Evening star., 1933-03-29
SCHOOLS STRICKEN
FROM "a BUDGET
Development Held by Bureau
Three Times Faster Than
Population Increase.

The Budget Bureau struck out every
school building and school site item
from the 1894 budget because school
building In the District has advanced
three times more rapidly than the in
crease in the school population itself,
it was revealed today by Mrs. Leslie B.
Wright, chairman of the Building Com
mittee of the Alice Deal Junior High
School Home and School Association.
Mrs. Wright. a militant supporter Of
District schools, and a group Of home
and school and parent-teacher associa-
ton heads of Northwest Washington
are demanding hearing by the House
in their efforts to restore at least some
Of the eliminated building items. Not
able among these is the $475,000 which
would permit the beginning Of con-
struction of the $1,250,000 Woodrow
Wilson High School in the Fort Reno
section of Chevy Chase.
Mrs. Wright and the other citizens
interested in school construction are
making personal demands at the Cap
itol for a hearing. They were told this
morning, however, by the clerk of the
House Appropriations Committee that
probably no citizens would be heard by
the House.
Mrs. Wright advised the Home and
School and Parent Teacher Associa-
tons officers, who met at her home
this morning, that an authority ex-
tremely close to the White House had
told her the school building items were
eliminated because the administration
was convinced the school population
had fallen way short of the school
building activity which had been pro-
NOTED here in recent years.
Those In Attendance.
The meeting in Mrs. Wright's Forest
Hills home was attended by DR.. S. B.
Fracker. president of the Alice Deal
Junior High School Home and School
Association; Mrs M o. Lorenz, presi-
dent Of the Phoebe A. Hearst School
Home and School Association; Mrs. r.
c. Bowker president of the Janney
Parent Teacher Association. and Wal
ter H. Rastall. president of the Western
High School Home and School Associa-
ton. Plans were laid to answer the
assumption of the administration S
''overbuilding
It was shown that the Woodrow Will
son High School Is sorely needed to re-
lieve western High School. which yes
terday had an enrolment of 1900 chill
dren, 68 of whom are post-graduates
who have been unable to obtain employ
ment. In 1928-29 this schools enroll
ment was 1,543, while the schools ca
pacity is nearly 1,500 by using every
facility every hour of the day. Thus
Western High School is confronted with
the necessity, probably next September.
Of going on a double-shift program, with
teachers working longer days while stu
dents receive an abbreviated program Of
instruction.
Gordon High Ratio.
The Gordon Junior High School,
which had an enrolment of $40 in 1929,
now has 1875 on its rolls, while in 1881
it had only 584.
The group seeking hearings will show
the members of the House that while
school house construction apparently is
going forward at a more rapid pace
than the school population. the accel-
Grafton has been due to efforts Of the
District to catch u on the accumulated
shortage of school house accommoda-
tions which burdened thee school sys-
tenn so heavily prior to the Five-year
School Building Program act in 1925.
The building which has gone on since
then has been in line with that pro-
gram and in virtually no instance took
into account the normal increase Of