Evening star., 1952-09-25
e III
Move 10 Reduce
Phone Bills Hits
Snag in Schools
Riecks Says Sowing
May Result in Loss;
Truoncy Work Suffers
By james 6. Deone

District officials appear to have
dialed a wrong number in a move
to cut the city's telephone bill.
The number belongs to the pub
lie schools.
Congress last summer slashed
the -city's electrical budget. City
officials in turn Slashed telephone
service. banning outside calls on
a majority Of the District govern
mentis 1900 phone lines.
Most city departments, includ-
ing the schools, protested -vainly
But it wasn't until last week, when
schools reopened. that the situa-
tion really began setting school
officials telephones jangling.
= Riecks to Explain Case.
Associate Supt. John M. Riecks,
in charge of school buildings and
grounds, tomorrow will take the
school case to the District Build
ing. Herbert A. Friede, chief city
electrician, will be on the receiv-
ing end.
Mr.. Friede has been hoping to
save $4,000 by the curtailment.
Mr.. Riecks says that, with the
school telephone revamping it will
require, the city will be lucky if
it doesn't lose money.
What is to be done, according
to both sides, is at this point an
open question.
The school problem, according
to Mr.. Riecks; is this:
All the city's 178 school build
ings have telephone lines con-
nected with National 5000, at the
District Building. Grade schools
have one. Junior and senior highs,
in most cases, two.
All schools also have lines con-
nected to Sterling Gill, at school
system headquarters in Franklin
School. Grade schools and junior
highs have one, senior highs usu-
ally. two.
Formerly. outside calls on either
number could be made by dialing
49,"
Ended by July Order.
The July curtailment order
ended this on the National lines.
Sterling phones still can be
used for outside calls. But these
problems have arisen:
Where there is just one Sterling
telephone, it has always been on
the principals desk. The Sterling
network was intended for admin
strative calls within the school
system. Now. extension telephones
must be installed outside prin-
cipals' Offices for general use.
Thirty-three school officials Of.
fees have no. Sterling telephones.
In these cases, "9" service has
had to be restored-at a cost of
$50. per line yer year from the
school budget.
With increased use of Sterling
telephones, the Franklin SWITCH
board has become swamped. Tele-
phone company technicians say
1t can't take the load and may
have to be rebuilt.
Truant Officers Suffer.
School attendance offices-where
truant officers work-have been
hit specially hard. One office
at Ross School, has one Sterling
phone available for 16 persons.
The other, at Magruder School,
has one for IL. Each used to use
three National phones as well.
These and other offices, says Mr..
Riecks, just can't get along. He
Is being bombarded with COM
plants.
Tomorrow, he says. he will tell
Mr.. Friede the schools must have
at least 20 new Sterling lines.
These may not be enough.
He will also tell the electrician
the total revamping cost to the
school system may be $4,000
or more. Mr.. Riecks doesn't know
yet where in the school budget it
will come from. It may be from
the heating fund, provided it's a |