Evening star., 1948-08-22
Be||High Pupils
ToUse NewUnit
On Shift Basis
To Do Academic Work
At Powell, Which Has
No Shop Equipment
BY Colt HendIey, Jr.

Bell Vocational High School stu
dents will attend classes at Powell
Junior High on alternate weeks this
fall while school officials await funds
to equip the Junior high building,
1t was learned yesterday.
In this way the Powell Building
will not be left standing idle when
school opens in September. The
Board of Education last month Or
dered the Powell students sent to
Central High School so that students
at the Bell School, which is dilapi-
dated building at Seventh and o
streets NV, could use the building.
No money is available for the al
terations necessary to make the shift.
And no money is available for the
necessary equipment.
How 1t Was Planned.
School officials are planning to
have the Bell students take aca-
demic work at Powell one week and
their shop training at the Old Bell
Building the following week.
This is how 1t all happened:
The Board of Education original
ly planned to shift Bell to the base
ment of Central High School. After
money had been appropriated by
Congress for this move. 1t was de-
cided-with a great deal Of contro-
versy-to put Bell into Powell in
stead.
The money. however, was ear
marked for the conversion and
equipping of Central and sannot be
used at Powell.
Needed Authorizations Listed.
The Board of Education still must
get Congress to:
l. Authorize transfer of $4,000
now available for alterations to Gen.
tral in order to use it at Powell.
2. Authorize transfer of $157,000
now available for eauipping Central
for vocational studies so equipment
can be placed in Powell
8. Authorize an additional $780,
900 to provide further alterations at
Powell which are necessary If the
school Is to become an adequate
vocational training institution.
Minor Changes Under Way.
Minor alterations to Powell, to
prepare the building for opening
this September. are being made now
by the District Repair Shop. Equip
ment in the four shops at the school
40 will l.
able for the Bell boys. which will
allow handful of students to re-
main at the building full time rather
than shift between the two schools
AS for the displaced Powell stu
dents, they will become a part of
new six-year plan school at
Central.
The junior high students will be
in one section of the Central build
ing with the full junior high course
OF study. Although separate edu-
cational unit to a great extent, the
boys and girls will be allowed to
participate in some of the extra
curricular activities of the school. !;
Students Favor Move.
The decision to close Powell as
Junior high was based. in part,
on the declining enrolment there.
which had drorDcd from more than
1000 in l941 to about $40 during
the last school year. The District
Apprenticeship Council also has
been backing the transfer of voca-
tional training to the Powell build
ing because of poor facilities at
Bell.
Even the Bell students themselves
want to move. Last June they
staged demonstration strike for
better school building
Eventually the Bell building will
be razed and the site used for a
new Shaw Junior High School. Un-
til the new school is erected the
site will be used as playground.