Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1930-05-08
EDUCATION BOARD
ADOPTS TENTATIVE
S14,S29,78OBUDGET
Request for 1892 Will Be
Sent Today to District
Commissioners.
ESTIMATES INCREASE
ALL BUT | OR z ITEMS
Sum Asked Is $S41,670 More Than
Figure Senate Approved in
1881 Measure.

An incomplete and tentative budget
of $l4,829, $50 was adopted for the pub
lie school system for 1882 by the Board
of Education late yesterday, when it
approved the report of its finance COM
mittee on the next years estimates.
The school estimates, as they will be
transmitted today to the District Com
missioners, are $941 $50 in excess Of the
school item in the 1881 appropriation
bill as it was reported by the Senate
committee. The Senate committee al
1881, and, as this figure and the de-
tailed sums which create it are modified
in the House and Senate conference
before the bill becomes an act, the
1892 school estimates adopted yester-
Gay will be altered.
A detailed list of the items in
the 1882 estimates has not been made
public, it being decided that this infor-
nation remain confidential with board
members pending the completion of the
list and its transmittal to the Com
missioners. 1t was made known, how
ever, that increases were carried for
all but one or two items. Maintenance
for the school for crippled children and
the Health School are grouped this
time as one item, the total for which is
less than the combined items allowed
previously for the two institutions.
Similarly, there is reduction In the
funds for rental of properties used for
school purposes.
Site Purchase Item Increased.
One of the largest single increases in
the 1882 estimates Is that for land
purchases, 1t was declared after the
meeting yesterday. New construction
items total slightly more than the 1881
bill carries.
AS sent to the Commissioners today,
the 1882 estimates do not carry all the
items which will be included in the list
when 1t is completed. Fire protection
is one of the items yet to be sent
forward. The District fire marshals
recommendations for fire-proofing school
properties was received by the school
authorities yesterday, too late TO be
included in the estimates report.
The school authorities had made
every effort to complete their estimates
by May 5, the date on which the Com
missioners had requested them. The
completion of the estimates, however,
was delayed, not only by the failure of
the earlier passage of the 1881 appro-
priation bill by Congress but by the
hardness of other municipal agencies in
submitting their recommends ions
which govern. to some degree, the franz
ing of the tentative school budget.
DR.. Abram Simon Is chairman of the
school boards finance committee, which
framed the estimates. and his associates
include DR.. H. Barrett Learned and DR..
j. Hayden johnson.
Evidence of other District agencies
efforts to complete their estimates a
month ahead of the usual time, as re-
quested by the Commissioners, was pre-
sented in yesterdays board meeting
when request was received from DIR.
George F. Bowerman, librarian of the
Public Library, for use Of a small piece
of the Mcfarland Junior High School
grounds as a site for branch library.
The request was granted when it was
shown that the land sought by DR..
BoWerman was small triangular cor
ner of the lot which had no value as
playground space.
New Flooring Authorized.
The board yesterday authorized the
use of edge-grain pine flooring in one
school auditorium is place of the maple
planking which is being used generally.
Considerable difficulty has been ex-
perienced with the maple floors buck
ling and shrinking and Municipal Ar
chitect Albert l.. Harris advised the
board that the pine planks would over
come the trouble. He advised the
board, however, that while the maple
flooring cost 500 thousand, the pine
will cost 1892. One auditorium will
be chosen for the test, which, If sue
cessful, probably will result in the use
of edge-grain pine in all other schools.
DR.. Frank w. Ballou, superintendent
of schools, presented a report on char
| acter education. 1t will be transmitted
! to the Citizens Advisory Committee on
! character education for subsequent use
! in framing course" in character
education in Washington schools The
report was made on study completed
| by the group Of teachers and officers
| under Miss BERTHE BackuS. principal
Of Powell Junior High School.
| In her letter of transmittal, Miss
Backus asserts there are two lines of
procedure in intenSifying character
| education in Washington schools.
First" Miss Backus wrote, "the adopt
ton of plan for character education
in the schools that will state general
principles. suggest materials and meth
DDS of procedure, each school free to
restate the program in terms OF Its
own organization and needs.
Second, the pulling up to the level
of conscious consideration an evalu-
| alton of the character training ma
terials and situations inherent in oui
school program, working toward a
rounding out of our present program
by additions OF material and activities
wherever they seem to be needed.
In its deliberations. Miss Backtls de-
! clared, her committee has chosen the
second plan pending advice to the
contrary from school ofncials she eX-
plains further that the set-up OF the
second plan will require the work o.
many subcommittee and many confer.
ences, all OF which will be undertaken
with vigor and interest.