Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1927-06-28
Cutting School Budget.

be the men and women, fathers and
mothers Of a few years hence. The
taxpayers. while jealous to guard
against increases In taxes, are ex
tremeIy conscientious about being re
sponsible for any failure to provide
properly for the education Of the chill
dren Of Washington, who are the
citys greatest assets.
No alarm need be felt that there
will be any ruthless slashing of funds
really necessary for the actual school
room instruction, and 1t is safe to say
that the reduction in the budget or.
dered by the Commissioners will
merely delay the completion Of the
school.building program and delay
putting into operation certain improve.
ments urged by the District health
Office and the fire marshal. So the
$4,000, 1000 to $2.5o0,OO0 cut puts the
brakes on progress, but does not i'm.
pair the school system as 1t has been
operating.
The basic facts are these: The Dis
trict budget for the fiscal year 1929
as received from the department heads
totals about $50,000,0 900. The District
Commissioners, after conferences with
the Bureau of the Budget, have or.
dered that this must be reduced to
about $42 100000. The school budget
| Is always the largest classification
under the total District budget. rep
resenting approximately one-third of
the total. AS submitted to the Dis
trict officials for the fiscal year 1929.
the school budget is approximately
SIS 500, 900. The Commissioners re.
| turned this with instructions to the
school officials to submit alternative
proposals for approximately $4,000
| 600 or. $13,500,000. The intention is
to allow the larger amount IL possible.
The school officials are now working
on these alternative. lists, which the
| Commissioners expect to receive on
Thursday.
dered in the school program are pro.
portionate to those throughout the
entire District service.
The attitude of the school authori.
ties is that Of disappointment because
they vW % unable to carry out the
program of what Is estimated to be
needed for frst-class system in the
National Capital, but, In view of the
attitude. of business leaders and the
citizens, through their organized rep
resentatives, protesting against fur
school authorities are accepting the
mandate with good grace, especially as
they appreciate that no great injustice
to the children will Immediately result.
1t is foregone conclusion that the
building and repair fund will be drms-
tically cut. 1t now stands at $1,000, 900
to $1,250,000 DIR. Frank w. Ballou,
the superintendent of schools, admit.
ted at the hearing before the Citizens
Advisory Council that this is an item
ization of improvements recommended
by the health officer and fire marshal,
without the school authorities passing
upon their imperativeness. 1t Is prob
able that this classification will be
reduced to about $575. 900. which is the
original estimate that the school au-
! thorities believed essential.
AS a result of their hearings the
Citizens Advisory Council recommend
ed to the Commissioners that the
school budget be reduced to about
s13,197 900.
The remainder of the 100000
to $4,000, 900 reduction must come out
of the school-building program. This
was originally a ''five-year program,
but already it has become a six-year
program, even II the Commissioners
had allowed all that the school officials
recommended for the fiscal year 1929
In three years 1t is not half completed
So with the reduction ordered 1t be
comes at least seven-year program
The school authorities in preparing
their new lists for the Commissioners
are working on the policy OF sacrif1c
ing first the items of land acquisition
so as to save as many as possible OF
the school construction items.
So it works down to a question OF
fiscal policy-whether the District tax
payers feel they can afford to provide
now all the school sites that will be
needed In a few years and buildings
that are already needed, or whether
this important work must wait an
other year or two. The trouble Is thai
our school-building program was Sc
far in arrears and the city had grown
so fast that we had big school'huild
ing job to do. just at the time wher
Congress, which was really responsible
for the work being so far in arrears
decided ruthlessly to lop off the Fed
eral contribution that we believed w
were to receive under the old 60-4'
} contract. The result Is the Distric
! taxpayers have had to carry the full
, load Of school building that the Fed
J eral treasury was expected to share
Scrapping a battleship would seen
less cruel II there were any way O
II. I..A.