Evening star., 1922-05-25
F|XEDPOL|CY URGED
ON SCHOOL FINANCE
IN CAPPER REPORT
Investigators Find System
Here Has Failed to Keep
Pace With Growth.
FURTHER BUILDING DELAY
DECLARED UNWARRANTEO
Establishment of Branch Libraries
Finds Observation-Disclosures
Given Approval.

Declaring that the public school
plant of the District Of Columbia has
not kept up with the growth OF
Washington, Senator Capper of Kan
saS, chairman of the joint congress
Sional committee on public schools
has drafted tentative report on the
investigation recently conducted and
laid it before the members Of the
Joint committee.
He has also prepared a tentative bill
embodying the recommendations for
reorganiza ton of the public school
system, which is also before the joint
committee members
Senator Capper said today that he
expected to call the joint committee
together at an early date. when the
proposed report of the bill will be
discussed and put into final form
Fail to Keep Pace.
In the tentative report Senator
Capper points out that during the
period of the war the school system
Of the District, like many other city
school systems. fell far short Of being
able adequately to provide for the in
creased demands made upon it by an
increase in the school population
Even preceding the period Of the
war" the report said. there SEEMS
10 have been no consistent policy of
financial support of public education
IN Washington. In spite of the con-
clusions reached by several school
inquiries and the annual presentation
TO Congress by the board of education
Of the need of more money for
schools. fina ncial support for the
school system has not been suficIen.
to meet the needs of public education
AS a result of this financial policy
there is at present an accumulation
of needs of long standing preceding
the war. and in addition accumulated
needs rs a result of the difficulties OF
adequately financing public education
during the war.
Absence of Policy Felt.
The absence of a sympathetic con-
structive financial policy regarding
the schools preceding the war and
during the war period has produced
conditions which should be improved
at the earliest possible moment.
THE housing situation in the school
system of the District is most unsatis-
factory. Oyercrowded and unSatisfac-
tory buildings are numerous. At the
time of the passage of the law of 1906
Congress created a commission to in
vestigate the housing conditions of the
school system of the District. This
commission reported in 1908 making
very specific and constructive recon-
mendations. The evidence presented to
this committee shows that there are
two school buildings now in use which
were recommended for immediate aban-
donment in 1905. There are eight
buildings recommended in 1908 for
early abandonment that are still in use
and accommodate more than 1000
pupils. Seventy eight portable schoo'-
houses are accommodating over 1900
additional pupils. Moreover. there are
eighteen or twenty pieces of property
rented for school purposes. IN addi-
tion, many sChoolrooms unsuited for
ella aSSroom purposes have been pressed
into service during the period of school
congestion.
Classes Are Overcrowded.
Inadequate accommodations of pu-
pills have resulted in the establish
ment of many classes in the elemen-
tary schools with over forty pupils
on November l. 1920, there were 444
classes with over forty pupils per
teacher BY November II. 1921, this
number had been increased by fifty
more classes. namely. to 4Si. In No
vember. 1920, there were about 1000
pupils who were receiving less than
full day of education, and in 1922
, still larger number of pupils were at
tending school only part time. The
'doubleshift system is being used to
give instruction TO surplus pupils.
Instead OF getting five hours instruc-
ton. pupils under double shifts are
getting three and one-half hours in
struction.
There are $500 more students in
high schools than the buildings can
adequately accommodate. Every high
school is exceeding its capacity from
200 to 500 or 700 pupils necessitatine
a double shift or overlapping pro.
gram in all of the high schools
Proposes Financial Policy.
The problem of vital Importance
confronts us which must bt. solved
by a rational and forward looking
financial policy, The amount OF
money appropriated for the schools
in the annual appropriation bill is
not even sufficient to take care of the
increased enrolment of the public
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