Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1930-12-09
Limitation of PortabIes Is
Aim of Transport Plan to
Be Used Next Fall.
$500 Is AUTHORIZED
FOR FIRST EXPERIMENT
Civic Associations 10 Be offered
Suggestion in Joint Conference
to Be Held Tonight.

An experiment looking toward the
marked limitation of the use Of portable
schools in the District Of Columbia will
De undertaken next Fall when q bus
line is established In Southeast WASH
mgton to transport pupils from the
Bradbury Heights section to the Ran
die Highlands and the Orr Schools.
Plans for this experiment were out
lined today by Robert L. Haycock,
assistant superintendent in charge of
elementary schools, and they probably
will be presented to the civic associa-
lions tonight in the joint conference at
the Franklin Building with the Board
OF Education. It Is at tonights confer
ence that the school authorities report
back to the citizens on the fate Of their
request for school relief and improve
ments as contained in the 1882 esti-
mates now In the hands Of Congress.
$500 for Transport.
In response to the petition of the
school authorities at the suggestion
Of DR.. Frank w. Ballou, superintend-
ent, the Bureau Of the Budget has In
cluded in the 1882 estimates an item
Of $4,000 to provide the bus transporta-
ton experiment. The task will be I'M
dertaken next Fall, when the children
living in Bradbury Heights, In the VI
cinity of Fort Dupont, east Of Alabama
avenue and north Of Massachusetts ave-
nue.. will be brought to school instead
Of having the school, in the form of
an Anticipated, flimsy, wooden portable,
taken to the children.
At present the Bradbury Heights
children have to walk south on Ala
bana avenue to Pennsylvania avenue,
thence westward to Thirtieth street,
to reach the Randall Highlands School
This distance, Is exactly two and one
tenth miles and there are no public
transportation facilities available. Some
of the children attend the Orr School
which Is two and eight-tenths miles
from their homes.
Bus Idea Not New.
The Bradbury Heights residents petit
toned the Board of Education for q
portable school last year, but this was
found unfeaSible when 1t developed
list for the erection Of a portable
Meanwhile, DR.. Ballou, who for several
years has sought the bus transporta-
ton experiment, renewed his energies
In seeking funds for the bus transports
ton. At present, the Orr School Itself
has two portables on its grounds, but
the 1882 estimates, which include the
transportation 1und also, 1nclude Au-
thorization for the construction Of an
addition.
A similar experiment viii be next
Fall In the colored schools. It Is be-
lieved the test in those schools will be
made for the relief of pupils living in
the South Takoma Park section by
transporting them to the Military
Road School.
Central Schools Favored.
The possibilities within the bus trans
portation idea are greater even than
the limitation which success would
place on the future use of portable
schools, it was pointed out today at the
Franklin School. School authorities
here and in other cities have been con-
ddering in recent years the merits OF
establishing large and complete school
plants in certain sections of the city
and then transporting the pupils from
their homes to those school centers, in
stead of attempting to establish smaller
and independent school units in the
neighborhoods where the children live.
Another phase in the test lies in the
possibility of making complete use of
the old school buildings which either
have been emptied entirely or have
witnessed q striking reduction in their
enrollments through the removal to
other neighborhoods Of the families.