Evening star., 1936-08-18
Schools
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near Massachusetts, avenue and Ma
comb street.
School authorities proposed the ap-
pointment of 233 additional teachers
and librarians, at cost of $400,8 800,
deemed necessary to reduce the size
of classes in the schools and said 73
additional employees, at an annual
cost OF S79.320. would be needed to
give the Federal standard of hours Of
work to custodial workers in the
schools system.
School Estimates First Released.
The school estimates were the first
to be released by the Commissioners.
Those for other departments will be
made public from day to day. Be
fore the Commissioners formulate
their proposed estimates for 1888 pub
lie hearings will be called, to give or
ganized groups an opportunity to
present their views before the estl-
mates of the city heads are filed with
the Budget Bureau.
Prospects are that the Commis-
sioners will find it necessary to slice
the estimates of all departments be-
fore they are forwarded to the Budget
Bureau. Last year the department
heads estimates totaled $54 4,97l 900
and they were cut to SAT, $4,000 be-
fore being placed in the hands OF the
Federal bureau There they were re-
duced to about s43.l00,000 before
being sent to Congress.
Outlining the problem of needed
school expansion, DR.. Ballou stated:
In periods of forced economies,
it Is almost inevitable that the pro-
gram of land purchase for schools is
substantially curtailed or almost en-
tirely abandoned. For example, in the
estimates of the Board of Education
for the school year ending June 30,
1887, the board submitted estimates
for the purchase of land amounting
to S1,704,000. The final appropria-
tion act carries only one item of s26,-
600 for the purchase of one small
piece of additional land for an addi-
ton to a single school. As result
of this, many urgent needs for school
buildings cannot be met in the budget
for 1898. but must be delayed until
land can be purchased from appro-
priations carried in the 1898 budget.
Appropriations Lag.
Likewise in the matter of school
house construction the appropriations
for new buildings and additions to
buildings have neither kept pace with
the growth of school population nor
taken care of accumulated shortages
and the probable needs of school house
accommodations for the next five-year
period are greater than they have
been at any time during the past
quarter of a century.
Under these irresistible circum-
stances, the superintendent and his
associates have felt compelled to to
prepare a school budget which per-
haps cannot be met out of the present
income of the District under the ex-
isting system of taxation and with
the existing tax rate.
During this period of financial de-
preston the city has found it neces-
sary to use large sums of money for
relief. No reasonable person could
complain of such procedure. Some
of the money which heretofore has
gone to public education has had to
be diverted to the relief of the un-
employed. This is clearly seen in the
proportion of the total District budget
which has gone to education during
these years. According to the Bureau
of the Census, the public schools Of
the District in 1926 received 30.7 per
cent of the total District budget. In
1888, the schools received % per cent