Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1930-12-28
Educational Heads Believe
Long Procedure ''Victim-
ICES" the District.
RELIEF FOR CONGESTION
SEEN IN MINOR CHANGES
Three to Six Years Now Elapse
Between Requests for Sites
and Occupation.
BY CHARLES B. DEGGEs.

OA NnhhAES d. DEOOESs
Concerned over the fact that from
three to six years elapsed between re-
quest for new school sites and actual
occupation of buildings, school ofacials
have launched a study of the land
purchase and building procedure Of the
District, determined to uncover its re-
tarding features.
DR.. Frank w. Ballou. superintendent,
and Stephen e. Kramer, first assistant
superintendent of schools, believe that
the present long procedure actually VIC
timizes the school system. They de-
clared also that acceleration of new
construction is impossible without SUBJ
stantial changes in present methods.
Simmons Generosity Acknowledged.
The two school officers at the same
time acknowledged that Mr.. Simmons
committee had been generous" IN is
appropriation recommendations and
sincere" in its efforts to cope with the
increasing congestion in Washington
schools.
THE subcommittee under Mr.. Sim
MONS" DR.. Ballou declared, has been
actually generous with our schools,
considering the liabilities which our
system Of obtaining sites and construct
ing buildings iuppses upon US all.
and 1t is decidedly unfair to claim that
responsibility for the length Of time
required to get new schools is entirely
upon Congress. Mr.. Simmons himself
has been sincere In his efforts to assist
US in coping with congestion in our
schools. The difficulty lies in the pro-
cedure under which we avail ourselves
OF money given us for schools, and
until that procedure Is changed, it
appears to me that we viii continue
to require long periods to feel the
benefit Of appropriations.
Referring TO specific instance, Mr.,
Kramer said yesterday that "if the
appropriations made to date for the
relief Of Western High School could
have been transmitted into buildings,
the present extreme crowding at that
school would not exist and our recent
order placing Western on double shift
program would not have been neces-
sary."
Two Schools Are Cited.
Mr.. Kramer explained this observa-
ton by pointing out that construction
Of the addition to the Gordon Junior
High School and the construction OF, tho
conmodate $50 and 400 first-year high
school students who otherwise have to
be provided for at Western. The hold
ing back of these two groups Of first
year high school students, together with
graduation Of at least some of the $50
nonresident students at Western, and
the accompanying recent order elm
mating further new State children from
enrolment there. would afford genuine
relief for tho T1raCoY1t and kf1a ASi-
ate future.
The Alice Deal Junior High School,
one of the schools Offering examples of
the widely varied difficulties which may
be encountered in efforts under the
present system to build q new school,
will be ready for occupancy next Sep
TENDER.
and other new school buildings in recent
years, tracing the steps taken to provide
them for school children from the in
ltial request for their respective sites to
their actual or now scheduled occupa-
ton, will be presented in The Star In
subsequent articles dealing with this In
tensely important question.
The procedure now followed in build
ing school structures traces a winding
course leading from one years calendar
on through three, four, flve and even
six subsequent years calendars. In gen.
eral. 1t runs on the following schedule:
School Building Steps Traced.
The Board of Education makes its
first request for specific site In May
when it transmits its estimates for the
following fiscal year to the District
Commissioners. In a theoretical in
stance, the request goes to the Commits
Sioners in May, 1880.
The Commissioners then review the
whole District budget to determine what
items shall be sent forward by them
to the Bureau of the Budget. Similarly,
the Budget Bureau considers the site re-
quest, along with all other petitions, to
decide whether it shall remain In the
estimated budget for the coming fiscal
year. The budget then is presented to
Congress.
The House conducts hearings where,
for the third time, the school authors
ties are required to defend their re-
quest for the school site If the item
for the land remains in when the
House sends the budget, by that time
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