Evening star., 1942-03-19
Junior, Senior
Highs 10 Open
Later Monday
Experiment Affects
All but Anucostic
And Browne Schools

Beginning Monday. pupils in all
the junior and senior high schools
of the city, except Anacostia Junior
Senior High. and Browne Junior
High, will 60 to school at $50 am.
and leave at $3.50 pm. instead of
the present 8 am. to 3 pm. school
day.
The move was approved by the
Board of Education yesterday on
recommendation Of Supt. Frank w.
Ballou as an experiment for the
remainder OF the school year. The
Commissioners and Trafflc Director
w. A. Van Duzer had asked the
opening of all public schools a half
hour later to free an estimated
1900 seats on buses and street.
cars during the morning rush hour
for war workers.
Anacostia will continue its present
opening hour because its crowded
condition has compelled the opera
ton Of staggered classes. The same
situati prevails at Browne, where,
however, the opening will be half
hour earlier than usual, at 8 am.
Some Not Impressed.
DR.. Ballou said he had polled
school officials on the proposed
change and that some of the school
principals have not been impressed
with the arguments advanced by
Mr.. Van Duzer that a substantial
number of buses will be released at
the peak load if the pupils come to
school at the $50 hour"
The superintendent. however, ex-
planned that the junior and senior
high school students were the ones
who rode buses and streetcars,
very few in the elementary schools
using them. Programs now going
on in the vocational schools and
teachers colleges, he indicated,
made it infeasible to apply the
change to them.
Both Mr.. Van Duzer and E. D.
Merrill. president of the Capital
Transit Co., appeared before the
board members and expressed the
opinion that the modified plan sug-
gested by DR.. Ballou would be very
helpful. Mr. Van Duzer exhibited
charts showing the peak loads and
what it was hoped to accomplish by
the half-hour change. Mr.. Merrill
said the company had to put 81
additional buses on the runs during
weekdays to handle the school
traffic.
Shortages Will Have Effect.
One of the problems created by
the change, DR.. Ballou pointed out,
is the effect the plan will have on
the large number of school boys and
girls who have after school jobs. He
also argued that not all pupils travel
with the traffic at the time of peak
load, many coming from the oppo-
site direction.
Mr.. Merrill cited difficulties in
getting priorities on equipment from
the War Production Board, espe-
cially until it can be shown that
every other possible effort has been
made to meet the situation.
Mr.. Van Duzer pointed out that
IN a few months many others who
now ride to work will be using buses,
not only because of the tire shortage,
but also because of gasoline.
In other action the board men,
bers sent to the Commissioners
some revisions in the 1943 budget
estimates now before Congress.
Most of the revisions are reductions
due to complications in getting
ahead with the proposed new Sping-
arm Senior High School for colored
at Twenty fourth street and Ben
ming road N. E.
Eighty-two white and forty-one
colored schools were designated by
the board for use when the District
sugar rationing registration is held.
Although originally planned for this
week, the inauguration of the pro-
gram has been delayed and no dates
have been set. The registration will
be conducted in the schools by 5000
teachers and some 3,700 volunteers.
Assistant Supt. of Schools Lawson J.
Cantrell is administering the school
participation.