Evening star., 1951-12-12

W66T"CUAVISs knC ID duIUuS tAC
, 16 years Of age enrolled in the
year.
|PTA SeeksConferen
On School Solution as
Pupil Strike Ends
The walkout Of 300 colored
pupils of the Payne and Webb
Elementary Schools was over to-
day, but the disagreement that
caused the strike is far from set
tied.
The Payne-Webb PTA last night
voted to send the children back
to classes. They also voted to seek
Ia conference with School Supt.
Hobart M. Corning to begin ne
gotiations they hope will lead to
satisfactory solution of overcrowd-
ing at the two schools.
The pupils reported to school as
usual this morning. They have
not been in their classes since the
walkout began Thursday.
More than 400 parents jammed
into the Payne School last night
for the meeting that ended with
the vote to call off the strike. This
vote was taken after Commissioner
F.. Joseph Donohue and Assistant
Engineer Commissioner Thomas j.
Hayes, III, had advised the parents
to send the children back to
school.
Anxious for Solution.
Col. Hayes told the parents:
| Il assure you the Board of Edu-
cation will reconsider the whole
matter. They're anxious to come
up with a solution that works"
Mr.. Donohue outlined what he
thought the proper action would
be for the parents. He advised
sending the children back first,
then holding a conference with
DR.. Corning and the Board of
Education.
! If this proves unsatisfactory,
he told the parents to- come to
the Commissioners, adding, while
it is true that the Board of Edu-
cation is an independent agency,
the Commissioners do have a re-
sponsibility."
The walkout began after the
Board of Education voted to
transfer the Madison Elementary
School, Tenth and G streets NE,
from white to colored pupils to
relieve overcrowding at the Payne
School, located at Fifteenth and
c streets Sc.
The plan, to be effective at the
end OF this semester, would shift
some Payne pupils to Maury
School. some Maury pupils to
Lovejoy School and finally some
Lovejoy pupils to Madison. The
children of Grades 4, S and s,
who should be in Payne but now
are at Webb School, Fifteenth and
Rosedale streets NE, would be
sent back to Payne.
/ Want Bryan School.
i The parents felt this was not the
solution. Instead, they asked that
Bryan School, three blocks away
at Thirteenth and B streets Sc,
be transferred from white to
colored pupils.
Mr.. Donohue and Col. Hayes
decided to attend the meeting,
after the Commissioners had re-
Iceived complete report from DR..
Corning and c. Melvin Sharpe,
president of the Board of Educa-
ton. The strike had reached a
stalemate at that point yesterday,
with DR.. Corning and Mr.. Sharpe
maintaining they would not meet
with the parents Nntil the chill
dren were back in class.
Lemon H. Moses. jr., president
of the PTA. opened the meeting
by saying the strike was an un-
fortunate thing but that 1t has
pointed up the needs of the area.
Mrs. Catherine Jones, PTA sec
retary, then reviewed the con-
troverSy.
Cites Conferences.
1--WE have conferred and con-
ferred and received nothing" she
declared.
Mr.. Donohue said he did not
come to the meeting to praise the
parents. adding he was extremely
unhappy" about it all. He said
he had worked, since being ap-
pointed Commissioner, to tell the
people of the District the city has
responsible municipal govern
ment. He said they should have
come to the Commissioners when
their other efforts met with fail
ure.
He chastised the parents for
sending a telegram to President
Truman. asking for his help. He
said they had problem, but they
also mad municipal government.
He had expressed the same view
earlier in the day. when he ad-
dressed the Washington section of
the National Council of Jewish
Women in the Jewish Community
Center.
He told the council. in discuss
ing the strike, that "the American.