Evening star., 1945-06-04
Senate IsAsked
ToAdd $628,000
ToDistrictb Bill
School and Traffic
Increases Urged =
By Commissioners
BY CAMBRIDGE CRIST.


today they have sent to the Senate
Subcommittee on District Appro-
priatlons a request for $628, 8,000-
largely for schools and the Depart
ment of Traffic and Vehicles-to be
added to the $64 1888 900 District ap-
preparation measure passed by the
House.
OF the total increases requested,
budget officials said, only 1924, 900 is
for restoration of the $1,766 900
slashed by the House from the
budget submitted to Congress in
January. Hearings are expected to
be held this week by the Senate
group, possibly starting tomorrow.
The largest item requested by the
Commissioners was S490, 0,0O0-not in
the original budget-for a 100000
addition to the Kimball Elementary
School and $430,00O for the Rich
ardson Elementary School at Fifty
third and Blaine streets NE.
FWA Funds Available.
The Commissioners explained to
the Senate committee that they had
been unable to obtain funds from
the Federal Works Agency for the
Richardson school, which is to be a
16-room extensible building, with
assembly hall-gymnasium for COL
ored children The FWA announced
recently that it had no further
funds for construction work in the
District.
The Commissioners asked for the
restoration of a $28,560 item in the
school appropriations for planning
replacement of a number of elemen-
tary school buildings, such as the
Amidon, Fairbrother, Greenleaf,
Walker and Jones schools. The
House Subcommittee on District
Appropriations cut this item be-
cause it disapproved any plan to
centnalize elementary school work.
The Commissioners reminded the
Senate committee that the program
for replacing elementary school
buildings has been under study over
since 1908 and that congressional
approval has been given on several
occasions. The Commissioners stated
that the Board of Education be-
lleves its replacement program "is
educationally sound and that the
communities which will be affected
by the three projects which were
eliminated should be entitled to
modern, up-to-date educational fa-
cilities which it is not possible to
r1rnyiHo II, cy,,o11 hui
Added Traffic Lights.
The city heads also requested
1900 for plans and specifications
for a new branch library building
at Eighteenth and Good Hope road
Sc, Pleasant Plains. library on
Fairmont street between Georgia
and Sherman avenues NV, and for
remodeling the present southeastern
and Takon1a Park branches.
Altogether the District requested
S69, 400 restored in the Vehicles and |
Traffic Department appropriation,
for a deputy director at $500 a !
year "a senior and junior engineer)
$4,000 for traffic lights and SIG, 1000
for parking meters. 1t was ex-
planned that funds we're needed to
cover the cost of purchase and in
stallation of additional traffic lights
at some 80 intersections.
Signals on Both Sides.
1t was explained that the new
lights would supplement lights att
some intersections so that cars be-
hind high trucks and buses may see
traffic light on the left-hand side
of the driver. Lights thus would be
facing the driver both on the right
and left hand side of the street.
Other items requested are:
Office of Recorder of Deeds, So
400; Department of Inspections, $6,-
300, and National Capital Parks,
$4,000 for maintenance work.
The Commissioners also recon-
mended that the language of the
appropriation bill, limiting obliga-
tions for school projects to $1,608,-
900 be eliminated since total au-
thorizations in the measure exceed
that amount