Evening star., 1935-03-18
Lack of Funds to Cause
Night School Closing
April l..
FIVE C0L0RED SCHOOLS
AMONG THOSE affected
Night Students at Central High
to Be Transferred to Other
Institutions.

Approximately 80 teachers in five
colored night schools will lose their
jobs and 1000 pupils will be dropped
from the rolls April /. because of
lack of funds to continue the public
night schools, it was learned today.
Between 80 and 40 teachers in the
white night schools also will be
dropped at an early date and between
$500 and 1000 pupils transferred
from Central High School night classes
to other institutions.
$50 Can Be Transferred.
c. o. Lewis, director of colored night
schools said today five elementary
schools will be forced to close their
night classes. They are the Martha
3. Briggs. George Bell, Burrville,
Thaddeus Stephens and Elijah P.
Lovejoy Schools. At present they have
a total enrolment of close to 1850.
but only about $50 of these can be
transferred to the classes to be con-
tinued.
Night classes at Cardozo and Arm
strong High Schools and Garnet-Pat-
terson Junior High School will con-
tinue undiSturbed Lewis said.
E. ]. Lockwood, director of the white
night schools, said a similar reduc-
ton in teachers will have to be made
for reasons of economy. but that a
date has not yet been fixed for closing
the Central classes.
A similar policy has been carried
out in the past and is attributable in
the white schools to the large number
of night school pupils who have
voluntarily withdrawn since their en-
rollment last Fall.
In deciding to close the colored
night classes, school officials had to
choose between dropping elementary
pupils or high school pupils. 1t was
found that only about 1000 would be
crowded out Of the elementary grades
whereas close to 1900 would have to
be dropped if the higher grades were
closed.
Face Double Problem.
Officials faced the double problem
of a larger enrolment this year and
a consequent greater expense for
teacher salaries. necessitating the
closing of the schools earlier than
was anticipated when the budget was
compiled for the night schools.
The plan for closing the colored
schools will be presented to the Board
of Education Wednesday by DR.. Frank
w. Ballou, superintendent of schools.
Meanwhile. DR.. Stephen E. Kramer,
assistant superintendent. and Lock-
wood are studying the problem faced
by the white night schools.
Pupils at Central will be permitted
to choose between Mckinley and
Roosevelt High Schools where the
same courses are being offered.
At Hine Junior High School all
night classes will be continued until
the end of the year because of the
character education experiment being
conducted THERE Lockwood had
plannd to abandon this school, too,
but gave it up because of the special
character work that was begun last
Fall.
Special night trade classes also will
continue at the Abbott Vocational
School.
The entire night faculty at Central
High School will be dismissed three
months ahead of the end of the regu-
lar term.
Vacancy for Examiner.
When the school board meets We'd
neSday it will be asked to fill a va
cancy on the Board of Examiners for
the white schools. Mrs. Carol Schaef-
fer, member of the board, has been
asked to be relieved of her duties as
an examiner because of extra work
she has to do in connection with the
character education experiment. She
is member of the faculty at Cook
Elementary School, one of the schools
chosen for the special character
courses.
DR.. Ballou also is expected to make
a report replying to the charges of
Maj. Gen. Amos A. Fries that My
Weekly Reader, current events publi-
cation circulated in the elementary
schools, is communist. Gen.
Fries charged two weeks ago that the
paper had published an article on
Russia which gave a biased picture of
conditions in the Soviet Union. He
asked that an investigation be made.
The paper is one of three such
publications circulated among school
children for use in connection with
studies of current events.