Evening star., 1922-02-18

SOHlpiete authority over all matters
pertaining to the schools should be CEN
tered in the board of education. Supt
Ballou Of the public schools yesterday
afternoon told the joint congressional
committee investigating the school sit
uation here
"All of the school business should be
handled by the board of education" said
be held fully responsible for the schools
and everything in them.
The board of education and school
officials do not now possess the author
ity which they SHOULD have if they are
to be held responsible for the educa-
tional system lie continued.
'As long as the board of education
does not control the finances of the
schools 1t cannot control education as
1t should.
Tells What Happened to Estimates.
DIR. Ballou described what had hap
pened to the estimates prepared by tae
board of education for the schools for
the coming fiscal year. and said that il
showed how the board was clipped of
authority. The board, he said, had sent
TO the District Commissioners school eS-
Inmates that totaled something over
s10,000.000. The board had carefully
pruned these estimates before submit
ting them. They covered what the board
considered essential to the proper MAIN
tenance and development of the school
system.
The District Commissioners. DIR. Bal
lou said, Topped S2,500,000 off these es-
Inmates. The estimates then went to the
bureau of the budget. which cut them
down another 100000. and finally the
House appropriation committee cut the
estimates down 100000 more. So the
school items in the District appropria-
tion bill, as it passed the House. totaled
only S6.s46.000.
DIR. Ballou's testimony was given at
the final hearing of the joint committee
on the school situation. Unless it is
found necessary to take additional testi-
1nony. the joint committee will close the
Investigation and draft its report for
submission to Congress.
Outlines Constructive Program.
DR.. BallouSwent over in some detail
for the joint committee the construc-
tive program for the school system
here which the board of education
formally approved last December. and
which has been discussed with many
of the civic organizations. 1t provides
for expenditures of $10,000,000 for
buildings. etc, covering period of
five years, to bring the housing of the
pupils up to what it should be. 1t
provides for a new salary scale for
the school teachers. in accordance
with the bill recently introduced in
the Senate by Sepator Capper of Kan
sas: for the readjustment of the ad-
ministrative staff. with a business
manager who shall be an assistant
superintendent; increases in the medi-
cal inspection staff. and more play
grounds.
DR.. BalIou told the joint committee
that forty-four new classrooms were
opened in September of last year, but
that they did not begin to meet the
requirements of the increased school
population. He said it Would have
taken 1S3 new classrooms to meet the
situation then, and and it would re-
quire 205 new elassrooms in 1922.
Dr. Ballou also discussed the new
junior high school buildings, now
being appropriated for. He said
ings had been 100000, but that
Congress was providing only $780,
00o each. Buildings erected for
these sums, he said. would not even
accomodate the pupils now ready to
go into them, without taking into
consideration any future growth. He
said it was short-sighted policy.
The board of education. he said, had
done everything possible in the way
of eliminating costs in the construc-
tion of these buildings. and he be-
1ieved that if 100000 were allowed
for each building-with these econo-
mies-it would be possible to put up
buildings which would meet the
present needs.
Senator King Assents.
Senator King of, Utah agreed that
1t would be economy to construct
buildings of adequate size to meet
the needs, rather than to build other
buildings later.
The need of more edquate pay for
the teachers. in the public schools
was emphasized particularly by DR..
Ballou. who said that under present
conditions the District stands al the
foot of a list of forty cities when
the highest salaries paid in the ele-
mentary schools are taken into con-
sideration. He said that the schools
here should pay salaries which would
be an inducement to bring the best
teachers in the country to the capital
city.
After stressing the need of a new
arrangement of the administrative
staff, which, with other things, would
provide for a business manager, DR..
Ballou pointed out the great need of
a new compulsory school attendance
law and of school census. He said
that children have lived in Washing
ION for two or three years and never