Evening star., 1947-07-01
ExtensiiveSchooI
1948-49 Urged
Public Meeting of
Board Hears Citizens
On Next Years Budget
By Colt HendIey, Jr.

VII lNSAt ] SUi Du1SSt
By Colt HendIey, Jr.
The Board of Education had be-
fore it today recommendations for
improvements and construction in
most of the public schools presented
last night by. representatives OF
nearly so citizens groups.
The public meeting was held by
the board at the Thomson School
to hear what the residents Of Wash
ington wanted included In the
school budget for 1949.
Among the many speaking at the
meeting was Henry H. Surface, rep
resenting the Home and School As
sociation of Western High School.
Mr.. Surface wanted to know why
s65,000 of a $147,900 appropriation
for Improvements at the school this
year had been spent on two items
for which the money was not ear
marked. OF the appropriation, $40,-
900 has been spent on boiler re-
placements and S25,000 on painting
the school.
Stafford Explains.
"We went to Congress and told
them the money was being used for
particular purpose, and now We
md it being spent for other things"
Mr.. Surface declared.
Associate School SPIT. Howard p.
Stafford, who is in charge of build
lngs and grounds, gave Mr. Surface
the same explanation he offered to
The Star yesterday. The boiler re-
placement was an emergency mat
ter, Mr.. Stafford said. The painting
money could have been taken from
another fund. But, he added, dis
cretion allowed in such matters was
exercised and both were paid for
from the $l47,soo appropriation.
Mr.. Stafford said he had assur-
ances from Archie Hutson, District
director of construction, that the
other work at Western High School
would be accomplished. This in
cludes, he said, improvements to the
gymnasiums, for which contract
of $65,5l5 is being let, and other
improvements of a minor nature.
Crowded conditions in the schools
came in for their share of attention,
particularly from representatives of
colored civic associations and
Parent-Teacher Associations. More
than 5000 of the nearly 1000 chill
dren on part-time instruction are
in the colored schools.
improvements Asked.
! Horace Wilson of the Armstrong
High School PTA requested a new
school building and was assured
that was in the plans. Robert
Goodloe. representing the South
east Civic Association, presented a
report which covered most of the
colored schools in that area. Repre-
sentatives from Cardozo High
School,, Dunbar High School, Gar
] net-Patterson Junior High School.
Randall Junior High School and
Francis Junior High School also
gave verbal pictures of crowded con-
ditions at the respective schools.
Mrs. John Wigent of the Seaton
School PTA, told the board that one
out of three children at the school
had cinder marks on their arms and
legs as result of falls on the school
Playground She asked that the
playground be resurfaced.
| Mr. Stafford said plans called for
all such Fairgrounds to be resurfaced
as soon as possible.
| Leverett Meadows of the Manor
Park Citizens Association, suggested
that an item for all playground work
be included IN the budget to get it
done at once. This drew applause
from the assembly.
Corning Explains Needs.
School Supt. Hobart M. Corning
explained to the assembly the needs
of the schools and why such needs
had accured. He pointed out that
appropriations over the years had
been inadequate, that tremendous
growth and shifting of population
had left certain parts of town with
out sufficient schools and that during
the war, building restrictions had
prevented construction.
He said present plans were to get
additional schools SO that no chill
dren would be forced to go to school
part time and to prevent further
necessity of part time classes.
The replacement of obsolete build
ings, some of them shockingly bad"
also had high priority, he declared.
He said S50,000,000 would be needed
to get the schools up to par, a figure
estimated previously by Engineer
Commissioner Gordon Young.
| Mrs. Henry Grattan Doyle, board
president. presided at the meeting.