immediately ap-
pointed there is a possibility of break
down in the high school system.
The official figures of the Board of
Education show that there are more
high school students actually on part
time instruction at the present than
there were part. time pupils in the ele-
mertary schools at the time Mayor
Hylan was swept into Office under the
slogan of ga seat for every child" The
liz the fact that there are 1920 high
school students on part time out of
total registration of SITE, while at the
time Hylan assumed Office there were
only 30,462 elementary pupils on part
time out of a total registration Of
735,909
Increase In Part Time
The manner in which Mayor Hylan
kept his promise to provide a seat for
every child is reflected in the fact that
in addition to the 3S.230 High School
students now on part time. there are
92,S75 elementary school children also
on part time. The increase of ele-
mentary part time during the Hylan
admin stration has been 62,413, while
the registration during the same time
has only increased 70,590.
The relief that would have been
afforded by the belated opening Of nine
new schools and two additions. long
since has been discounted by the fact
that public school buildings had to be
diverted for High School purposes. An
excellent illustration Of this is afforded
in the case of the Julia Richman High
School, where the students now go on
double session in the main building for
the first time.
The students in this high school are
scattered in seven different buildings.
In addition to the main building at 60
West Thirteenth Street, the following
old public schools are also used as
annexes to Julia Richman: Public
School Q. at Eighty second Street and
West End Avenue: Public School &C,
at Eighty-eighth Street and First Ave-
nue., TuDilc NCNoot o., az tocVeilty-
seventh Street and Amsterdam Ayepue;
Public School 96. at Avenue A and
Eighty-frst Street; Public School lit,
at ITO East Seventy-seventh Street.
and Public School t79. at l01st Street
and Amsterdam Aver-'e.
In this completely disorganized
school there are d.549 students regis
tered at the present time in accomo-
dation nrovided for only 1888.
De Witt Clinton, one of the largest
high schools in the city. with capacity
register Of 8,303 students. and must go
on double session for the first time
since it was built,
Richmond Students Suffer
The double session evil has even
penetrated the Borough of Richmond
for the first time in the history of the
city. There Curtis High School, which
also has an. annex in P S. 20 at Port
Richmond. with a capacity of 1882
students, is compelled to institute part
time and double session because Of the
registration of 1921 students.
The other high schools in the atty
now added to the double session are
the High School of Commerce, with
registration of Alto; Evander Childs.
in the Bronx, with a registration of
Erasmus Hail. with 4.534, and the Girls
Commercial, with 1888.
A high officiakof the Board of Edu-
cation connected with the high school
administration said yesterdav that a
really serious situation confronts the
department, because when the budget of
1921 was drawn up the estimated high
school registration for September 80
was given as 72,799. The actuality
9 lntNYc Nn4
$4,000 out of the way
A Crisis Impends
AS result the estimates are not
nearly sufficient. In addition, the sala-
ries of the high school teachers were
based on. these estimates. After the
amount of the salary estimate had been
arrived at by the budget committee. the
Board of Education, in executive ses-
sion, again slashed the amount still
further, in the belief that the registra-
ton estimates were too large.
The high school section of the Board
OF Education is now, therefore. con-
fronted with serious shortage of
teachers, for which there are but two
possible solutions. Either the already
overburdened teaching staff will have
to handle still larger classes, or else
barge number of substitute teachers
WIN iaNe W be appointed.
In the former event the whole
morale OF the teaching force will un-
doubtedly break down, while in the
latter case there will be tremendous
increase in the budget estimates. In
either case the citizens will lose as
result of the Hylan administration
failure through lack of educational
facilities. and the increased amount of
the tax levy made necessary.
325 Indicted for Murder