The New York herald., 1922-09-04
100000 CITY PUPILS
T0BE ON PART TIME
Only Five New Permanent
Schools Ready to Open
Next Monday.
THEY SEAT ONLY 4,O18
When Sessions Closed 130,-
600 Were Only Partly
Provided For.
10000 MORE SEATS NOW
Portable Buildings and An
ncxes Provide Additional
Room This Year.
10000 MORE SEATS NOW

Once again. next Monday, New York
will face serious shortage in school
facilities. with but five new school
buildings to be opened and the proba-
bility that there will be at least 100 900
pupils on part time. The new perma-
nent buildings to be opened will have
combined seating capacity of 4,01s
pupils, although when school closed
there were more than 10000 children
on part time.
OF the five new schools Brooklyn
gets the most. two schools, the Bronx
gets the largest. with seating capac-
ity of 1,S13 and Manhattan gets none.
Richmond and Queens fare alike, each
with new school, seating $40 pupils
Theoretically, at least, the school pop
ulation of Manhattan is on the de-
crease and therefore additions, to the
facilities in that borough are not re-
garded by the Board of Education as
SO urgently needed.
Although the new schools are but five
in number and seat only about 1000
pupils, the additional seating capacity
which the Board OF Education has pro-
vided in the way OF annexes. additions
of portable school houses will bring the
total of new seatings to approximately
10000. This takes into consideration.
however, the small portables having n
capacity OF ninety pupils erected in the
outskirts OF the city, where new real
estate developments make some facili-
ties necessary, and 1t may be doubted
therefore whether such schools really do
more than take care Of some of the
minor additions to the school popula-
tion.
According to the Board OF Educa-
tion's schedule Manhattan gets in the
way of additional facilities two school
additions with total of 1869 seats
Only Richmond fares as bady and even
then there Is to be a new school on
Staten Island with seats for $40, as
well as an addition and a continuation
school, the three having 1,456 seats.
PortabIes In Brooklyn.
Besides its two new schools, one with
765 seats and the other with $50 seats
Immediately available, Brooklyn gets
four portable buildings 20 take care OF
its thinly populated sections. while The
Bronx gets new school seating 1918.
an annex with 1.091 seats. two add
tions Of considerable size. one seating
$40 and the other 6o4. and two port
ables seating 1s0 each.
Queens, which is growing rapidly,
much as The Bronx did some years
ago. gets one new school with $40 seats,
additions to two of its high schools, Civ
ing those schools more than 1900 new
seats; five additions TO old school build
ings and four portables. This borough
in the manner In which it's new facili-
ties are distributed probably fares bet
ter than any other. though The Bronx
will get more new sittings.
Notwithstanding the shortage OF seats
last year and the fact that there can
be but little Improvement this year
the Board OF Education contends that
II is gaining ground and that its plans
will make possible a seat for every
child before very long. Labor troubles
are blamed for delays. and in addition
il is contended that the board is at 4
disadvantage because of the law which
prohibits the letting of contracts for
construction and equipment OF a build
ing as one contract where the cost In
volved Is more than S25.000. The
necessity of awarding separate CON
tracts makes 1t difficult to get the best
builders, 1t is stated. and in addition
the fact that one contractor Is not in
any way responsible to any, of the
others makes for incessant delay.
Behind the immediate additions thar
are TO be made to the school facilities
at once and which 1t Is acknowledged
go but n short distance toward meet
Ing the requirements. the Board of Edu-
cation has a building program which
1t believes will i'm time give the city
the school facilities 1t should rightfully
have and provide what has been talked
Of for a great many years, "a seat for
every child"
According to DR.. John A. Ferguson.
chairman OF the committee on build
ings and sites, there are under construc-
ton at the present time, In various
stages OF completion but not immedi-
ately available for use. forty-fve build
ing projects which will make available
an additional 10000 sittings.
Plans for 10 More.
On the draughting boards Of the COM
mittees architects are drawing plans for
twenty-five more schools. and these.
when finally built. win provide about
the same number OF new seats as arc
to be nut 10 use next week. $4,000. In
the opinion OF DR.. Ferguson. IL the
schools under construction and those
the plans for which are on the draft
ing tables were available at the pres
ent time there would be sufficient ac-
commodations for most of the part timc
pupils In the schools at present. as each
additional sitting takes care of two part
time pupils.
More than $4,000 sittings are pro-
vided for In the 1922 program of build
ing which has just been started. For
che elementary schools. including porta~
BILE buildings. there are provisions In
this program for 39,405 seats and for
che high schools and vocational schools
1884 seats. The program for next
year is much larger. IL Is intended To
provide 95,14o sittings In elementary
schools, some OF the buildings being OF
the portable variety, and $500 sittings
In high schools and vocational schools.
1--WE have also provided In the 1929
program" said DR. Ferguson. for che
acquisition OF numerous plots or and
adjoining or in the vicinity OF existing
schools for increasing playground facil.-
ties These are very sorely needed ia
many sections Of the city. The total
estimated cost OF carrying out the vari-
Gus building programs. including the