Evening star., 1953-07-26
School Officials
To- Seek Bigger
Teacher Budget
D. c. Move Aims
At Catching Up
With Enrolment
BY Jomes G. Deone

" Jomes G. Deone
District school oficials will
seek q bigger teacher budget than
usual for next year to try to
catch up with increasing enroll
ment.
The new budget-for 1855
is slated to go to the Board Of
Education's finance committee
Wednesday. Supt. Hobart M.
Corning has promised to issue
copies to the press then or soon
thereafter. in line with q new
board policy. A public hearing
Is to be scheduled later.
Charles N. Zellers, DR.. Corn
ing's business assistant, said last
night the number of new teach
ers to be asked will be about
double the number requested this
year. The number in the budget
now pending in Congress is lit.
Up to now District budgetary
policy has prevented the school
system from basing the number
of additional teachers on future
enrolment expectations. The
number always has been based
on actual enrolment in the year
the budget is made up.
Two-Year Lag.
This has meant a two-year lag
between climbing enrolment and
new teacher hiring, Mr.. Zellers
pointed out. School officials. for
the first time. now hope to per-
suade city officials to allow funds
to meet the expected enrolment
instead, and thus end the lag.
Mr.. zellers said he has talked
the matter over with Budget
Officer Walter l.. Fowler, but that
Mr.. Fowler hasn't committed
himself yet.
The enrolment increase is al
most entirely Negro, so the new
teachers would be mostly colored.
At present the Negro schools
are seriously short of teachers,
with the result that many classes
are oversize. The school system
has been cutting down the white
teacher force and transferring
salaries to the Negro division,
but this has met only part Of
the need.
Mr.. Zellers said the amount Of
the extra teacher funds to be
sought couldn't be revealed until
after the budget goes to the
board. But it will obviously BE
considerable.
Additional Cut Expected.
The total proposed budget
probably will be larger than the
school board requested this year,
Mr.. Zellers said. The board this
year asked about $50 million, but
the Commissioners cut this to
$28.8 million and Congress prob
ably will cut it a bit more.
Budget requests from all Dis
.trict agencies are due at the Dis
trict Building August 8.
c. Melvin Sharpe, board presi-
dent, said he didn't know
exactly when the school budget
will be released>or when a hear
ing will be called. He said the
finance committee should have
a chance to make changes before
the public gets look.
The committee in the past has
usually made few changes. but
Mr.. Sharpe predicted it might do
more this time.
Mr.. Sharpe also indicated he
had no plan to open the COM
mittee session to the public, al
though he and two other board
members said recently keeping
any but personnel sessions closed
apparently violates the law.
Wednesdays session is set for
3 pm.
Meanwhile, the school system
still faces a serious teacher
shortage next fall even If the
House accepts increases in the
pending appropriation which the
Senate voted last week.
The Senate added $4,000 in
pay funds, but that will pay for
only 26 more teachers, and still
will be a shortage Of about rs.
Mr. ZellerS said