Evening star., 1932-04-10

Subcommittee on District Appropria-
| tions and school officials during the
| recent hearings on the 1888 school
] budget
/ Made public yesterday, the reports
| show the hearings were lacking in any
| of the recrimination which has marked
them in recent years. The reports
| occupy IA pages of the volume of hear
ings on the 1888 appropriation bills.
Besides the nonresident pupil ques-
| ton, the more important school topics
| discussed were teacher salary cut pro-
| posals, Wilson Teacher College repairs,
| psychological tests of pupils, special
| teachers and plans for the use of the
old Business High School Building.
The attendance of 2,400 nonresident
children in District schools was char
acterized by Representative Holiday of
Illinois almost at the outset OF the
hearings as IAN unjust burden on the
District" Representative Holiday said:
"I still hold to the views that have
had for some years, that it Is an unjust
burden on the District to provide facili-
ties for these 2,400 pupils residing out
side of the District" He then expressed
a desire for the Board of Education s
views
BalIOu Favors Curb.
DR.. Frank w. Ballou, superintendent
of schools. replied that the board al
ready had considered the matter and
had concluded that either restriction
should be placed on the outsiders COM
ing into the District schools or else
they should be required to pay tuition
Representative Simmons of Nebraska,
who, when chairman of the committee,
was one of the most active critics of
the school system, followed Ballou's
statement with:
THAT is one place, Doctor, in which
Mr.. Holiday and you and have been
in pretty general accord"
Citing figures submitted by school
authorities in one of various tables they
offered, Chairman Cannon pointed out
that on the basis Of educational costs
per pupil, the nonresident pupils were
paying to the District in tuition only
SIS, 900 a year while they were receiving
total of $232, 900 worth of education.
Thus, he said, the loss to the District
is approximately "a quarter Of a mil
lion dollars"
Recalling arguments Of seven years
ago. when the House sought to limit
non resident pupils attendance at
schools here. Simmons asked DR.. Ballou
to answer nov or later" the conten-
ton that since the District has the
plant and the teachers anyway, and
since the nonresident children were
scattered over the city, the exclusion of
these pupils would not save any great
sum. DR.. Ballou chose to answer the
argument "at once"
Some Schools Burdened.
DR.. Ballou admitted the sudden ex-
r1uSiaf1 of AaryIand and VIRGINIA riInilS
would not save "at once" the entire
quarter million dollars There are
some schools, he said, in which 10 nom
resident children in their various classes
do not materially burden those schools.
But, he said, in school like the Burr
vile, where there are 104 nonresident
pupils, the exclusion of those children
would effect genuine relief.
AT Central High School," DR.. Ballou
said, with 238 nonresident pupils, it
seems to me that it is perfectly obvious
that We can save considerable number
Of teachers in that school if these pu-
pills were excluded. Or, on the other
hand, We would save just that much
money if they were required to pay tut
ton"
The superintendent added that be-
cause books are purchased on the basis
Of anticipated enrollmentS, the eXclu-
sion Of the nonresident pupils would
save money there
Simmons asked if it were true that
most of these schools are border
schools?"
1T is not So" DR.. Ballou replied.
Take the Paul Junior High School:
that is fairly well toward the central
part of the city. Also the Central High
School"
Later, Simmons said, "There is abso-
lutely no theory for, or possible defense
against, those children paying tuition"
Rabbi Abram Simon president of the
School Board, said the board was agreed
on this point, but we are hampered
by the legislation that you yourselves
enacted. We would like 10 throw this
burden on you again, namely, you have
made a law which permits outside
children to have free tuition, and we
feel that there is no justice in it, but
we cannot alter the situation"
Agrees on Responsibility.
Later, addressing himself to DR..
Simon's remarks, Simmons said:
Il agree, DR.. Simon, with your state
ment that the responsibility for this
situation rests with Congress and not
with the Board of Education, except
this: do believe that the board could,
probably more effectively than we can,
educate the citizens Of Washington to
the injustice that think is being done
them"
Representative Blanton of Texas said
every dollar of taxes paid by the
parents of nonresident children goes
to their own State, and pothing is paid
TO the support Of the District govern
ment.
IF they try to get an automobile
license here" Blanton said, they would
be tried and convicted overnight.
Everything they pay out in the way
Of taxes is paid to their States, Mary
land and Virginia, and it is inequitable
70 the people of the District to have to
Barry that load. I think it ought to be
stopped"
The question of teachers salaries
was introduced by Chairman Cannon,
who told DR.. Ballou the committee had
received complaints that Washington
school teachers were paid too highly,
and that the annual increases of $100
constituted too rapid an advancement.
DR.. Ballou. at the request of the COM
mittee, submitted data showing Wash
| ington is fourteenth in population of
list Of "a cities, and that it is twelfth
in the salary scale for teachers. New
York with the greatest population, he
showed, had a median elementary
school teacher wage of $3,l26, and
such cities as Newark, Cincinnati. st.
Louis, Chicago, San Francisco, Cleve-
land, Milwaukee, Boston, Buffalo and
Philadelphia all have higher medlan
| salary schedules than Washington,
whose median is $2,219 In the junior
! high school salary field Ballou showed
the committee, Washington Is four
teenth, and in the senior high school
| field 1t is ninth
Opposes Pay Scale Cut.
Representative Holiday asked DR.
Ballou If, 'in view OF the general con-
ditions over the country" he believed It
would be an "unrcssonabie hardship
il the annual increases were remittsd
or not In effect for the coming year
Ballou replied that many teachers
spent three years in preparing IN the
| District Normal Schools for tnhrhinp