Evening star., 1921-04-25
DISTRICT SCHOOLS
NEED ) MILLIONS
Move to Urge Congress for
Full Amount of Original
Program.

Five million dollars is needed to
finance the original building program
drafted by school authorities and de-
signed to relieve only the present
nvercrowded conditions in the school
system.
The Commissi oners are preparing
to send to Congress soon school
building project calling for about 81
100000, an amount insufficient to pro-
vide half of the urgent needs.
Although school officials want the
original program carried out. the
Commissioners, after sounding out
congressional leaders. believe that
Congress at this time is reluctant to
!! grant an appropriation large enough
to meet all the exigencies in the
school system. Nevertheless. officials
of the schools. it was learned today,
are making plans to wage a cam
paign to have Congress grant the
$5.o00,000 appropriation. and prob
ably will ask civic organizations. trade
bodies and clubs to support it. Citi-
ZenS associations which meet this
week are expected to take action
placing them on record in favor of
the original program.
Cfty-Wfde support Given.
1t was pointed out today by school
officials that virtually all the civic
organizations, trade bodies and clubs
in Washington indorsed the $1,000
900 program last fall and winter. and
therefore they win only have to af-
firm their previous stand However,
when the program is taken up for
consideration in Congress school au-
thorities hope that the civic bodies
will send representatives there to
urge that it be approved
The proposed $4,000 program. it
is understood. provides for just a suf
ficient number of rooms to give chill
dren in the elementary schools in
part time classes a full day of school,
ing, and to remove classes from rent
houses. 1t does not provide any
funds for the purchase of property
for school Fairgrounds or for sites for
proposed additions to schools. No
provisions are made in it for aban-
doning the seventy eight fiimsy
portable schoolhouSeS, nor for reliev-
ing congeSted conditions in the high
schools.
The original building program,
which was submitted to Congress at
the last session. and failed to re-
ceive its approval. and which school
have indorsed at this session Of Con-
gress, provides for 1873 additional
classrooms. School officials have in
dicated that these additional rooms
could be>flled Immediately with chill
dren who are now in part-time
classes overcrowded rooms and quar-
tered in the portables and rented and
other undesirable quarters.
Eighteen of the additional 1S3
rooms are needed in the first di
vision. 49 in the third, 21 in the fifth.
IL in the sixth. in the seventh. in
the eighth. II in the ninth. 10 in
the tenth, 2S in the eleventh and II
in the thirteenth.
Twelve of the additional rooms in
the first division are wanted to elimi-
nate portables. three to reduce over
size classes and three to eliminate
part time classes: thirty-three of the
forty-nine asked for in the third di-
vision are needed to eliminate porta-
bles, nine to reduce oversize classes
and seven to eliminate part time
classes: eleven of the twenty-one
wanted in the fifth division are need
ed to eliminate portables. nine to re-
duce oversize classes and one to elimi-
nate part time classes; of the twelve
additional rooms needed in the sixth
division, nine are wanted to eliminate
portables, two to reduce oversize
classes and one to eliminate part time
classes; three of the nine rooms asked
for in the seventh division are need
ed to eliminate portables, five to re-
duce oversize classes and one to eliml-
nate part time classes.
Two of the seven additional rooms
asked for in the eighth division are
wanted to eliminate portables, four to
reduce oversize classes and one to
eliminate part time class: five of the
ten wanted in the tenth division are
needed to eliminate portables. four to
reduce oversize classes and one to
eliminate a part time class eighteen of
the tWenty-eight wanted in the elev-
enth division are needed to eliminate
portables eight to reduce oversize
class and two to eliminate a part time
class and ten of the seventeen asked
for in the thirteenth division are
needed to eliminate portables, six to
reduce oversize classes and one to
eliminate a part time class.