Evening star., 1938-02-02
SCHOOL EMPLOYEES
SUBJECT Of FIGHT
Question of Education Units
Control of Custodians
Is Reopened.

The question whether control of
some TOO custodians in the District
schools is to remain under the Board
Of Education or be placed under the
Commissioners has been reopened by
Chairman Collins of the District Ap-
priations Subcommittee.
The board already has notified the
Commissioners it does not recognize
the control of buildings" rider as
applying to school buildings and per-
sonnel and the Commissioners re-
Gently announced their acceptance of
this Interpretation.
Mr.. Collins, however, made it clear
in the House Monday that he in.
tended the rider very definitely to
apply to the school custodian control
and to place these employees under
civil service.
The rider, attached to the health
center item Of the current act. de-
clared control Of all buildings be-
longing to the District shall be vested
in the Commissioners.
"The General Accounting Office has
held, In an opinion to the Commits
sioners, that this is permanent law
and the control or jurisdiction of these
buildings Is permanently under the
Commissioners" Mr.. Collins said.
Civil Service Examinations.
All custodial employees under the
Commissioners take a civil service
examination. he told the members,
adding: In this way we get COM
petent men as engineers, as assistant
engineers DIS custodial employees"
Mr.. Collins cited the family rela-
tionship of many of the schools Gus
todians, charging:
mo examination had been taken by
these employees to hold these custodial
positions.
The chairman insisted that $4,000
is carried in the present bill for repair
of boilers, because the school GUS
todians not only did not know how
to take care of them. but did not even
know how to fire them"
Representative Nichols of Okla
homa a member of the House District
Committee, took exception to the
statements regarding civil service.
stating that his position on the matter
OF efficiency under civil service was
well known"
Opinion Of Nichols.
If you want to destroy a mans
efficiency and put cloak of protec-
tion around him that will render him
absolutely useless to public society,""
he asserted. Just put him under the
civil service" Applause followed this
statement
The debate brought out the fact
that the rider in question was in
serted into the current appropriation
bill in conference after it had been
killed out by both the House and the
Senate individually.
Referring to the kinship of school
custodians, Mr.. Nichols added that
the civil service is no guaranty
against putting relatives on the pay
roll
Through interdepartmental petty
politics and practices by civil service
employees in which they tell their
brothers. sisters. aunts. uncles and
cousins Of how to get jobs under the
civil service by evading the accepted
rules" he asserted. they have gotten
onto the pay roll and under the pro-
lection Of the civil service relatives
to the tenth degree removed"
Repair Shop Head Questioned.
During the hearings earlier the APP
preparations Subcommittee by ques-
tioning drew from w. A. Draper, head
Of the District Repair Shop. the ad-
mission that custodians who have
taken civil service examinations are
more competent than those in the
schools, generally speaking.
The committee cut $25,O0O from the
fuel estimates for schools approved by
the Budget Bureau on the grounds
that that much money was wasted
through inefhciency.
Meanwhile protest against the in
elusive Interpretation of the rider was
voiced by the District of Columbia
Voteless League of Women Voters in
their news letter yesterday.
1t is only the latest step in the
long series of incidents which have
subtracted from the powers of the
School Board" Mrs. w. A. Savin
stated in the report of her committee.
The Senior High School Teachers
Association also went on record
against the item yesterday.