Evening star., 1939-02-21
Offers 10 Drop
School Board
Abolition
Kennedy Insists,
However, That He Be
Convinced First
By JAMES E. CHM.

alarmed Dy ever growing Opposi-
tion to the Griffenhagen recon-
mendation for abolition of the Board
OF Education, Representative Ken
nedy. Democrat, of Maryland an
nounced today he would be willing
to scrap that proposal in an effort
to save major portion of the new
District government modernization
plan.
Mr.. Kennedy, chairman Of the
special subcommittee of the House
District Committee which will con-
slider the reorganization legislation,
tied certain strings" to his state
ment. First, he said, opponents of
the proposed change would have to
convince him the existing setup Of
the public school system is superior
to and more efficient than the plan
outlined in the Griffenhagen report.
MY mind is open," he declared.
Il have been informed that the
Griffenhagen proposal to abolish
the School Board will increase
efficiency in the school system and
also bring about many economies.
If I can be convinced that is not
true. then I am ready and willing
to sacrifice that feature of the re-
organization plan.
Would Save Best Part.
my sole interest is to give the
District a modern, efficient and
economical municipal machine, and
hope that special interest groups
who oppose certain details of the
Griffenhagen plan will not throw
cold water on the entire new setup
that has taken Griffenhagen and
associates seven months to develop.
If 10 or 80 per cent of the Griffen-
hagen suggestions are good, let's
approve them But the whole plan
should not be given the boot, simply
because there is objection to three or
four particular features"
(The Congressional Record to-
day contains a detailed statement
of Mr.. Kennedy's views on the
Griffenhagen reorganization plan.
This statement was given to The
Star last Thursday and was
printed in part in Fridays edi-
tions of the paper)
Henry I. Quinn, former president
OF the District Bar Association, re-
signed from the School Board last
week, so he would be in a better
position to fight the Griffenhagen
proposal to abolish that independent
board and substitute a so-called
advisory committee" stripped en-
tirely of executive or administrative
authority.
Mr.. Kennedy, as we'll as the House
District Committee, has received
number of complaints from indi-
viduals and organizations against
various features of the Griffenhagen
plan. The latest came from the
Southeast Businessmen's Associa-
ton, which specifically opposed the
recommended consolidation of the
Metropolitan and United States
Park police forces.
Urge Election of Residents.
The Southeast businessmen also
declared if a council such as pro-
posed by the Griffenhagen plan to
constitute a governing body" is
approved, that the members be
elected from bona fide residents of
the District and not appointed.
After a conference with Repre-
sentative Dirksen, ranking minor
ity member of the District Commit
tee, Mr.. Kennedy definitely decided
to call his subcommittee together
next Tuesday to tackle the Crit
fenhagen report. The subcommit-
tee at that time, he said, will fix a
date for beginning public hearings
and map out program of pro-
cedure.
Mr.. Kennedy, in addition, re-
vealed that public interest In the
reorganization plan has been so
great that the original supply of
1000 copies of the Griffenhagen
report has been exhausted. AS a
result, he appealed to Chairman
Randolph of the District Committee
to have at least another 1000 copies
printed.